StandardAero purchased Western Jet Aviation, an independent MRO based at Van Nuys Airport, for an undisclosed sum on Feb. 1. 

The purchase expands StandardAero’s work on the Gulfstream platform and gives it a West Coast location.

“We think there is a lot of growth potential,” a StandardAero spokesperson says. “When we engage our sales team and operating model, we think there is an opportunity to put more business through that facility.”

More than 3,000 Gulfstream aircraft are in service worldwide, and Gulfstream expects to certify its latest models—the G700—in the summer, followed by the longer-range G800 about six months later.

Western Jet is an FAA-certified repair station offering tip-to-tail airframe maintenance, avionics and interior modifications for Gulfstreams from the G200 to G650. It also offers line maintenance on Rolls-Royce Tay, Spey, BR710 and BR725 engines and maintenance for Honeywell 36 series and RE220 series auxiliary power units. Its location consists of 120,000 ft.² of hangar, shop and office space. 

Western Jet also operates a 10,000 ft.² facility at Miami Opa-Locka that offers drop-in maintenance with four staff but has a “short-term goal to grow it to three teams of six people per team,” the spokesperson says.

Jim Hansen led Western Jet for 20 years and said, “We have accomplished so much at Western Jet, but it was also time to find the right partner to help Western Jet go to the next level.”

Independent shops face competition from Gulfstream, which has been investing millions of dollars to expand its own maintenance capacity and capability to keep up with its expanding fleet and win a bigger share of the MRO market. For example, it recently added service center capacity in Mesa, Arizona and Fort Worth Alliance. It also plans to open a component repair and maintenance support facility in Fort Worth the first half of this year.

Western Jet adds to StandardAero’s existing business aviation airframe maintenance capabilities in Springfield, Illinois. That 292,000 ft.² facility employs 169 employees and is an authorized service center for Dassault, Bombardier Learjet and Embraer private aircraft. It also provides maintenance, interior modifications, cabin management system installations, avionics and paint for Cessna, Beech and Gulfstream aircraft.

The Western Jet acquisition is StandardAero’s 12^th since 2015. In 2022, it purchased two engine-related maintenance companies in Florida—EB Airfoils in May and PTS Aviation in January. In July 2021, it acquired Signature Aviation’s Engine Repair and Overhaul business, which included Dallas Airmotive.