Cessna is to construct an expanded Citation business jet service centre adjacent to its manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas.
Despite the economic slowdown, the company is ramping up Citation production to fulfil its order backlog, and says the new service centre is required to support the growing fleet.
The new $60 million facility will be twice the size of the current building, but Cessna expects touse 70% of its capacity as soon as the facility is completed in late 2003.
Beginning in 2004, the existing service facility will be used as a completion centre for the firm's new Citation Sovereign mid-size business jet, which is scheduled to enter flight testing in March next year.
Expansion of the Citation service centre is expected to create 500-600 jobs in Wichita, which has been hit by workforce reductions at Boeing and Raytheon Aircraft.
Cessna has cut jobs at its Independence, Kansas, single-engined piston aircraft plant because of lower sales, but Citation production in Wichita is being bouyed up by a strong backlog of orders for the newest models in the family.
Cessna operates company-owned service centres at nine locations in the USA, in addition to overseas facilities in Paris and Sydney.
Construction of the 41,000m2 building will take 18-20 months and is due to begin this year. It will be on a 60ha site leased from the Wichita Airport Authority.
Source: Flight International
