With the help of federal government funding, JD Aero will enjoy another expansion to its space at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport.
Sault MP Terry Sheehan announced $660,000 in FedNor funding for the Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation (SSMADC) at JD Aero’s building Wednesday.
The funding announced will go towards the construction of a new 11,250-square-foot building for JD Aero operations.
JD Aero, which specializes in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, is SSMADC’s biggest tenant.
The total cost of the new building — which will be a standalone structure close to JD Aero’s main office and existing hangar space — is $2 million.
The balance of that cost will be paid by SSMADC and other partners.
The new building will make space for equipment, parts, and materials, opening up hangar space for JD Aero to service larger jets while continuing its existing service for other aircraft.
“We welcome the announcement of funding from FedNor. This supports the company’s diversity strategy and comes at a critical time as JD Aero is moving into heavy maintenance of medium-sized jets which typically take up a vast amount of valuable hangar space,” said Julian Chin, JD Aero's managing director of operations and finance.
“Construction should begin any time now. We’re getting set up to start and it needs to be completed by the end of March,” said Don McNabb, JD Aero's managing director of operations and development, speaking to SooToday after Wednesday’s funding announcement.
JD Aero’s hangar space can currently accommodate Boeing 737 jets. With the help of government funding, the company will now be more able to make room for Brazilian-made Embraer E175 jets.
That type of jet is smaller than a Boeing 737 but larger than the Alaska Airlines Q400 jets that are often seen at the Sault Airport.
The FedNor funding not only creates more space for JD Aero but also opens the door to increased employment at the company.
JD Aero began its operations at the Sault Airport as a SSMADC tenant in 2007 with just three employees.
The business grew through additions of more hangar space in 2011 and 2016.
The company grew to approximately 120 employees prior to COVID.
“We’re continuing to expand. We’re at just under 100 people now and we probably need another 20 to 25 people, so we’re currently hiring. The new hangar lets us get into the new jets which is going to create more jobs,” McNabb said.
It is anticipated that JD Aero’s work will also keep employees of other Sault businesses busy.
“We use a lot of services from vendors in the Sault, in welding, in fabrication, parts from local places like Fastenal Canada. The fallout from our business is going to create more work for local vendors,” McNabb said.
“I guess hard work has paid off. There’s not a whole lot of vendors in Canada that do what we do. There’s maybe a half dozen spread across the country. Everybody has their own niche and customers so it keeps us busy,” McNabb said.
“As we continue to struggle to recover from the pandemic with our commercial airline traffic at 72 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and our passenger levels at 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, it’s nice to to have an opportunity to have some exciting news,” said Terry Bos, SSMADC president and CEO at Wednesday’s funding announcement.
“I’ve been through here a number of times and it’s absolutely critical what JD Aero has done. It’s critical that we continue to support the good work of our entrepreneurs here that have a good vision,” MP Sheehan said, noting the role JD Aero plays as a job creator and Sault Airport tenant.