News Room
Flightstar acquires Bloomington firm
Article Source: The News-Gazette
Fri, 01/13/2012 – 10:00am | Don Dodson, staff writer
SAVOY — Flightstar Corp. has acquired the assets of Bloomington Avionics and transferred its five employees to Flightstar’s facility at Willard Airport.
Bloomington Avionics had operated at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington for more than 30 years. It had a full-service avionics repair station there specializing in high-performance single- and twin-engine aircraft.
Flightstar had two avionics employees who mostly worked in jet avionics, and the addition of five from Bloomington Avionics will allow Flightstar to do avionics work for small planes up to jets, Flightstar President Bill Giannetti said.
“While the Bloomington Avionics name will change to Flightstar, customers will see all the familiar faces they have known for many years at Bloomington Avionics,” he stated in a news release.
Giannetti said Flightstar was looking to acquire an existing avionics firm, and as it was about to approach Bloomington Avionics, that company came to Flightstar. Bloomington Avionics had been owned by Jack Guess, Giannetti said.
Flightstar plans to expand the general-aviation avionics sales and service business. Plus, the acquisition is expected to help the company expand its role on the jet side of the avionics business.
Flightstar, which got its start in 1978, employs more than 120 people at its 10,000-square-foot corporate terminal at Willard and its 68,000-square-foot maintenance facility nearby.
Flightstar’s operation is divided into three areas:
— Line operations, including meeting and parking aircraft, fueling, towing planes and storing them in hangars, handling baggage and deicing.
— Flight operations, including both aircraft management and aircraft charter.
— Maintenance and avionics operations.
Greg Vail, chair of the Aircraft Electronics Association’s board of directors, is joining Flightstar as a result of the acquisition. He had been sales manager for Bloomington Avionics and is now Flightstar’s avionics sales manager, Giannetti said.