P.E.I. aerospace company wins $170M contract

Vector Atlantic has won a seven-year maintenance and overhaul contract with Jazz Air.

'It's a real vote of confidence in the team here at Vector Atlantic.'— Brian Thompson, president of Vector Atlantic

The contract will be worth up to $170 million for the company, which is based in Slemon Park, just outside of Summerside. It received word of the successful bid Tuesday.

"This is certainly very significant for us in terms of being able to meet our aggressive financial and growth projections," company president Brian Thompson told CBC News Wednesday.

"It's always good to … get positive news in economic conditions such as we have today."

Thompson said the company hired extra staff recently in anticipation of new contracts, so there are no plans to hire more people.

"It's a real vote of confidence in the team here at Vector Atlantic that a very prominent company like Jazz would look at us and say, 'Yeah, we had lots of other choices. We could have gone anywhere in the world to select a supplier for this service and, lo and behold, right in our backyard, we think you're the best company to do this work for us.' So, yeah, it makes you feel pretty good."

Work will begin on the contract immediately. The company will provide maintenance for the Jazz fleet of PW120A and PW123 engines.

Vector Atlantic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vector Aerospace, specializes in aircraft engine overhaul and repair.