Hawker Pacific will relocate its aircraft modification operations from Bankstown to Cairns in order to take advantage of the northern Queensland centre’s proximity to new markets in the Asia Pacific region.
“Increasingly we are seeing demand for quite sophisticated systems integration tasks as part of the broader modification programs we perform,” said chief executive officer Alan Smith.
“Consequently, co-locating the structural modification capability within the same facility as Australian Avionics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawker Pacific employing around 50 staff in specialised avionics work and sales, is a logical move. The transfer is expected to create at least 12 additional positions at the Cairns facility, increasing total staff numbers there to over 110.”
The business provides special missions modifications for both civil and military customers, and in recent years has included aircraft for surveillance, aeromedical, law enforcement and various defence roles.
As a result of the move, the company says that it will rationalise its service centre at Bankstown Airport with some redundancies, although Hawker Pacific Technologies will continue to operate there alongside its MRO and support activities for operators of Hawker Beechcraft, Diamond and Bell aircraft.
