Mark Davis, founder and president of AirTech LLC, was welcomed by the Upshur County Regional Airport Thursday morning.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Upshur County Regional Airport welcomed its newest partner Thursday morning. AirTech LLC, headquartered in Cincinnati, offers service and support for general aviation aircraft and business jet aircraft.
“AirTech is excited to be here,” said Dan Acton, government relations representative for AirTech LLC. “It’s a great opportunity for the company and the area.”
Established in 2011, some of the company’s functions include maintenance, inspection, modifications, refurbishments, testing engineering and composite repair. President and founder of AirTech LLC Mark Davis said Upshur County is a prime area for his company to expand to due to its central location to cities they wish to service, such as Baltimore, Md., Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., Charlotte, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio, and he’d like to contribute to the growing market in North Central West Virginia.
Davis also has personal ties to the area. He was born and raised in the Weston area and wanted to expand his company closer to home.
He has relocated his family to Jane Lew, but intends to travel to the company’s Cincinnati headquarters every other week.
The company will initially hire five to 10 employees, but as the partnership develops, Davis would like to see those numbers increase.
State, county and city officials and business leaders gathered to celebrate the partnership with a ribbon cutting and luncheon. West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and representatives from West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue’s office, Senator Joe Manchin’s office and Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s office were in attendance.
“I think this is a great example of possibilities for West Virginia,” Tennant said. “Mark knew this and he is showing this to the world.”
Tennant noted this partnership is important because the success of the company could lead more businesses in the state.
The company and the airport authority shares a vision of expanding the airport’s runway to accommodate larger aircraft.
“With this partnership, we have the ability to further develop the airport and generate opportunities to attract future partners and more, higher paying jobs to the region,” Buckhannon-Upshur Airport Authority President Bill Thomas said in a press release.
A five-year lease between the company and the Airport Authority became effective March 1, and has the potential to extend to a 20-year partnership.
To read more from The Inter-Mountain, subscribe here.