Canada-based Bombardier Aerospace, which has a service center in Macon, has signed an exclusive nine-year heavy maintenance agreement with an airline that will bring more work -- and eventually more employees -- to the facility here.

Under an agreement with Indianapolis-based Republic Airlines, Bombardier will perform all heavy maintenance tasks at its service centers in Macon and Tucson, Ariz., on Republic’s 32 Q400 aircraft through June 2021, according to a news release.

“Bombardier prides itself on offering world-class maintenance services and has long been the service provider of choice for many airlines,” Eric Martel, a Bombardier president, stated in the news release. “We are pleased to have Republic’s vote of confidence as its exclusive maintenance provider.”

Bombardier came to Macon two years ago when it moved into the airplane maintenance facility owned by Atlantic Southeast Airlines and subcontracted ASA’s maintenance work. Bombardier leases two hangars that have a total of about 80,000 square feet and an 8,000-square-foot training center. Bombardier retained the 120 jobs previously with ASA.

The company now has about 160 workers, and it expects to add more workers as needed, Mark Masluch, spokesman for Bombardier, said Tuesday.

“Right now, we don’t have a hard number,” Masluch said. “We expect the staffing will grow as we start to have more aircraft cycle through that facility, and that will be incremental growth over the next couple of months and years.”

The company is always looking for experienced workers, he said.

“We are constantly recruiting because we are growing the capacity of our network,” he said.

Anyone interested in applying should go to the company’s website at www.bombardier.com and click on the “career” link.

In addition to Republic Airlines, Republic Airways Holdings owns Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Shuttle America. The company employs about 10,000 aviation professionals and operates 278 aircraft.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier is the world’s only manufacturer of both planes and trains. It reported revenues of $18.3 billion as of Dec. 31.

To contract writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.