Summit Aviation Breaks Ground on New Hangar and Paint Facility

Summit Aviation celebrated their 50th anniversary by breaking ground today on a new 78,000 square-foot expansion on its 550-acre site. The new project includes a 37,400 square-foot hangar that can accommodate eight Boeing CH-47 Chinook model aircraft or three Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft.
Summit Aviation President Robert Fitzpatrick and Greenwich AeroGroup President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ziegler were joined at the groundbreaking by Delaware Governor Jack Markell, New Castle County Executive Christopher Coons and Secretary Alan Levin of the Delaware Economic Development Office.
Summit’s parent company Greenwich AeroGroup, has invested $12 million in capital since acquiring the facility in 2008, this includes a $1.36 million performance- based grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund to help the company expand the site and add up to 188 new jobs over a three-year time period.
The expansion is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2011 and will include, in addition to the hangar, a 9,200 square-foot paint facility; two cold storage units and an additional 11,400 square-feet of support and office space. This growth will increase Summit’s service and maintenance capacity and support for government and military aviation, general aviation and corporate segments.