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AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji receives $762k grant to support expansion

A vintage airplane restored by the AirCorps Aviation crew.
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AirCorps Aviation
A vintage airplane restored by the AirCorps Aviation crew.

AirCorps Aviation plans to invest nearly $1 million into an expansion project that is expected to create 14 new manufacturing jobs.

BEMIDJI — AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji is one of three businesses receiving expansion grants from Minnesota DEED.

The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development announced $762,000 in business expansion grants that are expected to create 55 jobs and leverage more than $10 million in private investment.

AirCorps Aviation specializes in restoring, maintaining and rebuilding modern, vintage and legacy aircraft, with a special interest in restoring World War II planes. They also host a large library of aerospace schematics and make specialty parts.

AirCorps Aviation, founded in 2011, restores vintage airplanes and manufactures unique parts in Erik Hokuf's hometown of Bemidji.

The company will invest nearly $1 million to expand and improve its current Bemidji site, as well as receive $175,000 from DEED’s Job Creation Fund. The expansion is expected to create 14 jobs in the first three years.

Other grantees in this round include Broekema Beltway USA in Pine City, which manufactures conveyor belt systems for agricultural and industrial sectors; and Marotta Controls in Chaska, which designs, develops and manufactures systems for aerospace, space and defense sectors.

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