CARTAGENA, Columbia--Most airframe MROs start operations focused on aircraft MRO, and then add component backshop capabilities to quicken turnaround times, as business develops.

Intrepid Aerospace, which operates an FAA and EASA certified component MRO in southwest Florida, is doing the opposite.

Intrepid plans to open a 175,000-sq.-ft. hangar with capacity to accommodate 11 narrowbody aircraft or four Boeing 767 widebodies simultaneously in January 2023. The facility will also include a paint hangar that can house a widebody aircraft. Together, the MRO and paint booth will comprise 340,150 sq. ft.

Intrepid plans to invest $120 million in the hangar complex located at Southwest Florida International Airport in Ft. Myers, Florida.

With its existing backshop capabilities, adding airframe maintenance capabilities will save existing customers time and money by not having to ship components from its backshops to an airframe MRO, says Frank Rodriguez, VP sales and marketing.

He says it will take about eight months to survey the ground, at the old Ft. Myers airport terminal site, and obtain the permits. The site is advantageous because it’s zoned for aviation and has some existing ramp area, adds Rodriguez.

While Interpid doesn’t yet have a launch customer for the new facility, which Wright Construction Group will build, he says Intrepid is talking with its existing component customers who span airline and cargo operators.

Rodriguez says land adjacent to Interpid’s existing parcel could enable it to double its new hangar lines, if needed, in two years.

Intrepid expects the facility to add 500-1,000 jobs.