Greater Statesville Development Corporation

-- People who regularly drive by the former Firefly Balloons manufacturing facility immediately off I-77 on Salisbury Road in Statesville have probably noticed the lack of activity around that building since the first of July. Not to fret, though, Firefly has not become a victim of the down economy. In fact, quite the opposite, as they have moved into a new facility across town.

 

Preparations began several months before the actual move on June 29th. Because hot air balloons are strictly controlled by the FAA, it was necessary to get FAA approval for the new facility. This process, while fairly standard, is extremely time consuming.

 

Firefly General Manager Keith Gantt indicated that the company had been looking for a new building for some time. Although the new facility — the former Badger Sportswear HQ on Meacham Road — is not significantly larger than the former facility, it has far more useable space. “We have kind of an unusual product in that we require a fairly long, narrow production area without physical obstructions like posts and columns.” Keith also mentioned that the large parking lot immediately adjacent to the new building was a major plus for the site. “We need a large flat area to test-inflate the finished balloons. At the prior location we actually had to go off-site to do this, which was a logistics nightmare. Now we can just walk out the side door.”

 

When asked about making such a significant investment during difficult economic times, Gantt indicated that, while the pace of orders has slowed somewhat since the first of the year, a significant backlog of projects will keep production busy for the foreseeable future. “Balloons continue to be very popular, both as personal recreation and as an advertising medium. The people who buy our balloons tend to be very, very passionate about them. The market will bounce back, sooner rather than later.”