Gallery: Fokker Services Group Going Solar

Fokker Services Group (FSG) Americas hosted an event in LaGrange, Georgia, to celebrate the conversion of its repair facility to 100% solar power. Fokker Services Americas announced its plans for the sustainable upgrade during MRO Americas 2024, held by Aviation Week in Chicago.

According to FSG, the LaGrange, Georgia, facility is equipped with approximately 2,300 solar panels — producing 1 Mega Watt of energy to power its entire facility. Over 20 years, the facility will have reduced its carbon output by over 21,000 lbs.

The event's festivities culminated in a ribbon cutting featuring FSG CEOs Menzo van der Beek and Roland van Dijk, as well as LaGrange Mayor Jim Arrington and City Councilwoman Darby Pippin. The mayor thanked FSG for its investments in local business and educational programs.

Craig Winter, FSG Americas president and managing director, hopes to emulate the focus on sustainability seen in the company's European division. Winter describes the solar power upgrades as a "committment of that vision."

During the event, visitors were given guided tours of FSG's aviation repair facility. According to FSG, the company partnered with a local STEM program, THIC Academy, through a sponsorship to design, build and race electric-powered vehicles.

Inside the lobby, visitors could view a live readout of electricity being produced by the solar panels positioned across the facility. While it may have been a cloudy day during the event, the facility is still wired into the preexisting power grid as a redundancy.

Despite the ongoing festivities, employees were hard at work at the LaGrange facility. On the workshop floor, employees can be found building, repairing and testing a variety of aviation components.

FSG employees guide visitors during tours of the facility's during its inauguration, providing expert perspective on the location's various hardware workflows.