Aviation company eyes Duluth for maintenance facility

The city of Duluth is courting a major aviation company that officials hope could provide 250 well-paying jobs.

The company, AAR Aircraft Services, is looking at a handful of cities in the Midwest to expand its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations of commercial jets.

Duluth Economic Development Authority Executive Director Brian Hanson believes he has the perfect place for the company: a nearly 200,000 square-foot aircraft maintenance facility that Northwest Airlines left in 2005.

"We want to put that building to work doing what it's designed to do," he said. "We think we have a very unique opportunity here with a company that really needs what our building has to offer."

Hanson said now the city has to prove to the company it has the workforce to fill the jobs. Duluth is hosting a career fair later this month. Hanson hopes AAR Services will join other aviation companies in Duluth, including Cirrus and Northstar Aerospace.

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