January 5, 2007

The ‘New’ Sabreliner Corp.

Since the 2006 sale of its Midcoast Aviation subsidiary, Sabreliner Corp. has set itself on a two-pronged strategic path that blends its legendary past with an exciting future. This direction is expected to generate sales of more than $50 million and require the addition of approximately 70 employees in the company’s first full stand-alone year.

“We are returning to our roots by providing even greater resources and a continuing commitment to support the incomparable fleet of Sabreliner aircraft,” says F. Holmes Lamoreux, chairman and CEO. “At the same time, we are expanding our commitment to support of some of the world’s most respected aviation manufacturers and their supply chains, while continuing to support Learjet 30 series aircraft.”

The company’s Perryville, Mo. operation, where many Sabreliner aircraft were built, has redoubled its efforts to ensure that the fleet receives the best possible support. The company has implemented a new 15-year fleet support plan which incorporates a number of programs including a Pratt & Whitney Co. long-term commitment on JT12 engine parts, an aircraft life extension program, performance upgrades, improved parts availability and pricing, expanded parts manufacturing, centralized customer support, and a dedicated field support team.

Sabreliner also specializes in providing quality maintenance and modification for the Learjet 30 series, including accessory and component overhaul and repair, more than 70 major inspections in the past three years, and servicing 59 Learjet 35s for the U.S. Air Force. --Photo courtesy of Sabreliner Corp.

While working on Sabreliner aircraft is a sentimental favorite for long-time technicians at Perryville, they also have developed a reputation for quality maintenance and modifications for the Learjet 30 series. Work on that line includes accessory and component overhaul and repair, along with conducting more than 70 major inspections in the past three years and servicing 59 Learjet 35s for the U.S. Air Force during the federal government’s 2005-06 fiscal year. The company expects to perform 50 additional 12-year Learjet inspections over the next four years.

While Sabreliner Corp. has established impressive credentials with the Learjet line from Bombardier Aerospace, it also has two direct links to Bombardier’s new aircraft production. As a subcontractor to Bombardier, Sabreliner manufactures a variety of sheet metal assemblies for Challenger series aircraft. As a subcontractor to Midcoast Aviation, which completes many of the newly produced green Challengers and Globals, Sabreliner provides specialty services such as wire harness assembly and cabinetry construction.

Sabreliner also has begun forging a mutually productive relationship with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., the respected helicopter manufacturer, through its work for other subcontractors on the famed Black Hawk helicopter and is now manufacturing parts for the H-92 Superhawk and the CH-53 helicopters.

At Perryville’s sister operation in nearby Ste. Genevieve, Mo., Sabreliner is expanding its support of various 707 aircraft under subcontracts with The Boeing Company. Since summer, 2002, the Ste. Genevieve operation has been overhauling flight control components for the Air Force fleet of KC-135s, used primarily for aerial refueling.

Sabreliner Corp. designed and installed an innovative monorail system to facilitate easy movement of KC-135 horizontal stabilizers throughout the company's Ste. Genevieve. Mo. plant. The components are lifted from delivery trucks, stripped of paint, overhauled, repainted and placed on the truck bed-all without ever touching the floor. The system speeds the work and dramatically reduces the potential for damage of the components. --Photo courtesy of Sabreliner Corp.

“The success of the KC-135 work has positioned Sabreliner as a reliable and trusted partner with Boeing, which has allowed us to expand to other 707 derivative aircraft,” Lamoreux explains.
As part of additional subcontracts with Boeing, Sabreliner has extended its Ste. Genevieve work to include the overhaul of flight components used on the Navy E-6B fleet air reconnaissance aircraft and the remanufacture of KC-135 components under the Air Force’s Management of Items Subject to Repair (MISTR) program.

“The Perryville and Ste. Genevieve facilities are part of the company’s Southeastern Missouri operations, where a third facility is being expanded into a high quality manufacturing center,” Lamoreux notes. Sabreliner has doubled the size of its St. Mary, Mo. plant, located midway between Perryville and Ste. Genevieve. When the last equipment is installed early in 2007, the facility will have added a new Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) 50-foot bed three-axis gantry mill, an Omax water jet cutter and press brake, along with two other pieces of computer controlled equipment–a smaller three-axis mill and a lathe, both of which have been relocated from Perryville.

In addition, three manual lathes, a surface grinder and several Bridgeport mills and lathes have been relocated from Perryville. Long operational at the St. Mary facility are a 28-foot long stretch press, 14-foot hydraulic press, 14-foot hydraulic shear, heat treat oven, overhead router, paint booth, and aluminum oxide blast cabinet.

“By centralizing manufacturing capabilities, Sabreliner will be able to make more parts, better and faster to meet the needs of Sabreliner operators and subcontracting partners,” Lamoreux says.
Sabreliner is a veteran performer in corporate and government aviation. As original equipment manufacturer of the Sabreliner series of aircraft, a parts manufacturer, an expert in aging aircraft and a qualified small business, Sabreliner is a responsive and affordable aviation services provider. For more information, visit Sabreliner.com.