Officials from Able Aerospace Services and the City of Mesa, Ariz., held a groundbreaking ceremony today to kick off construction of Able’s expansive new on-airport company headquarters. The multi-state celebration is continuing during Heli-Expo 2012 next week in Dallas, Texas, as Able President and CEO Lee Benson and Mesa City Councilwoman Dina Higgins share highlights of the groundbreaking during a special after-hours event for customers and invited guests on Monday, Feb. 13.

“This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our company’s growth,” Benson told visitors and news media at the groundbreaking. “The aerospace industry needs good news stories, and our story is about as good as they come.”

Able (Hall B, Exhibit 2106) specializes in providing cost-effective component repair and overhauls, backed by a large spares inventory and approved PMA replacement parts. Despite recessionary pressures in the aerospace market, Able has delivered nine consecutive years of 20 percent compound growth and is projecting a 27 percent increase for 2012.

Later this year, Able will move its 320-plus employees and equipment from cramped quarters in Phoenix into a 191,000-square-foot facility on a 13-acre industrial site at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The on-airport location and purpose-built hangar are designed for customer convenience, Benson said. “We’re already the most cost-effective MRO and parts provider for our customers; this new fly-in facility positions us as the most convenient, too.”

Able will become the airport’s largest tenant, joining an existing lineup that includes The Boeing Company, Cessna Aircraft Company, Embraer, and Hawker Beechcraft.

“Able Engineering is a perfect fit for the Gateway area and represents the aerospace pillar in Mesa’s HEAT (healthcare, education, aerospace, tourism/technology) Initiative for economic development,” Mayor Scott Smith said.  “They will bring hundreds of high-tech jobs into an area that is becoming well known for aerospace research, design and defense.”

Although Able was heavily recruited by Alabama, North Carolina and Texas, the company chose Mesa for easy access to a well educated, skilled workforce, and favorable agreements with the City and the airport, including opportunities for savings through Gateway’s Foreign Trade and Military Reuse zone.

About Able Aerospace Services
Able Aerospace Services is the largest helicopter dynamic component repair facility in the world.  We provide Value-Driven MRO solutions for a number of helicopter fleets engaged in Petroleum, Law Enforcement, EMS, Tour, Transport, ENG and other mission profiles.  Value-Driven MRO Solutions are Able proprietary, FAA-approved repairs and PMA for parts that would otherwise have to be scrapped and replaced with new, often saving as much as 70 percent of the cost of a new part.  Able’s mission is to reduce aircraft operating costs by providing resourceful component repair, overhaul and approved replacement parts solutions.

Photo Caption: Officials from Able Aerospace Services and the City of Mesa, Arizona, are among those participating in a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction of a spacious new Able facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.