Austria-headquartered business jet and VIP cabin, yacht and luxury residence interior specialist F/LIST has opened its fourth North American operation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alongside those already in Denver, Colorado; Savannah, Georgia; and Montreal, Quebec. 

The new operation is made up of two independent properties. A primary 11,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art footprint in Davie, located west of Fort Lauderdale, features a design showroom, an upholstery studio, a cabinetry workshop and an advanced paint booth, while a secondary workshop is just a 30-minute drive away at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is among the busiest US business aviation hubs and that alone may have been sufficient justification for F/LIST’s decision. But company managing director Stefan Rust says there are also several completion/modification centers and OEM facilities in the region. “The close proximity to our customers will improve efficiency and reduce delivery times,” he enthuses.

Rust also notes that F/LIST’s ambition is to become part of the area’s aviation ecosystem: “We are already working with local companies and, as with all F/LIST locations, will invest our time and energy into becoming an integrated part of the local business aviation sector through networking, joining relevant associations, and maximizing our visibility through marketing and sales activity.”

The Davie facility is equipped for the full scope of F/LIST’s aftermarket services, from small on-wing repairs conducted throughout Florida and beyond by its mobile repair team, to full cabin refurbishments under the guidance of an in-house designer. The facility also includes samples from F/LIST’s award-winning range of materials —  from leather, fabrics and carbon fibers to a wide range of sustainable and recycled materials — providing customers with the choice of many finishes.

Of note, six of the initial 14-strong team at Fort Lauderdale are women, working across a variety of roles. Rust says the site’s workforce is a microcosm of F/LIST’s Austrian headquarters, which achieves a similar gender balance. With the Florida staff expected to double over the next four months or so though, is maintaining the mix going to be difficult?

“Of course, we will employ the right person for the role to ensure the quality we need, but we approach recruitment with our company culture as an essential driver,” Rust explains to Runway Girl Network. “It encompasses our mission, our vision, and the way we conduct business. It fosters a sense of belonging, engagement, and pride among our colleagues. Open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect are promoted and welcomed, a work-life balance is encouraged, and well-being valued. These values help us attract a higher-than-average number of female applicants.”

There is a six-hour time difference between Fort Lauderdale and Austria, and eight hours between Denver and F/LIST’s home base. That simple factor could easily hinder open communication and Rust describes a comprehensive effort to keep the company’s 1,000 employees connected.

“It is important to ensure the essence of F/LIST is reflected in all our international locations while also welcoming the distinctive aspects of each. Continuous dialogue is maintained between internal stakeholders and with our new, quarterly F/LIST all-hands meeting, we keep everyone updated on company news and align common goals,” he says.

“We also hold social media workshops for our employees so they can support our culture online, we showcase different departments, and encourage new talent through all our communications channels. And we have a very active internal communications strategy, sharing news from all our facilities via digital tools.”

Sustainability is another F/LIST guiding principle carried over to Fort Lauderdale. Rust explains the policy: “Our view of sustainability is one of strategic implementation across multiple facets of the business, including people, products, and purpose. All our entrepreneurial activities are sustainable; for example, whenever we invest in new facilities at our sites, we endeavor to implement them sustainably and ensure operations thereafter embrace the philosophy. We encourage our workforce to think sustainably too.

“The principles adhered to at our Austrian headquarters are applied at all our facilities, from simple things like turning off lights when no one is in the office and moving desks next to windows where the light is naturally better, through to encouraging employees to use sustainable transport to get to work. And will be promoting our sustainable products from the F/LIST Fort Lauderdale facility.”

Back home, F/LIST is extending its Austrian headquarters with a third plant, adding 50,000 sq ft to the existing 278,000 sq ft operation. Its next international event will be an official opening in Savannah (currently subject only to soft launch) in the first quarter of 2024.

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Featured image credited to F. LIST GMBH