Gore Design has acquired its interior completions subcontractor Specialty Mill Works and taken over hangar space from its maintenance provider to form a new turnkey completion centre called Gore Design Completions.
The decision was made, says the company, in response to a customer's frustration at other completion centres' long lead times.
San Antonio, Texas-based Gore Design Completions specialises in head-of-state VIP widebody outfitting and has recently delivered its first Boeing 767-300ER interior, which was completed in 10 months for the Chinese Government.
Gore Design Completions' president Jerry Gore says the original seven-month completion schedule was held up due to "bad feng Shui" in one of the bedrooms, adding 60 days to the programme.
The company beat Lufthansa Technik and Jet Aviation for the contract on design grounds, as "price was not an option".
Gore Design acquired Specialty Mill Works in July and says, once the two companies' systems are fully integrated, it should be able to reduce the completion cycle of widebody VIP conversions by 33%.
"For Boeing Business Jets, some of our rivals take up to three years. We are aiming for seven months," says Gore.
The company, which is also in talks over a formal tie-up with its maintenance and paint subcontractor Dee Howard, has started work on a 767-200ER conversion for a central Asian head of state, which is due to be delivered green from Boeing late this year and completed by next August.
Gore points out that its location on the San Antonio International Airport and its new hangar allows it to take any widebody aircraft and the company would like to work on more Airbus VIP conversions in the future.
Source: Flight International
