Len Lanetti
Cleared for Takeoff
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the June 24, 2005 print edition
Airplane maker ramps up employment to deal with demand
Tamarind Phinisee [font=Times New Roman,Times,Serif]Kerrville-based Mooney Airplane Co. has added 50 employees to its payroll by creating a second work shift for the first time in 20 years, company officials say.
J. Nelson Happy, vice chairman and president of parent company Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd., says the employment expansion is due to an overall improvement in the economy and demand for the company's products.
"The demand for the airplanes has been caused by the new Garmin G-1000 glass-panel avionics suite, the new three-bladed propeller, Mooney's obvious recovery from its financial problems, and a general improvement in the economy and the general aviation industry in general," Happy explains.
The Garmin G-1000 is a new digital communication, navigational and monitoring glass cockpit system that the company will be installing on its Bravo GX and Ovation2 GX aircraft.
The Kerrville facility manufactures five different types of single-engine aircraft: the Ovation, the Ovation2 DX, the Ovation2 GX, the Bravo DX and the Bravo GX. Happy says the Ovation2 line has experienced the largest increase in sales.
More hires in offing
Currently, Happy says, the Kerrville facility has an order backlog of about 50 airplanes.
"So we think the second shift (employees) will be needed for the foreseeable future," he adds. The second shift runs from 3 p.m. to 1:20 a.m.
And, says John Cullen, director of assembly for Mooney, plans are to hire more people in the future. "It's not something we see an end to in the near future," Cullen says.
He says the company is currently seeking to ramp up its work force in the manufacturing, assembly and detail-parts fabrication areas, which include wing, fuselage, final assembly and paint. The company may look to beef up its work force by an additional 10 percent by the year's end, Cullen adds.
The company now has 366 employees at the Kerrville facility, which includes the new hires.
"Our demand for aircraft is increasing every month," Cullen says. "We're really in a growth mode and need to keep up with the demand. And that second shift (job expansion) allows us to do that."
Strong growth
Dave Franson, a spokesman for Mooney Aerospace, says Mooney Airplane Co. also will look to upgrade its machinery to keep up with the increased demand.
"Acquiring this gives us the additional capacity to do the same type of manufacturing that we've been doing," Franson says. "It will improve efficiencies in our manufacturing operations. ... And we anticipate higher volumes for productions."
In 2004, Mooney received orders for 80 aircraft and did more than $19.3 million in sales, up 16 percent from 2003.
"We met our goal to take more orders but our sales were delayed until we got the Garmin panel (FAA) certified," Franson says. "So we didn't meet the sales goals in terms of delivery. But we did in terms of orders."
Happy says the goal for 2005 is to sell 92 airplanes, with the eventual target of ramping up production to about 120 airplanes per year.
Mooney Airplane Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd. -- a general aviation holding company.
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© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc
From the June 24, 2005 print edition
Airplane maker ramps up employment to deal with demand
Tamarind Phinisee [font=Times New Roman,Times,Serif]Kerrville-based Mooney Airplane Co. has added 50 employees to its payroll by creating a second work shift for the first time in 20 years, company officials say.
J. Nelson Happy, vice chairman and president of parent company Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd., says the employment expansion is due to an overall improvement in the economy and demand for the company's products.
"The demand for the airplanes has been caused by the new Garmin G-1000 glass-panel avionics suite, the new three-bladed propeller, Mooney's obvious recovery from its financial problems, and a general improvement in the economy and the general aviation industry in general," Happy explains.
The Garmin G-1000 is a new digital communication, navigational and monitoring glass cockpit system that the company will be installing on its Bravo GX and Ovation2 GX aircraft.
The Kerrville facility manufactures five different types of single-engine aircraft: the Ovation, the Ovation2 DX, the Ovation2 GX, the Bravo DX and the Bravo GX. Happy says the Ovation2 line has experienced the largest increase in sales.
More hires in offing
Currently, Happy says, the Kerrville facility has an order backlog of about 50 airplanes.
"So we think the second shift (employees) will be needed for the foreseeable future," he adds. The second shift runs from 3 p.m. to 1:20 a.m.
And, says John Cullen, director of assembly for Mooney, plans are to hire more people in the future. "It's not something we see an end to in the near future," Cullen says.
He says the company is currently seeking to ramp up its work force in the manufacturing, assembly and detail-parts fabrication areas, which include wing, fuselage, final assembly and paint. The company may look to beef up its work force by an additional 10 percent by the year's end, Cullen adds.
The company now has 366 employees at the Kerrville facility, which includes the new hires.
"Our demand for aircraft is increasing every month," Cullen says. "We're really in a growth mode and need to keep up with the demand. And that second shift (job expansion) allows us to do that."
Strong growth
Dave Franson, a spokesman for Mooney Aerospace, says Mooney Airplane Co. also will look to upgrade its machinery to keep up with the increased demand.
"Acquiring this gives us the additional capacity to do the same type of manufacturing that we've been doing," Franson says. "It will improve efficiencies in our manufacturing operations. ... And we anticipate higher volumes for productions."
In 2004, Mooney received orders for 80 aircraft and did more than $19.3 million in sales, up 16 percent from 2003.
"We met our goal to take more orders but our sales were delayed until we got the Garmin panel (FAA) certified," Franson says. "So we didn't meet the sales goals in terms of delivery. But we did in terms of orders."
Happy says the goal for 2005 is to sell 92 airplanes, with the eventual target of ramping up production to about 120 airplanes per year.
Mooney Airplane Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mooney Aerospace Group Ltd. -- a general aviation holding company.
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© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc