New Jet for Piper

Vero Beach Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson asked about staffing plans and witnessed a testflight of the new PiperJet during his hour-long visit and tour of Piper Aircraft Inc.'s facilityThursday afternoon.“He’s always heard about the operations but never had a chance to see what they are doing,”said Nelson’s spokesman Bryan Gulley. The tour was not open to the press or public.“They (Piper management) talked briefly about the job losses and how it’s related to the economic downturn. They told him that they’ve seen this before and they’re confident the jobs would come back. He pressed them on their commitment to staying in the area and they reiterated their commitment to staying.”Piper president John Becker, who is resigning from Piper effective Dec. 1, and three other employeesin sales and engineering accompanied Nelson on the tour, which started just after 4 p.m. Vero Beach Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson asked about staffing plans and witnessed a test flight of the new PiperJet during his hour-long visit and tour of Piper Aircraft Inc.'s facility Thursday afternoon.
In October, County Commissioner Peter O’Bryan, the commission’s liaison to the Economic Development Council, said he would meet monthly with county and company officials for updates and to discuss the status of the stateand county’s $32 million incentive package given to Piper. The package is tied to employment levels and production of the new PiperJet. Piper had contemplated relocating to Oklahoma City or Albuquerque, N.M., beforethe local offer was presented in 2008.