La. boosts Chennault jobs

• By GARY PERILLOUX
• Advocate business writer
• Published: Aug 9, 2008 - Page: 1D - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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LAKE CHARLES — Louisiana officials announced more than $1.5 million in economic development grants Friday to create 130 jobs and retain more than 500 workers at the Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles.

Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc. will receive $1.2 million from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development in exchange for creating 80 jobs and retaining 217 positions while building a 20,000-square-foot assembly and repair building for military aircraft. Aeroframe Services LLC, which has FedEx as its principal customer, will receive $375,000 from the state as it adds 50 jobs and retains 300 positions.

The Chennault International Airport Authority is matching the state’s investment on both projects, and the companies expect to reach the hiring targets in two years, state officials said.

Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the expansions while in Lake Charles to address the Chamber of Southwest Louisiana at the L’Auberge du Lac casino Friday. He said Chennault — a former Air Force base redeveloped as an aerospace business park — has the capacity to generate many more jobs, something affirmed by Stephen Moret, the state’s economic development secretary.

“We see the Chennault International Airport facility as one of the top regional economic development priorities in the whole state,” Moret said. “This unique facility has the potential to create hundreds, if not thousands, of additional jobs in the future, and these expansions are a couple of nice examples of that.”

Charles Harvey, Chennault’s deputy director, said the airfield has nearly completed its recovery from Hurricane Rita, spending $48 million to improve metal buildings to withstand higher winds in the future. The site employs more than 900, with four major tenants — the two companies that announced expansions Friday and Louisiana Millworks, a non-aerospace tenant that supplies building materials, and Houston-based Million Air Interlink Inc., which supplies aviation fuel and aircraft services to companies based at, and flying to, Chennault.

Friday’s announcements secure the aerospace jobs at Chennault while setting the stage for further growth, Harvey said.

“They did this because this is a profitable business for them to be in,” he said of Northrop Grumman’s evolution from large military assembly contracts beginning in 1991 to smaller, multiple contracts that diversify the company’s work, which will move to custom installation of next-generation radar and communications components with the new air-conditioned maintenance and modification facility at Chennault.

“We think this is really going to be a positive for them,” Harvey said.

The 80 new jobs at Northrop Grumman will average $51,000 a year plus benefits.

For Aeroframe Services, its 50 new jobs will average $50,000 plus benefits, and the company’s addition of a tail dock at Chennault will make it more competitive in retaining and growing its service of Airbus fleets, including aircraft flown by FedEx.

Aeroframe has grown to 300 jobs since opening at Chennault in 2000. The tail dock to be added is a huge movable work stand, with a 60-person capacity, that moves on wheels and features five levels for aircraft service work, Harvey said.

“One is having to meet military standards (Northrop Grumman) and one is having to meet commercial standards (Aeroframe), and they are extremely difficult (to maintain),” Harvey said. “We’re glad to see (Northrop) diversify their base here and get into a slightly different type of work. One of the other things we like is that Aeroframe has started some training classes and they’ve taken a direct approach to hiring.”