Economy Thread

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CENTRALIA -- An area hit by plant shutdowns will soon have 300 people training for new jobs to outfit private jets for the rich and famous.

With the help of a $4.4-million federal loan, Goderich Aircraft Inc. in the Huron Industrial Park is gearing up for an expansion expected to boost employment at the company from 160 now to 450 in the next three years.

The loan was announced Tuesday by Gary Goodyear, the cabinet minister in charge of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

The money will be used to build a new hangar, for marketing and equipment.

Goderich Aircraft president Blaine Field said the company is about to open a new, $3-million aviation training centre that will give its new hires the skills they need to refurbish the jets with luxury seating, bedrooms, showers, conference rooms and bars.

The training centre will likely draw local people who've been left jobless by recent plant closings such as at the Volvo road grader plant in Goderich or the Dana auto parts plant in St. Marys, Field said.

"Our strategy is a second career . . . We want to bring them in and take them from zero and train them in our business," he said.

The centre, accredited by London's Fanshawe College, will train about 60 students a year.

Founded in 1993, Goderich Aircraft has found a niche market in customizing private jets for corporate executives, Hollywood stars and senior government officials.

The company is just wrapping up a $17-million project outfitting a Boeing 737 private jet for Royal Airways in Abu Dhabi.

The plane's interior is off-limits to the media, due to confidentially agreements, but Field said the luxuries include gold and nickel plumbing fixtures and a $2.5-million entertainment system.

Goderich Aircraft has just landed a deal to be licensed as a Boeing completion centre. The aircraft giant will supply technical support and specifications to Goderich Aircraft as it customizes new aircraft to become private jets.

Along with the Abu Dhabi jet, Goderich Aircraft is also refitting a McDonnell-Douglas MD-87 -- a 127-seat commercial airliner -- into a 32-seat VIP corporate jet.

The company also has a contract to convert two 70-seat passenger jets into corporate jets.

Goodyear said the Goderich Aircraft loan shows a shift in the government's economic stimulus plan.

"Last year we were looking at getting people to work, period. The economy is picking up, so the pendulum is swinging towards better-quality, longer-term jobs," he said.

The company's expansion is a major boost for Huron Industrial Park and will create a number of spinoffs jobs in the region, said area mayor Ken Oke of South Huron.