Wichita KS - December 9, 2004 - Over 500 people gathered today in Wichita, Kansas, to celebrate the grand opening of the world's largest general aviation maintenance facility, the new Wichita Citation Service Center. The crowd cheered as Cessna's President and CEO Jack J. Pelton and Senior Vice President of Customer Service Ron Chapman cut the 25 foot long red ribbon to officially open the building.
"Since Cessna's establishment in 1927, we have made product support a priority," said Cessna's President and CEO Jack J. Pelton. "We believe it is our responsibility to provide superior support to every Cessna operator through spare parts, maintenance, and the technical information necessary to maximize their aircraft's uptime.
"For Citation operators, we've done this through a network of company-owned and company-authorized Citation Service Centers. This total solution approach began in 1972 before we ever delivered our first Citation. In fact, three Citation Service Centers were fully operational prior to the first Citation delivery. Those original Citation Service Centers would house three to six Citations. The facility we're dedicating today will house over 100 Citations simultaneously. This growth is a testament to the tremendous loyalty of our customers and Cessna's commitment to provide customers with industry leading service."
Cessna officially broke ground on the Wichita Citation Service Center on November 7, 2001. "Many people were surprised when we announced this building just a few months after the September 11 terrorist attacks," said Ron Chapman, Senior Vice President of Customer Service. "Even though the days and months following September 11 were difficult for the aviation industry, our commitment to our customers never wavered. We are dedicated to expanding our Citation Service Center network as the fleet grows in order to provide our customers with industry leading support.
"At the end of 1998, or after 26 years of Citation production, the fleet had over 2,700 Citations. By the end of this year, we will have over 4,200 Citations in the fleet. That is more than a 50 percent increase in just over six years. This new Wichita Citation Service Center will allow us to meet our mission of building customer loyalty and advocacy through industry leading service levels."
The new Wichita Citation Service Center is located on a 124-acre site at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. With over 443,000 square feet, the facility can service over 100 Citations simultaneously. The 1,600 foot long building is equivalent to 2 ½ city blocks or 5 ½ football fields long.
The majority of the building consists of five hangars. Of these, three hangars are 60,000 square feet each, one is 40,000 square feet, and one is 27,000 square feet. In addition, the building has numerous customer lounges and offices, flight planning areas, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The exterior of the facility is equipped with a dedicated run-up area, two compass roses, and four fuel farms.
In addition to maintenance hangars, the new building has approximately 104,000 square feet of office space that will house the majority of Cessna's Citation aftermarket customer service personnel. Some of the functions that will be located at the new Wichita Citation Service Center include Cessna propeller and Citation product support, CESCOM, and propeller and Citation technical publications.
Cessna anticipates the facility will be 100 percent operational by January 3, 2005. At that time, the Wichita Citation Service Center will house approximately 600 Cessnans. Once open, Cessna anticipates it will initially use approximately 70 percent of the new Wichita Citation Service Center hangar space. As this percentage grows, Cessna will add the appropriate personnel to its workforce. Cessna expects to hire approximately 500 people to staff the new Wichita Citation Service Center over the next five years. Many of these positions will be for Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics.
Cessna began to occupy portions of the new Citation Service Center prior to the December 9 grand opening. On November 20, Cessna hangared its first Citation in the new Service Center's hangar E, a 60,000 square foot hangar. On December 4, the first wave of approximately 90 Cessna team members relocated to the building.
"We're moving approximately 600 people into this building over a three week time period. Approximately 90 people are already working in the building. We'll move approximately 100 more people on December 11. The remaining individuals will move the last week of December," said Jim Morgan, Cessna Vice President of Service Facilities.
Today's ceremony commenced at 2:30 p.m. and speeches concluded at 4:00 p.m. Speakers included Wichita's Mayor Carlos Mayans, Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Unruh, Kansas' Lieutenant Governor John Moore, FAA Central Region Flight Standards Division Manager Marion Dittman, Cessna Citation X customer Fred Furth, Cessna Vice President of Service Facilities Jim Morgan, Cessna Senior Vice President of Customer Service Ron Chapman, and Cessna President and CEO Jack Pelton. Following the 4:00 p.m. ribbon cutting, Cessna guests were invited to a reception in one of the 60,000 square feet hangars.
This is Cessna's second Citation Service Center grand opening this year. In June 2004, Cessna opened its new Orlando Citation Service Center. The Orlando Citation Service Center is Cessna's second largest Citation Service Center. The 155,000 square foot building replaces the original 47,275 square foot building, which has been serving the southeast United States since 1983. The Orlando Citation Service Center includes 123,000 square feet of hangar space, an expanded aircraft ramp with underground refueling facilities, specially equipped wash bays, and customer courtesy offices.
Cessna employs approximately 10,500 worldwide, 8,500 in Wichita, and 600 at its current Wichita Citation Service Center.
Cessna is converting its current 100,000 square feet Wichita Citation Service Center into a Sovereign completion center.
Cessna Citation Service Centers provide around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week support to all Citation operators. The company-owned Citation Service Centers provide maintenance, inspections, parts, repairs, avionic modifications, equipment installations, interior and exterior refurbishment and other specialized services for Citation operators. Cessna has strategically located the Citation Service Centers at nine major U.S. airports, as well as Paris, France. In addition, authorized service stations for Citations are located in more than fifteen countries.
Cessna Aircraft Company is a subsidiary of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT). Textron is a $10 billion multi-industry company with more than 43,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com.
For additional information or questions about the general aviation industry, contact the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at 202-393-1500 or www.GAMA.aero.