July 18, 2016
A surge of 400 new jobs will be coming to the Lake City market with the expansion of HAECO Americas operations, bringing a $2 million capital investment in Columbia County.
HAECO operates 600,000 square feet of hangar space and more than 1.3 million of ramp area. Its operations has six hangars for airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul. The complex also includes a two-bay strip and paint hangar.
HAECO is responsible for maintaining parking ramps, aircraft taxiways, engine run-up areas and an air traffic control tower for Lake City Airport.
HAECO Americas' Vice President for Customer and Government Relations Kip Blakely said "HAECO Americas is delighted to have the opportunity to expand its capabilities and capacity in Columbia County. Lake City has been a great home for us for decades, and we are pleased to be able to expand the opportunities this creates for us and our customers in developing aviation talent in north Florida."
Partners in the expansion include Enterprise Florida, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Columbia County, City of Lake City and CareerSource Florida.
There are more than 2,000 aviation and aerospace companies in Florida that employ approximately 80,000 people in the state.
The expansion will create 400 high-tech, high-wage jobs for people in and around Lake City.
HAECO Americas is a wholly owned subsidiary of HAECO Group, a Hong Kong-based leader in independent aircraft engineering and maintenance.
