King Aerospace’s Expansion to Arkansas

King Aerospace’s new Arkansas facility – they call it KACC ARK – nearly doubles the amount of shop and hangar space available for work. It’ll complement the existing maintenance, modification and paint operation in Ardmore, OK, and serve military aircraft.

The 40-year-old family-owned company, with home offices in Addison, TX, prides itself on the quality work that draws upon cornerstone principles including quality in everything (no excuses), honest and trust, and mutual respect. “God, country and family” are more than a tagline for the company and for Jerry King, its founder and chairman, and his son, Jarid King, its president. The guiding values are reflected not only in the principles we mentioned but also in the work King Aerospace does for military and commercial customers.

A Second, Much-needed Home

The company has operations at military bases in the U.S. and South Korea, but its biggest facility so far is in Ardmore, where it does maintenance, modifications, paintwork and more. King Aerospace’s ability to satisfy customers has brought it plenty of work, so adding space was a necessity. Jerry King – often it seems natural to call him Mr. King – and his team had long eyed two massive but long-vacant hangars at Northwest Arkansas National Airport. Each contains nearly 60,000 feet, dwarfing anyone venturing.

At XNA, they’ll have access to an 8,800-foot runway, air traffic control tower, 24-hour security and firefighting protection. All that can handle the multiple, widebody aircraft, such as the Boeing 747, 767 and 777, that can fit into those hangars. The secure facility will be used to upgrade aircraft with everything from next-generation cabin and entertainment systems to airborne defense systems. It will also perform maintenance and interior modifications for VIP aircraft.

Building a second home is no simple task. Since getting the keys several months ago, they’ve been making over the 195,000 square feet of hangar, engineering, shop and office space. Regulators checked them out, fire systems were tested, spaces given the King look, tools and office furniture were brought in. So were the antiques and military and aviation memorabilia founder Mr. King loves, because they say much about who and what came before in our country and his industry.

A Beautiful, Busy Setting

The company has picked a beautiful spot for their new home, with Rogers and neighbor Bentonville, home to Wal-Mart, having experienced an explosion of growth in recent years. A world-renowned art museum and high-quality hotels, restaurants and services add to the region’s appeal. The airport itself offers about 50 flights daily to destinations across the country and is easily accessible to company representatives. Mr. King can pop over in his Learjet 40 as needed. He’s spent a lot of time on the ground there recently as they ramp up the finishing touches. Soon the big jets will start flying in.

A while back, we heard Mr. King say, “These hangars make us feel like the proud parents of twins.”

At Greteman Group we’re proud to be part of the King Aerospace family. Sort of the quirky aunt or uncle. Colorful but always there when needed.