AEROSPACE
KF AEROSPACE MAINTAINS ALTITUDE
DURING CHALLENGING TIMES. How the region’s largest private-sector employer stayed aloft while the rest of the world was grounded.
As the largest commercial Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operation in Canada, KF Aerospace has built an enviable reputation since 1970, servicing major airlines, corporate fleets and military aircraft from around the world. That is until they all stopped flying during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 crisis really decimated the airlines,” says Grant Stevens, Vice President of
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AEROSPACE
Corporate Services. “Air Canada, WestJet and other customers were flying at 5% of their previous level. It was very, very difficult for them. I tell you, I’m really proud of the fact that four months into the pandemic, we still had all 1,100 employees working and getting paid full time.” KF Aerospace employs about 800 people in BC, 200 in their newly expanded Hamilton, ON facility and about 100 at their
flight training centre in Portage la Prairie, MB. In addition to aircraft engineering, maintenance and modifications, KF Aerospace also operates regular cargo charter services, leases aircrafts and operates a 22-year pilot training contract for the Royal Canadian Air Force. “The government certainly helped us to financially weather the storm,” Stevens reports. “But we were able to maintain our staff by
