In the first year under new owner Edsel Ford II, Pentastar Aviation has seen major improvements to its facility at Oakland County International Airport (PTK) in Waterford, Mich., and growth in several areas of its operations.

Ford, who was the keynote speaker at the opening general session of this NBAA 55th Annual Meeting and Convention, bought the former DaimlerChrysler Aviation last November and reinstated the previous Pentastar name. He serves as chairman and CEO.

In discussing some of the changes over the past year, Pentastar president and chief operating officer Tom Seeber noted that physical improvements included completely remodeled passenger and pilot lounges. He added that the concierge services have been expanded.

Other expansion involved Pentastar’s catering division, now known as Five-Star Gourmet. The  group has seen a 300 percent increase in business since the beginning of the year, the company said.

“We provide all the catering for our managed aircraft customers as well as the charter trips through Automotive Air Charter,” said Steve Taylor, v-p of sales and marketing. “We also provide multiple meals for DaimlerChrysler’s four-times-weekly corporate shuttle to Germany. And, of course, we have lots of catering requests from people located on the airport as well as customers stopping for FBO services.”

Pentastar Aviation (Booth No. 3973) is an independent warranty and service center for Gulfstream and General Dynamics Aircraft Services and has a 150,000-sq-ft maintenance facility at PTK. Pentastar has signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce Canada Ltd. for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services and in-field support for Rolls-Royce Spey, Tay and BR710 engines.

The agreement continues the relationship and level of support already in place for the past 10 years when Chrysler Pentastar and then DaimlerChrysler Aviation operated the Waterford facility. Included in the contract are overall engine maintenance, repair, refurbishment, technical assistance, field service, lease engines and spare parts.

This summer, Pentastar Aviation hosted the first annual Detroit International Aviation Expo. Approximately 500 invited guests visited Pentastar’s facility where 22 aircraft from seven manufacturers were on display.