Employment Projected To Grow By 1,000
Gulfstream said Monday that it will expand its Savannah
facilities through a $500-million, seven-year plan to ensure that
the company is well-positioned to meet future demand for
business-jet aircraft and support services. The growth is expected
to result in 1,000 additional jobs, an increase of more than 15
percent from Gulfstream's current Savannah employment level of
approximately 5,500 employees.
"With our own sales trends and market forecasts suggesting an
upturn over the next decade, we want to ensure Gulfstream is
well-positioned to meet the demand in terms of products and
services," said Joe Lombardo, president, Gulfstream. "We are
already beginning to see signs of a modest recovery. In the third
quarter of 2010, we booked more orders than we had in any quarter
since the downturn began in mid-2008. Furthermore, as flying hours
have increased, Gulfstream service centers have enjoyed a
significant increase in service volume.
"This expansion is necessary to meet the projected increase for
new business-jet aircraft and the maintenance that will follow,"
Lombardo said.
In the presence of state and local dignitaries, including Gov.
Sonny Perdue, Gulfstream's Savannah employees learned that the
expansion would include building new facilities at the northwest
quadrant of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport,
renovating several existing facilities on the main campus off
Gulfstream Road and expanding office and lab facilities at the
Gulfstream Research Development Center in Crossroads Business
Park.
During the event, Gov. Perdue said, "Gulfstream is the world
standard in business aviation, and we're proud that the company the
world looks to for the best business jets is based right here in
Georgia." He continued, "The expansion of Gulfstream's facilities
will have a major impact on both the state and local economies by
creating 1,000 new full-time jobs, not to mention the ripple
effects in terms of construction and service workers, as well."
The new positions are expected to include production
specialists, engineers, and support technicians.
"The effect this initiative will have is very simple," Lombardo
said. "It's jobs for 'G-A.' That means good, high-tech jobs for
Georgia. Jobs for Gulfstream Aerospace. And jobs for general
aviation, a vital aspect of this nation's industrial base."
First opened in 1967, Gulfstream's Savannah headquarters
includes initial-phase manufacturing of five aircraft models: the
Gulfstream G650, G550, G500, G450 and G350. The site also
includes the largest of the company's five final-phase
manufacturing facilities and the largest of Gulfstream's 10 service
centers.
Gulfstream announced a $300 million expansion of its Savannah
facility in March 2006 and later increased it to $400 million. That
expansion was completed in 2009 and included the development of the
largest general aviation aircraft maintenance facility in the
world; the Nicholas D. Chabraja Manufacturing Facility for the
assembly of the ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream
G650; a state-of-the-art, three-bay final phase paint facility; and
a 300,000-square-foot Research and Development Center. In addition,
Gulfstream met its commitment to hire 1,100 new employees as part
of that expansion.
"While Gulfstream's international presence has grown, we are
committed to Georgia and Savannah," Lombardo said. "And we
certainly appreciate the efforts of the Georgia Department of
Economic Development, the Savannah Economic Development Authority,
Chatham County, the city of Savannah and the Savannah/Hilton Head
International Airport in supporting this expansion."
Gulfstream will utilize the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) program
to implement sustainable design and construction elements into its
projects. In choosing contractors and subcontractors for the
expansion, Gulfstream will continue its existing policy of
providing opportunities to regional small, minority-owned,
disadvantaged, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran
businesses.