(from KOAT TV Albuquerque Sept/01/09)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It’s back to business for Eclipse Aviation, with a new name and a new plan.
Eclipse Aerospace opened its doors Tuesday.
“We’re open. We closed on the transaction as of today and we’re ready to get started as Eclipse Aerospace,” said Mason Holland Jr. of the newly restructured firm.
What started with entrepreneur Holland trying to get his deposit back on an Eclipse 500 jet, ended with him in the pilot’s seat of the revived $40 million company.
Holland said as he was going through that process, he and others who had business with Eclipse decided there was value in the company and its product.
"This plane deserves to fly, " Holland said.
Holland said the road to complete recovery will be a slow one. The company will first focus on servicing the 250 Eclipse very light jets that are already in the field, then it will take stock of the aircraft that were already in production when Eclipse Aviation closed its doors in November. The firm will eventually resume production with 500 to 600 employees.
“This is a measured economy, so we’ve got to be very careful that we stay profitable first, growth second,” said Holland. “We want to stay here for a long time. It’s important we do it the right way.”
Though it may be some time before Eclipse ramps up production, former employees are wasting no time in getting their applications in.
Cody Jones stopped by Tuesday to get application information. He’s in retail sales now, but used to work in the main lower cabin assembly and wants to go back.
“I like working with planes and that’s what I love to do,” said Jones.
Eclipse officials said they are planning for job applications to be taken online and would provide details as soon as they were available.
Eclipse Aerospace is hoping to overcome the problems of its predecessor, Eclipse Aviation.
Last August, Eclipse Aviation laid off hundreds of workers. Then in November, the company filed for bankruptcy. This past January, a federal judge approved the purchase of Eclipse as part of a restructuring plan. But in February, the old company told its remaining 800 workers to stay home on unpaid leave, and shut its doors for good.
