The latest company to begin operating at South Alabama Regional Airport has 27 employees, and expects to add an additional 20 in July, and 20 more in August.

Mayor Earl Johnson shared the good news with members of the city council on Tuesday.

Dyncorp International (DI) announced in November its plans to put people to work in Andalusia in the former Standard Aero/Vector facility at the airport.

The company had received a contract for upgrades to military aircraft, last fall, and plans to do all of that work locally.

DynCorp said in a press release last fall that it had been awarded a $152 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command to provide logistics support services and material for the maintenance of TH-57 aircraft. The contract has a two-year base period and two option years.

DI will provide organizational (O-level), intermediate (I-level), and depot level (D-level) maintenance for the U.S. Navy TH-57 helicopters. The O- and I- level maintenance work will be performed at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Florida, and D-level maintenance work will be performed at DI’s Andalusia facility.

“I’ve been told to expect them to have 100 jobs there by the first of the year,” Johnson said. “The main part of those are high-paying jobs in comparison to other work available in Covington County.”

DynCorp International is headquartered in McLean, Va.