Jet maker plans East Valley service center

Brazil-based jet maker Embraer broke ground Monday on an $8 million service center at Mesa’s Williams Gateway Airport.

The 45,000-square-foot facility, which is pegged to be completed by August 2008, will bring 60 to 65 high-paying jobs and national and international recognition to Mesa within the first five years of operation.

Williams Gateway Authority, the airport’s multicity governing body, will spend more than $12 million in improvements to make it happen.

They include a new taxiway, fire suppression technology, storm water drains and more terminal parking spaces, said Mesa Mayor Keno Hawker. He said those amenities are needed to ready Williams for the additional businesses likely to show some interest in the hub now that Embraer is on board.

Hawker said Embraer will help Williams grow into an economic engine and regional employment center for the entire East Valley.

In fact, Embraer, which is building similar service centers in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Hartford, Conn., is such a catch, economic leaders from around the Valley and state showed up in east Mesa on Monday to tout the project.

Arizona Department of Commerce executive director Jan Lesher said aerospace businesses are “critical to our economy,” and provide the type of jobs the state wants to attract.

Greater Phoenix Economic Council CEO Barry Broome said Embraer will add to the 300 aerospace-related businesses in the Valley and attract new foreign investment. Such companies will help the Valley become a global leader, not just a region living off growth, he said.

Embraer chose Williams Gateway to land its only Western U.S. repair shop because of its “favorable location, quality work force and favorable business climate,” said Bob Davis, managing director for the executive jets division.

The facility will fix versions of Embraer’s eight-passenger Legacy 600 and a new superpremium line, Phenom, which the company introduced in June, Davis said. The Williams Gateway operation will be big enough to handle three to eight jets at a time.

Embraer also has options on adjoining property if it chooses to expand, Davis said. But the shop will stick to fixing the executive jets, Davis said, although Embraer also makes commercial jets used by major carriers including Tempe-based US Airways and Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines.

Williams Gateway executive director Lynn Kusy said new jobs will generate more scheduled passenger service to the airport, a key strategy toward putting Mesa — and its airport — on the map. Williams Gateway has scheduled passenger service twice weekly to and from North Las Vegas, but in its quest to attract more, watched two startup carriers start up and shut down within the first few months of operations.