VT Aerospace buys Pemco MRO facilities in Tampa; to restart commercial aircraft maintenance and engineering as early as July

ALEXANDRIA, Va., 14 June 2012. The Aerospace segment of Vision Technologies Systems Inc. (VT Systems) in Alexandria, Va., which specializes in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, bought the Pemco World Air Services Inc. aerospace maintenance facility in Tampa, Fla., at bankruptcy auction for $49.7 million.

Pemco, based at Tampa International Airport, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. The VT Aerospace bid for Pemco's Tampa facilities includes Boeing 737 freighter conversion supplemental type certificates. VT Aerospace also will take on $6.2 million in Pemco's debt. The acquisition is anticipated to close in July, with operations to start shortly after.

North, Central, and South America represent a significant market for commercial aviation, VT Aerospace officials say. VT Aerospace will use Tampa International Airport as a gateway to Latin America to build a strong presence in the Americas.

The Tampa MRO facilities will operate in a newly incorporated entity, wholly owned by VT Aerospace. The facility consists of about 320,000 square feet of hangar and office space, and can provide maintenance, modification, and engineering on widebody and narrow-body aircraft.

The VT Aerospace-owned facility, which has an overall annual capacity for about 1.4 million man-hours, should start operations immediately after closing.

VT Systems Inc. provides aircraft maintenance and repair, hardened electronic systems, training and simulation tool-kits, satellite-based broadband access, shipbuilding, emergency vehicles, as well as custom truck bodies and trailers.

With the Tampa acquisition, the aerospace group has three facilities and provides MRO services to a broad fleet of commercial aircraft. The electronics group makes ruggedizing computer systems for the U.S. military airborne wireless servers and access points for fast IP networking.

The land systems group has seven facilities that provide custom refrigerated and dry freight bodies and trailers, road construction and maintenance equipment, as well as emergency vehicles. VT Systems also can deliver military land systems.

The shipbuilding group has three shipyards and designs and manufactures customized vessels for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), federal agencies, and supply vessels to support offshore oil exploration and production.

The newly incorporated entity will be managed as part of ST Engineering’s aerospace arm, and will be VT Aerospace’s third aircraft maintenance facility in the U.S. The other two facilities are STA Mobile in Mobile, Ala., and STA San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information contact ST Engineering at www.stengg.com, or Pemco World Air Services at www.pemcoair.com.

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