C&L will officially open its new 17,000-sq-ft aircraft-paint hangar on Thursday, October 16, at a ceremony that will include remarks from U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S. Representative Mike Michaud. The paint hangar was completed on October 1 and the first aircraft was input on October 3.

The hangar is the only aircraft paint hangar of its size in the northeast. It can accommodate multiple regional and business aircraft up to 120-feet-long (approximately the size of an Embraer 170), giving C&L the ability to service all of its customers’ needs—from parts and maintenance to interiors and painting—at one facility.

“We’ve developed a one-stop-shop for customers,” said Chris Kilgour, Chief Executive Officer at C&L. “For the regional and corporate aircraft we service, that saves operators time and money.”

The hangar’s heated floors and $2.5-million air-handling system—which includes a variable frequency driven (VFD), high-efficiency exhaust ventilation and lower-explosive-limit (LEL) monitored exhaust system interlock, the only of its kind in the continental U.S.—mean that C&L can turn around aircraft quickly, in about 7-8 days for most regional and commercial aircraft.

C&L also has an interiors shop, warehouse and a team of highly skilled maintenance technicians on-site, so all of an aircraft’s needs can be serviced in one location. According to C&L Paint Manager Paul Moore, that’s something C&L can offer that others cannot.

“Other places might have to send an aircraft away to be painted, but this shop will allow us to do everything at one facility,” said Moore. “Plus, our quality is second to none.”

Moore has 35 years of experience with aircraft painting. He worked nearly two decades as Paint Manager for Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, and he has also held positions at Page Avjet, Gulfstream, Central Florida Aircraft Refinishers and EAMS. Moore joined C&L in 2012.

The new hangar’s heating and exhaust system, which will use 50-70% less energy, was supported by a $137,000 incentive from Efficiency Maine.

The addition has already proven the market’s demand for such a facility. Even without the aid of conventional advertising, C&L has paint slots booked out through the end of the year.