Consortia finds new home in GNV

The Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the Gainesville Regional Airport celebrated the newest tenet of the Industrial Park Tuesday afternoon at a welcoming ceremony.

Consortia Aerospace Group now occupies the more than 61,000-square-foot maintenance hangar that Silver Airways left vacant in 2015. The company also works out of the adjacent 8,300-square-foot building.

“We are excited to be here in Alachua County at the Gainesville Regional Airport as we begin expanding our newest engineering, manufacturing and modification center,” Julie Myers, president of Consortia, said at the event.

Consortia has occupied the building since March, ramping up its work as the group adjusts to the facility.

The company provides aviation engineering services from concept to completion, and Myers told guests that they’re probably already familiar with the company’s products.

“If you’ve flown on a commercial aircraft in the last five years, used the WI-Fi, movie streaming or in-seat power to charge your laptop or your phone, you’ve used a product that we engineered, certified and installed,” Myers said.

The company has certified more than 350 products in commercial aircraft.

The company currently employs 24 people at the facility and expects to grow by more than 50 in the next year and 100 in the next two years.

Consortia began in South Carolina and has a facility in Arizona as well. Myers said the company decided to expand to Gainesville for several reasons.

She said Gainesville had a collaborative feel with leaders at the Chamber and airport welcoming her and giving a tour of the facility. Alachua County also houses a number of companies that support the aviation industry.

“For us, one of the most attractive things about the Gainesville area is the access and availability of intellectual capital,” Myers said, referencing UF, Santa Fe College and North Florida Technical.

The company will continue to build out the hangar over the next year, adding sheet metal manufacturing, battery research, kit manufacturing and injection molding.