MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Melbourne International Airport (MLB), a dynamic and rapidly growing aviation and aerospace manufacturing hub on Florida’s Space Coast, added another star to its lineup with the grand opening today of MidairUSA’s Maintenance and Engineering complex.

MidairUSA, which brings a significant maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) presence to the airport’s aviation and aerospace base, plans to build hangar facilities designed to retrofit one of aviation history’s most reliable and recognizable aircraft, the venerable Boeing 747.

“MidairUSA is committed to creating a significant local workforce that will strengthen the airport’s growing aviation cluster,” said airport Executive Director Richard A. Ennis. “The opening of the MidairUSA complex represents another important step in the evolution of the Space Coast since the retirement of NASA’s shuttle program.”

Indeed, the region continues to attract major aviation and aerospace tenants seeking to take advantage of hiring a highly trained workforce with expertise in every facet of aerospace and aviation manufacturing, including rocket science.

The airport has benefitted from that stellar workforce with the addition of Brazilian aviation giant Embraer, Brazilian aviation engineering company Archo Solutions Engineering USA, AAR Airlift Group and now aviation maintenance powerhouse MidairUSA, whose parent company Midair S.A. operates worldwide. These three alone have committed to add nearly 1,000 high-paying jobs to the region.

On the horizon is the promise of another 900 jobs at the airport with Northrop Grumman’s planned Manned Aircraft Center of Excellence. Northrop Grumman announced in March plans to nearly double its local workforce by choosing Melbourne for one of five planned centers of excellence.

Embraer, AAR, MidairUSA, Northrop Grumman and others recognize what sets MLB, Melbourne and the Space Coast apart, Ennis said.

“We offer the ideal location to retain and attract a highly skilled workforce and a genuine business-first attitude that includes assistance with permitting processes,” he said. “We have major airfield infrastructure in place for rapid development.”

What’s more, the expanding presence of major aviation players such as Embraer and Northrop Grumman have created undeniable synergy that has quickly transformed the area into a burgeoning aviation manufacturing and maintenance cluster.

For more information go to www.MLBair.com/EconomicOpportunities.aspx or call 321-723-6227 ext. 211.

William "Billy" Moore, president MidairUSA, and Richard A. Ennis, executive director Melbourne International Airport, sit in the cockpit of a Transaero Airlines Boeing 747-400 currently undergoing modifications at the airport (Photo: Business Wire)