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NEW BUSINESS TO RECEIVE FUNDS
Board
members of the Sherman Economic Development Corporation and Denison
Development Alliance approved the two-year deal, each agreeing to pay
$127,600 during the three-payment schedule.
In return
for the money, Best Jets will hire a minimum of 58 new full-time employees
with salaries of $38,400 and agree to invest $1.7 million in facilities
for the repair and overhaul of turbine engines.
"This
could be a really big thing," said Jerdy Gary, DDA chairman. "I
am excited about the concept and am confident they will take it to the
next level."
Kate
Woolstenhulme, owner of Best AeroNet, said Best Jets is partnered with
General Electric to promote and market modified engines for the Lear 20
business jets.
She said the
company will use new technology, from the T-38 military engine propulsion
modernization program kit developed for the United States Air Force, to
refurbish the jet engines, which have been manufactured for more than 40
years.
The upgrades
will include a new-technology spooled rotor, which replaces the disk and
spacer legacy design. The rotor is a drop-in replacement making for easy
maintenance and life advantages.
There are
more than 500 Lear 20 series powered business jets flying today.
Woolstenhulme
said the older engines are being refurbished and used in the Lear jets
because they're more reliable than newer engines.
Under the
incentive agreement, DDA and SEDCO agree to pay $51,040 once Best Jets
begins new construction at the airport.
A second
payment of $51,040 will be made in May of 2005 if the company has made a
capital investment of $850,000, hired 29 full-time employees and created a
minimum pay roll of $1,113,600.
The final
payment, to be made in May of 2006, will provide Best Jets with $25,520 in
return for creating and continuing to staff 58 full-time positions with a
minimum payroll of $2,227,200 and a $1.7 million minimum investment in the
project.
If Best Jets
does not hold up its end of the bargain, in May of 2005 or 2006 the
company will have to pay back the incentives from its previous payments
plus interest.
Gary said
this expansion is not necessarily the last for the company either. He said
both boards were informed the project currently works on civilian aircraft
but has the potential to reach to the military sector.
"It is
highly possibly this will reach to the military," he said. "That
could ramp the jobs up to 300."
Gary added
that with the expansion, at least 60 percent of the new employees is
expected to come from local workers. He added the company has already
hired three employees.
Best AeroNet
moved to the airport last year from its previous operations in Addison,
Texas.
Once at the
Grayson County Airport, the company began serving as a nationwide discount
fuel provider for private aircraft.
It expanded
shortly after to a management program, in which the company manages seven
aircraft at the local hangar.
Another
expansion led to a maintenance program in which Best AeroNet specializes
in refurbishing the Lear jets with new interiors, avionics, and
noise-suppression kits.
SEDCO agreed
to last year to pay the company incentives for its expansion and
investment in excess of the agreed $140,000 in construction and relocation
expenses in October. At that time, the company employed 28 full-time employees -- more than the 10 jobs outlined in its contract with SEDCO. SEDCO agreed to pay the company $17,000 in two payments of $8,500. The second payment is due shortly. |