Aircraft company finds niche

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Aircraft company LSI, operating out of a 20,000 square-foot building, is weeks away from expanding into an adjacent 12,000 square-foot facility. Plant manager Steve McNair said the operation has 40 employees and he expects it will add 20 or more over the next year. The company was launched as Aviation Systems of Northwest Florida in 1994 and was sold to LSI of Jacksonville, Fla., in 2010. The operation converts Army helicopters that are no longer flight-worthy into ground-based platforms to train aviation technicians. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 01/29/12)