HAECO Americas has upgraded its Lake City, Florida MRO facility to support aircraft painting services as demand grows due to shifting fleets.

According to Mark Davis, senior vice president of sales and marketing at HAECO Americas, the facility has intermittently offered painting services in previous years, but it decided to upfit the facility to meet the latest state and regulatory requirements based on new demand as the aviation industry moves into recovery.

“We have seen market dynamics change due to the pandemic, so we have undertaken efforts to diversify our product portfolio. Leasing companies have seen lease cancelations and returns, which are deriving demand for rebranding,” says Davis. “We have also started offering passenger-to-freighter conversion services for narrowbody aircraft, and incorporating painting into our portfolio allows for a single-source turnkey conversion and rebranding solution.”

HAECO began upgrading the facility in early 2021, focusing on space optimization and efficiency. The upgrades included installation of new divider curtains, climate-controlled paint storage, and upgraded heating and fire suppression systems.

Davis says HAECO is in discussions with multiple airlines, leasing companies and freighter conversion operators for aircraft painting projects. The facility is already beginning painting work for United Airlines, which contracted HAECO to paint some of its aircraft this year, starting with a Boeing 767 aircraft that is currently in process.

The Lake City facility is also seeing growing work for passenger-to-freighter (PTF) conversions. It began performing heavy maintenance and structural modifications for 321 Precision Conversions’ Airbus A321 PTF conversions at the site in January.