Air Livery plans aircraft painting facilities in Bratislava and Norwich
Above:
Norwich International Airport.
The location of the new centre at Bratislava Airport has been selected specifically by Air Livery to respond to many of its customers’ needs in order to reduce their aircraft refinishing costs. Bratislava’s central European location - especially the proximity to Vienna International airport - should ensure Air Livery's clients' ferry flights and repositioning costs are kept to a minimum. With capabilities accommodating aircraft up to B737-900 and the A321, the new facility will offer the latest application equipment with full extraction and climate control providing excellent conditions for aircraft refinishing.
Air Livery is also kicking off a new Aviation Business Park development at Norwich International Airport. Norwich International Airport has teamed up with Wrenbridge, the Cambridge based property company, to develop outline plans for the development of an 850,000 sq ft (c 80,000 sq m) aviation related business park at Norwich International Airport. The catalyst for the project is a 160,000 sq ft pre-let to Air Livery for a state of the art aircraft painting facility which will accommodate planned expansion at the airport and provide 120 jobs.
The park will be developed on 100 acres of land to the north east of the main runway and sits inside the operational boundary of the airport, offering occupiers bespoke buildings with direct access to the airport’s infrastructure. The land is currently jointly owned by Norwich City and Norfolk County Councils. As part of their long term commitment to the airport and to encourage the creation of new jobs, both Councils have agreed to release land to enable this development proposal to come to fruition. The site is capable of accommodating up to 850,000 sq ft of hangar and ancillary office space and will focus primarily on businesses associated with the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft. The vision is to create a centre of aviation excellence which will complement the existing MRO businesses based at the airport, with the potential to create up to 1,000 new jobs.
Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International Airport said: “The development of this land to create an MRO centre of excellence has been a long standing strategic objective of the Airport. We are delighted to have brought Wrenbridge on board as our development partner for this exciting project, and look forward to working with their team to deliver the new building for Air Livery, as well as attracting further MRO businesses to Norwich International in the future. Air Livery has been a valued tenant of the airport for many years and we are looking forward to providing them with the state of the art new facilities their expansion plans require.”
“This announcement marks another positive step forward for the Airport and further demonstrates the key role it plays as a driver of direct and indirect employment and economic growth in the region. On the back of last week’s announcement of more routes and capacity for holidaymakers with Thomson and First Choice, and the recent introduction of new scheduled services to Manchester, Exeter, the Isle of Man and Newquay, this is a hugely exciting time for the Airport, underpinning its status as a major regional airport fuelling economic growth.”
Ewen McLeod, Associate Director of Wrenbridge said: “The first building to be delivered on the site will be for Air Livery and comprises a terrace of 5 hangars in addition to the company’s head office. Work has already started on the preparation of a hybrid planning application with the help of Morgan Sindall Professional Services, who will be applying their extensive aviation expertise to this process. The hybrid application will be submitted towards the end of the year following a series of public consultations. This gives us a good platform from which to attract further occupiers to the site”.
Dr Godfrey Ainsworth, Chairman of Norwich Airport and of owners, Omniport Holdings, said, “Since privatisation in 2004 we have seen more than £15m invested directly by the airport in infrastructure and upgrading of facilities. Further significant third party investment totalling more than £20m by our tenants including Klyne Aviation in a business aviation centre and Bristow in new hangars has been facilitated. This Air Livery development, together with the opening up of the site, will see a further £14m invested at the airport in this first phase alone. ”
Julian Duffen, Managing Director of Air Livery, said: “Our base at Norwich International Airport has played a key role in growing our business in recent years. Having the ability to secure modern premises at the airport is vital to deliver the growth profile we envisage in the future, and this announcement marks a significant strategic move forward for the business and a firm commitment to Norwich and our customers. Our core market spans a significant part of Europe and we had a number of options as to where these new facilities could be located. The East of England, and Norwich International Airport specifically, fit the bill perfectly.
Ann Steward, Cabinet member for Economic Development at Norfolk County Council, described the news as a welcome boost for the region. She said: “A thriving Norwich International Airport is great news for both the Norwich, and wider Norfolk, economy. Air Livery's decision to locate this considerable expansion at Norwich International Airport, rather than at an alternative airport elsewhere in Europe, is testament to the region’s ability to offer the right mix of skills, capacity and stability. The airport has fantastic potential to grow further in the future and the County Council is determined to play a full part in unlocking further growth through badly needed infrastructure schemes such as the Northern Distributor Road."
Brenda Arthur, Leader of Norwich City Council, said: "We are very pleased to be able to help facilitate this project by agreeing to this land, owned by the county and city councils, to be used in this way. One of the city council's major priorities is to bring jobs into Norwich, to make it a prosperous city. If this project goes ahead this will provide a major boost to the jobs market, which is excellent news for the people of Norwich."
