Flying Colours Corp., the North American MRO
business has commenced work fulfilling a long-term paint contract with MHI
Canada Aerospace Inc., (MHICA), which is anticipated to last five years.
Under the terms of the partnership, Flying
Colours will paint over 40 center fuselage sections of the Bombardier Global
5000/6000 aircraft at the company’s Peterborough, Ontario facility each year.
MHICA, a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is a Tier 1 manufacturer
of major aircraft structures and assemblies based in Mississauga, Ontario.
To support the agreement, Flying Colours has
invested over $1m constructing a new, dedicated paint facility specifically
designed for the project. The separate unit adds over 4,000 square feet to the
existing paint shop footprint, and features two separate paint bays designed to
allow easy access and egress of the fuselage component. It also incorporates a
management and oversight office, as well as storage for the required primers,
paint and coatings.
|
Flying Colours commences paint contract
with MHICA in new dedicated paint shop. |
Each shrink-wrapped fuselage is delivered to
Flying Colours from the MHI Canada Aerospace 270,000 square foot production
facility in Mississauga. On arrival, the fuselage undergoes a pre-paint
inspection before Flying Colours begins an eight-stage process that includes
preparing the fuselage, priming for paint work, applying corrosion inhibitors
and fuel barriers, before final paint spray application. Upon completion, the
inspected fuselage is shipped back to MHICA, where it becomes part of the
fuselage assembly line.
Flying Colours Corp. was selected for the
project owing to its extensive experience working across the Global family of
business aircraft. It is also a Bombardier Authorized Service Facility and
Bombardier preferred completion centre. “We have worked with this aircraft for
more than 10 years which has given MHI Canada Inc. the confidence in Flying
Colour’s ability to fulfil the required mandate,” says
John Gillespie,
President, Flying Colours. “This is an exciting and significant new business
activity for us. We have invested significant time, money and planning into
making this project a long-term success. It also demonstrates we have an expert
team that can fulfil extensive long term paint projects of this nature, wherever
they come from in the world.”
|