INSIDE one of regional Australia’s largest hangars at the Wagga airport is an industry that could be the take-off point for the city becoming a leading aviation centre.
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Aircraft refurbishment company Douglas Aerospace recently began painting planes following the completion of its hangar and administration centre off Elizabeth Avenue.
Aircraft ranging in size from small recreational planes through to an Airbus A321 can be refurbished in the hangar.
“An A321 is the largest aircraft we can get into Wagga,” director of Douglas Aerospace, Douglas Clarke, said.
The company, which began in Tocumwal in 1979 and has had a presence in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, is in the process of consolidating operations in Wagga.
Three stages of development are planned: the first stage is the new hangar in which about 20 people, including administration staff, currently work.
Framework for a second hangar is about to go up, while a third hangar for small aircraft and training is also planned.
“Once the second stage is up we will probably go straight to 40 staff members, and within two years we should be 60,” Mr Clarke said.
“By the time we are finished, it will be about a $5 million development. “There is nothing like it in Australia.
“We will be working towards (refurbishing) interiors and composites over the next 12 months.”
One of the aircraft being painted now is a Bombardier Global Express, which is slightly smaller than a Boeing 737.
“Over the next month we have two other jets coming in,” Mr Clarke said.
Mr Clarke said Wagga City Council’s airport master plan helped convince him to move his business and family to the city.
“When I first saw the development plan that council proposed for the airport I thought it would complement our business and attract other businesses to the area,” Mr Clarke said.
Council last year resolved to lend Douglas Aerospace $2.5 million to help meet the cost of its development.
“Council’s support has been excellent,” Mr Clarke said.
Wagga’s weather is also an important factor, especially for the painting of aircraft.
“We don’t have a lot of humidity and we have, apart from four months of the year, good dry heat,” Mr Clarke said.
In winter, hydronic heating under the big hangar’s concrete floor keeps the temperature between 18 and 25 degrees.
Current staff include six apprentice spray painters.
