ARDMORE, Okla. – A prominent Carter County business is laying off more than half of its workforce.

King Aerospace Commercial Corporation announced Thursday they will have to send about 60 workers home, indefinitely.

The company operates a facility at the ardmore air park and specializes in refitting and aircraft maintenence work.

King Aerospace says the cutbacks were necessary after a deal with a major international client fell through and a dispute with another client. They are now looking for new customers to try and make up for that lost revenue.

Press Release from KACC....

KACC, a leader in large corporate aircraft refurbishment, announced Friday it is seeking partners and new projects to fill a void in its production.

KACC laid off a portion of its Ardmore, Oklahoma, workforce effective at close of business on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. KACC delayed layoffs for five months while it attempted to resolve problems with a major customer.

The company ran into problems when a dispute developed with the international owners of a Lockheed L-1011 KACC which was refurbishing. KACC initiated legal action against the owners. The layoffs became necessary when another foreign customer that scheduled work at KACC decided to have an aircraft modified by a state owned company in the Middle East.

KACC operates 200,000 square feet of hangars large enough to accommodate wide-body aircraft and an FAA Licensed Repair Station in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Facilities include a cabinet shop, engineering offices, sheet metal shop, avionics shop, interior shop, and two EPA approved aircraft paint hangars.

“We are trying to identify aviation firms who would benefit from working with us to put our good people back to work,” said company chairman and founder Jerry King-Echevarria. “We are exploring all options to put our people and facilities back to work and are seeking proposals.”

The Ardmore facility has been operating for more than ten years and KACC had almost 100 employees. The company has successfully completed projects ranging from paint jobs to complete interior refurbishments of wide-body aircraft.

“KACC has an outstanding track record and many loyal customers,” said King. “However, as a small company these incidents have made it difficult for us to continue operations without new business. This is an opportune time for someone to obtain high quality work by skilled professionals at a time when capacity is limited throughout the world.”

Jerry King also owns and operates a separate company, King Aerospace, Inc. based in Addison, Texas, which provides quality specialized aviation services to military and government agencies.