Duncan Aviation Breaks Ground at Battle Creek Executive Airport

IA – Duncan Aviation, a Nebraska-based jet service provider, broke ground on a $40 million expansion project at Battle Creek Executive Airport (AZO). The expansion is expected to create approximately 70 jobs which will add to its standing as among the city’s largest employers with 635 workers. The jobs that will be added include airframe technicians and positions in interiors, installations, engine, paint, and support shops. This project faced various delays with the pandemic and comes with increasing demand for hangar space for services such as completing airframe, engine, interior, paint, and avionics modifications work for business aircraft fleets.

The project is receiving assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation via a $488,000 Michigan Business Development Program grant. The Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority and the city of Battle Creek have agreed to offer up to $2.5 million in financial assistance toward the expansion of the public-use apron to complete the project.

The new facilities will include light-harvesting, radiant floor heating with energy-efficient boilers, and LED lighting with sensors and automatic dimming. According to Tectonic Management Group, the project’s design-build firm, the new buildings and their systems will perform more than 25 percent better than standard energy codes. Duncan Aviation is partnering with Grand Rapids-based Pioneer Construction on the project, building a 46,000-square-foot hangar − the largest for the company to date − along with an additional 56,000 square feet in a two-story wing for offices, storage, and shops. The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. Once finished, Duncan will operate from a total of 480,000 SF at Battle Creek Executive.