A global aerospace company is bringing an operation that will retrofit wide-body aircraft such as 747 passenger jets to the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.
Aero Intelligence, a Kansas City aircraft maintenance organization that has offices in Forest Hills, New York, and Mumbai, will occupy the former base’s historic arch hangar.
The company’s expansion into northern Maine furthers the Loring Development Authority’s vision to invigorate the former base as an aerospace hub. It also ensures a future for the uniquely structured hangar with its arched, all concrete roof, one of only two like it in the country. More than that, it stands to jumpstart economic growth in all of northern Maine, Limestone Town Manager Edward Pocock III said.
“We’re excited about it. It’s great for The County,” Pocock said Monday. “Limestone’s boat won’t be the only boat that rises in the harbor. We want all the other boats to rise with us.”
Along with the excitement is the realization that there’s been stagnation since the base closed in 1994, he said. Aero Intelligence’s coming will open the door and bring even more interest to the Loring Commerce Center.
That’s what Aero Intelligence owner Varghese Samuel hopes will happen, too.
“I want it to be in a location I can relate to. I love to go into locations and try to build up the community,” Samuel said, calling the expansion to Loring a low-risk, high-reward opportunity. “We’ve done this in other places and it’s worked fabulously.”
Aero Intelligence will bring a crew of mechanics and will also look for local workers. Each will live, spend money and contribute to the Aroostook County community.
The firm expects to retrofit or repair about eight large, wide-body planes a year. Each one takes 40 days or more to complete, Samuel said.
He plans to join pilots in the company’s first plane at Loring — a wide-body Boeing 777 — sometime this week.
Samuel has worked with Pocock and Loring Development Authority president and CEO Jonathan Judkins, and said both were instrumental in finalizing details for the new location.
Aero Intelligence’s current maintenance facility is based at the Kansas City International Airport. The company handles aircraft repair and maintenance, disassembly, recycling and records management in several areas around the world, according to its website.
It is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and has received civil aviation approvals in such areas as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nigeria.
A company brochure indicates the operation handles various jobs, including upgrading airplane interiors and avionics, planning maintenance programs, managing engineering projects and offering 24/7 emergency support.
One of Loring’s biggest advantages is its runway, which is the longest in the U.S. and can handle any size aircraft, Pocock said.
The runway, which has been largely unused since Loring closed, is already seeing changes. Workers have cleaned and restriped the runway, and diverted part of a snowmobile trail that intersected the flight line.
On Monday, the arch hangar was already taking on a new look. The once-rusted behemoth is undergoing renovations, including a deep blue paint job. Crewmembers in Aero Intelligence uniforms were working and moving equipment inside.
The Loring Air Museum and the LDA last year were at odds over the hangar’s future. The museum wanted it preserved as a historical artifact, while developers said it should be used for aerospace development.
The arrival of Aero Intelligence is the second major aerospace development in Aroostook County in a month. Presque Isle broke ground last month on its $6 million, 72-acre John F. Kennedy Aerospace Research Park.
Pocock thinks Aero Intelligence’s move will spark interest from other global companies and open the door for more growth.
“I look at Loring and I see so many opportunities there in a world where air freight is the big thing now,” he said. “It’s had 31 years of stagnation and you’re finally starting to see it turn around.”
