Swiss buyer to leave Midcoast crew as is
The Swiss aviation company that is buying a St. Louis-area aircraft maintenance company says the transaction would mean a change in ownership only.
Zurich-based Jet Aviation Group has agreed to purchase Midcoast Aviation, which employs about 820 of its 850 employees in the repair and overhaul of aircraft at the St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia. The sale is expected to be completed by spring.
Spokesman William Poe said Kurt Sutterer would remain president of the St. Louis-area operation, and all employees would be retained.
"(Sutterer) assured employees that employees should have no concerns whatsoever about layoffs or anything of that nature," Poe said. "This company will continue to grow. We will continue to add people. There will be plenty of work for the next several years."
Poe said Midcoast Aviation will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Aviation. A previously planned expansion will remain on line and ensure as many as 100 new jobs at the Cahokia site this year. The company added as many employees last year.
"The business expansion plan of Midcoast Aviation remains intact," Poe said.
The deal will almost double Jet Aviation's U.S. work force. With the addition of the Cahokia airport and office space at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Perryville Municipal Airport in Perryville, Mo., it brings more than 400,000 square feet of space under Jet Aviation's control.
Jet Aviation was founded in Switzerland in 1967 and is one of the leading business aviation service companies anywhere. The company employs more than 3,700 in more than 60 stations around the world. Like Midcoast Aviation, the company provides aircraft maintenance and engineering services, as well as aircraft sales.
Contact reporter Will Buss at [email protected] or 345-7822, ext. 24.
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