LIMESTONE – The Loring Development Authority board of trustees unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday that will bring yet another industry and more jobs to the former base.

The proposal will use the LDA’s largest building, and most importantly, the facility’s airstrip, which can accommodate the largest aircraft in the industry.

The proposal involves the Telford Group/Volvo Aero Services group, which will disassemble, repair and reassemble aircraft. The initial number of jobs will be 12, but that is expected to grow as the facility develops.

Another aspect of the proposal is that the LDA’s arch hangar, another building known as the snow barn and aircraft ramps at the former Loring air base also will be used to park aircraft which are being taken out of service and aircraft which are temporarily being taken out of service by major airlines.

“This is a new venture for the company and is focused on the future,” Brian Hamel, LDA president, said. “We have wanted an industry with a focus on aviation since we started.

“We certainly hope this will develop to create a larger work force than the initial 12 jobs,” he said. “We are acquiring a new business in an industry that is hard to get into.”

Joining the trustees in the discussion, by telephone, were Telford Allen, chief operating officer, and Bob Ziegelaar, president of the Telford Group, from their Mojave, Calif., facility. Telford already has an airplane maintenance operation at Bangor International Airport.

The LDA has been working on getting the company to come to Loring since June. Airplanes are expected to arrive at the LDA facility by November.

The company proposes to do maintenance on large-bodied aircraft. The kind of work proposed at the LDA site is usually work done in California and Arizona.

The LDA facility is an opportunity for such a business in northern Maine where the LDA has both the airstrip and a hangar facility for such an operation.

The LDA has an arch hangar with 145,000 square feet of space. The snow barn has 41,000 square feet of space.

One of Maine’s six bond issues on the November ballot seeks approval of funds to renovate the arch hangar. Trustees on Wednesday also approved two construction projects for work on the arch hangar.

One project, a $108,000 contract, was awarded to McGillan Construction Co. of Fort Fairfield, to install underground fuel storage tanks. The second project, about $308,000 for repairing the concrete roof of the building, was awarded to Cyr Construction Co. of Caribou. The work is expected to start soon.

Ziegelaar said a number of planes are being parked by major airlines because of the turmoil in the industry. Planes also are retired from service from time to time.

Out of service aircraft are often scavenged for parts used in the repairs of other aircraft.

There is also a market for the aluminum skeletons of retired aircraft.

Ziegelaar said the company already has 200 large-bodied aircraft parked at its Mojave facility. As many as 100 aircraft have been parked in the last two weeks.

The company already has 100 applications for work at the Loring facility. The selection of applicants for jobs will begin in the next couple of weeks.

At the outset, the Telford/Volvo group will overhaul smaller aircraft at Loring. Officials expect the business to grow as larger aircraft will come to northern Maine for maintenance, disassembly and reassembly work.

Ziegelaar said the Loring facility is “very feasible” for work on aircraft up to the 747s. He said there is only a handful of companies involved in this kind of competition.