Gulfstream Aerospace has selected TAG Farnborough Airport for its new London-area service center, company president Mark Burns said this week at EBACE 2018.

According to Burns, the company would first “move into a temporary facility in June next year and into the new facility in [the third quarter of] 2020.” The new-build facility will have 180,000 to 220,000 sq ft (16,723 to 20,439 sq m) of floor space and will accommodate “up to 13 large-cabin aircraft under one roof,” he said. “We are working with TAG Farnborough to develop this property.”

Burns said the plan would represent expansion and there are no current plans to close Gulfstream’s existing maintenance facility at London Luton Airport, which comprises more than 85,000 sq ft/7,897 sq m of hangar space. The site has become increasingly busy in recent years along with the airport, which has been increasingly congested with low-fare carrier traffic.

All Gulfstream’s current capabilities at Luton, including maintenance authorizations from the FAA, EASA, and more than 20 other civil aviation authorities, will be “replicated at Farnborough,” the company said.

“Farnborough is a very important change for us. It’s an opportunity for us to build a service center the size of the ones we have in the U.S,” Burns said.

In recent months Gulfstream has “announced several new MRO facilities” along with expansion programs, including at Van Nuys, California; Appleton, Wisconsin; Savannah and now the UK, said Gulfstream Product Support president Derek Zimmerman.

The Savannah, Georgia-based manufacturer, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, said it is committed to “remaining in the London area, which has the highest volume of Gulfstream traffic in Europe.” London is home to the company’s European Parts Distribution Center near Heathrow Airport and Sales and Design Center in Mayfair. Gulfstream has more than 225 aircraft based in Europe, along with 180 in the Middle East and Africa.

“We chose TAG Farnborough Airport because it is a London gateway airport dedicated exclusively to business aviation,” Zimmerman said. “Frequented by many of our operators, it offers amenities that complement our brand, with the space required for our current construction plans and future growth.”

Gulfstream (Booth T139) also announced that it has expanded its international sales force, including growing it from five to seven divisions to better cover the world.

Mike West is now sales director, Metro New York; while Nic Robinson leads the newly formed Africa, Middle East, and South Asia sales territory. Trevor Esling, regional senior vice president, will lead Gulfstream’s focus in Europe, Russia, and CIS.

Mike Swift has been appointed regional vice president for the Metro New York region, reporting to West, while Marc Strange is now regional vice president, Africa, reporting to Robinson. Swift joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Strange joins from Embraer Executive Jets.

Gulfstream’s worldwide sales divisions also include Central, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., led by Bill McLeod; Western U.S., led by Brent Monroe; Florida and Latin America, led by Fabio Rebello; and Asia-Pacific, led by Roger Sperry.