Ste. Genevieve to get aircraft repair facility

$40 MILLION CONTRACT

By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Thanks to a $40 million contract with Boeing, the Sabreliner Corp. will open a 72,000-square-foot plant in Ste. Genevieve that will employ 60 people to overhaul components for Air Force aircraft.

"Sixty jobs might be a drop in the bucket for some communities," said Ste. Genevieve Mayor Kathy Waltz. "But it will mean a tremendous boost to our local economy."

Sabreliner, which already operates facilities in Perryville and St. Mary, Mo., will subcontract the work from the Boeing Co., said Jim Meier, vice president of government services for the St. Louis-based Sabreliner.

The contract is for six years, and Meier said he did not know if it would be extended. The plant, to be located in a former Grandpa's Department Store just inside the city's southwestern limits, will open later this month.

Parts from Texas

The workers will overhaul essential components for up to 30 or more of the Air Force's KC-135 aircraft, which are used for aerial refueling and cargo transport, Meier said. The parts will be shipped to Ste. Genevieve from a Boeing facility in San Antonio, Texas, where heavy maintenance is performed on the planes.

Plant workers will be handling such airplane parts as rudders, flaps, engine housings and stabilizers, Meier said. The repaired parts will be shipped back to San Antonio.

Sabreliner is looking for FAA-licensed airframe mechanics or those directly from technical school. The 60 employees are expected to be hired by mid-summer, he said.

The quickest route for potential applicants is to log on to the Sabreliner Web site at www.sabregov.com and click on the button that says career opportunities.

Meier said Ste. Genevieve was a good choice.

"We wanted to stay in proximity to Perryville," he said. "The site was available, and it was just a perfect facility for what we want to do. It's large enough for us to double the work volume, making future growth a real possibility."

Ste. Genevieve County Economic Development director Marv Harman said the creation of new jobs is especially important now, with the recent announcement that Mississippi Lime is scaling back by about 100 jobs at the end of 2003.

Mississippi Lime, which has a facility in Ste. Genevieve, is a leading supplier of high-calcium lime, limestone and other calcium-based chemicals. It currently employs more than 400.

Sabreliner Corp. has been operating in Perryville since 1983, when it purchased the business from Rockwell International. Aircraft modifications have been ongoing at the Perryville airport facilities for more than 50 years. Sabreliner opened a St. Mary operation in 1996.

Sabreliner provides maintenance and modifications for a wide variety of corporate and government aircraft, engines, systems and components. The company and its subsidiaries have annual sales of about $250 million and employ 1,400 at nine facilities in four states.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137