Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Wichita aviation company is spreading its wings, planning to open a new facility in southeast Kansas.

Spirit Aerosystems said the new manufacturing facility in Chanute will support sub-assembly work on underwing aircraft components for the 737. The company said the move will allow the Wichita workforce to concentrate on other complex projects to meet increasing production rates on multiple programs.

Spirit plans to hire 35 people initially, expecting the workforce to grow to about 125 or 150 employees.

"Community leaders in Chanute along with the state of Kansas have been tremendous partners with Spirit as we worked to strategically expand our operations to meet demands for our products and services,"
said John Pilla, senior vice president/general manager propulsion segment.

Spirit will renovate an existing building for operations. The company hopes to begin work at the site by the end of 2012.