Vector Aerospace Expands Operation to Huntsville

Chamber Board Chair Don Nalley, left, presents Vector Aerospace Senior Vice President John MacDougal a plaque to commemorate the company's expansion into Huntsville. (Click photo to enlarge)

April 20, 2010 - Vector Aerospace, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul service for helicopters, recently expanded its operation into Huntsville to take advantage of being closer to the U.S. Army’s aviation headquarters.

Company officials said they expect the Huntsville workforce to grow considerably to take advantage of fixed and rotary wing aircraft work being performed for the Army.

“This expansion represents one of the best-kept secrets about North Alabama – our economy is still growing thanks to the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure decision that combined the Army aviation and missile commands in Huntsville,” said Chamber Board Chair Don Nalley, emcee of the announcement ceremony.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said the opening of Vector, which is performing maintenance work for the Army at its Andalusia hangar, is a great example that Alabama has become a corridor of excellence for U.S. Army aviation programs.

“This event showcases Alabama, from Huntsville through Andalusia and Anniston and down to Ft. Rucker, as having this aviation corridor of excellence,” Battle said.

Seth Hammett, speaker of the house who represents the district in Andalusia, said Vector has grown from just a handful of employees at the Andalusia facility to more than 100 very quickly.

“I know first-hand this is a great company. We couldn’t be more pleased with their growth in Andalusia and I think you can expect them to grow here as well. We all know that if you want to be in this business, you need to be in Huntsville. There is just so much going on here and with what they are doing in Andalusia and what they want to do here – this is great for Alabama,” Hammett said.

John MacDougal, senior vice president, sales & marketing for Vector, said it is always a good idea to be as close to the customer as possible.

“Vector has a long history of providing best-in-class maintenance, repair and overhaul support to defense operators including the U.S. Army and Navy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Special Operations, the Canadian Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) operators and various international militaries," he said. “To ensure our ongoing ability to support to U.S. Army helicopter operators, we have established this location to further enhance our ability to be both responsive to increasing demands, and proactive to address new opportunities to support the Army’s unique helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul requirements.”