Prior to signing a 30-year lease today for a $38 million aircraft maintenance and overall facility at Pensacola International Airport, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and John G. Coburn, chairman and CEO of VT Systems, met with Progress+Promise Guest Writer Carlton Proctor to discuss the impact the project.

Coburn is a retired, four-star U.S. Army general. He has been with Virginia-based VT Systems since 2001. VT Systems, and VT Mobile Aerospace and Engineering are subsidiaries of Singapore-based ST Aerospace.

Question: What is the timeline for construction?

Coburn: As soon as the lease is signed, we will begin operations in terms of design and planning. It will be an 18-month construction process, and I would expect we would be operational sometime in mid-to-late 2016. This is a very, very real project, and one that we’ve worked hard on, and one that I congratulate the mayor, city council and commissioners as well. Indeed, it’s a great day and the beginning of a great partnership.

Q: What’s the next step now that the 30-year lease has been signed?

Hayward: The project will now go into the design phase. It’s my understanding the project probably will be a design-build contract, and obviously it will be bid out.

Q: What is the relationship between VT Aerospace Engineering and parent company ST Aerospace?

Coburn: VT is an American company, incorporated in Delaware, Texas and Alabama. And the company doesn’t outsource. In other words it “in-sources,” providing jobs for people in the United States. The dollars generated by VT Aerospace do not go back to Singapore, they are reinvested in this country. And I think that’s a pretty significant aspect of VT.

Q: ST Aerospace hosted a job fair here in Pensacola this spring. What were your impressions of the skill sets of those who attended the event?

Coburn: Our impression was that the depth and breadth of the workforce in Pensacola is very impressive. The turnout at the job fair was overwhelmingly good; we had more than 400 resumes submitted. And we were pleasantly surprised we got so many very good resumes.

Q: What are your hiring plans going forward?

Coburn: We will start bringing on labor next year probably at the end of 2015. We’ll also send those folks we do hire to Mobile to receive some on-the-job training at our maintenance and overhaul facility there.

Q: Aside from the rich pool of workforce talent here, what other reasons came into play that led to choosing Pensacola as the site to expand your U.S. operations? 

Coburn: (Pensacola) is a great, dynamic community, has great infrastructure, strategic location, and being the Cradle of Naval Aviation didn’t hurt anything either. Another reasons is the fact the city’s airport is so progressive. It’s a hustling and bustling airport. Moreover, Mobile is not too far to the west. So it’s an almost perfect fit. Also, Pensacola is a very concerned, progressive community at all levels.

Q: Would you describe the range of overhaul and maintenance operations you will be conducting at the VT hangar facilities?

Coburn: It will be total maintenance and overhaul. It’s a huge operation. Planes will fly in and be in the shop for about two weeks. We’ll do a test on the engines, and they will fly out. We will be working strictly on commercial aircraft primarily from U.S.-based carriers. However, we would not object to serving customers from anywhere outside the U.S. We’re not in the military business at all. I think commercial aircraft offers the biggest area of expansion for us right now.

Q: VT Aerospace is contributing $7.24 million toward the $38 million cost of the hangar facility at the airport. Is that a cash contribution, and, if so, how will it be distributed?

Coburn: The money is being held in escrow and will be drawn down as construction proceeds.

Q: What was the biggest challenge in getting this deal done?

Coburn: We’ve been working on this thing for about nine months. It was a tortuous road in many ways, many twists and turns. The process itself is onerous. Getting everybody working together, staying flexible and negotiating in good faith were key to its success.

Q: In terms of the lease itself what are some of the major provisions?

Coburn: We’re obligated to 30 years and 300 employees. The lease also provides an option for us to build a second hangar. I will say that the lease was negotiated on both sides. It’s a good agreement, and overall I think the terms are very good.

Q: When this proposed project was first announced, there were some concerns by property owners adjacent to the airport that noise and traffic would be problems. Do you think those concerns have been addressed and allayed?

Hayward: I think one of the most important things the city did was to be completely transparent about the process. Of course you’re going to have questions and concerns by the people who live around the airport on the north side. Keeping the tree buffer between the hangar facility and property owners is incredibly important from a noise standpoint. The overall feedback I’ve been getting is the public is really excited about the jobs that will be created by an international company.

Q: Will VT be paying ad valorem property taxes like any other company?

Hayward: Yes.

Q: Will the VT operation start out with one or two shifts daily?

Coburn: I’m sure we’ll start out with just one shift.

Q: Do you have a number in mind of the jobs you anticipate filling to get operations under way?

Coburn: I don’t really know at this time. We’ll start hiring management staff early next year. It will be a “top to bottom” hiring process. By the end of the year, we should have most of our folks on board.

Q: Attracting such a big company really puts Pensacola on the aerospace industry map. How does Pensacola leverage this to attract other aerospace manufacturers and service providers, and other industries outside of aerospace?

Hayward: Putting Pensacola on the aerospace map and creating a cluster of aviation-related industries is something we’ve set out to do. One of the first things I did, even before I was sworn in as mayor, was visit Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus with the now ex-mayor of Mobile to see what we could do to bring Airbus to Mobile and this region. I then started educating myself on the aerospace industry and the importance of it, and obviously, meeting ST and going to Singapore showed me the positive impact it could have on our community, and the other ancillary lines of businesses; the suppliers, the machinists, the engineers and the companies that follow the aerospace and aviation industries. It’s not just about building an airplane. There are so many other things that go into creating the aerospace industry.

I think having VT Aerospace and Engineering at the airport will do great things for the Pensacola community, the Panhandle and the State of Florida. It’s just a tremendous thing for this entire region.

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