Airbourne Colours’ chairman Steve Darbyshire reflects on the firm's first decade and a journey that has taken the company from South Coast start-up to East Midlands-based market leader
It is ten years since Airbourne Colours set up shop in one of the old BAC One-Eleven hangars at Bournemouth Airport – the company’s first job, a Boeing 737-300, painted for next door neighbours European Aviation Group. In the following decade, the firm has grown from what chairman Steve Darbyshire described as “the new kid on the block” to the UK’s market leader.
A veteran of the aircraft painting world, having worked his way up from sweeping hangar floors for what is now one of the company's competitors, Steve cited his prior experience in the industry as a factor in the company’s success: “We’ve got aircraft painters in upper management, so we know what the customer wants and that’s exactly what we offer.”
He continued: “At the start, if an airline couldn’t get a slot with a competitor, it gave us an opportunity to show what we could do and they never went back to their old supplier. We gave the customer exactly what they wanted, and we still give them the quality that they ask for, but we’ve also got industry-leading…
