Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. has taken over an aircraft maintenance facility in Macon formerly operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines Inc.

Bombardier has a 10-year contract with ASA to perform heavy maintenance on the airline's 150 Bombardier planes. That work, along with service on commercial Bombardier aircraft owned by other customers, will be performed at the 91,000-square-foot Macon center, said John Arnone, a Bombardier spokesman.

The Macon facility employs about 180 people, Mr. Arnone said. He did not know how many of those employees were previously employed by ASA. Bombardier is currently hiring qualified technicians for the Macon location, he added.

Bombardier also has commercial aircraft maintenance facilities in Bridgeport, W.Va., and Tucson, Ariz. It plans to soon open a maintenance center for business aircraft at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Bombardier, which also makes high-speed trains, had $19.7 billion in revenue in the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31.

More than 80,000 people in Georgia are employed in the aviation industry, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said in a news release. Georgia ranks eighth nationally for aviation employment.

For more on Bombardier, click here.

2010 The Agio Press, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without expressed permission.