North American MRO, completions and avionics business Flying Colours has opened its new St Louis facility. Manufacturing has already begun, with the new facility primarily supporting the design, build and finishing of woodwork monuments for large business jet cabins.
The industrially designed facility was created with lean manufacturing operating principles at its core. This improves efficiency and – combined with the additional workshop space – could increase productivity by 600% during the first year. The workshop’s capabilities mirror the Peterborough headquarters, with the addition of new equipment for the St Louis facility.
Two high-tech paint booths ensure optimal surface appearance before final treatment in the new enclosed curing room. Flying Colours has also invested in a third booth dedicated to painting complex fasteners and cabinet interiors.
The new facility was initially created to expand the business capabilities, but Flying Colours has also maximized the space to create areas for upholstery, engineering and avionics work, in addition to production control offices, conference rooms and bright contemporary client meeting areas.
Sean Gillespie, executive VP at Flying Colours, said, “Naturally alongside the cabinetry comes other work related to interior completions including detailed upholstery of seats, bespoke galley creation, manufacturing of customized monuments, and design of upgraded connectivity solutions.
“This is the first full infrastructure development to take place in St Louis since we acquired the business in 2009. It was needed as demand for our cabinetry and completion skills was outstripping our capacity.
“This coincided with a rise in demand for OEM cabinetry work. The expansion reflects our overall strategic approach to business growth, and we’re not done yet as we anticipate a second phase of development in the USA later in the year.”
