Johnstown rink will have new use

RICHLAND TOWNSHIP— An ice rink that has been closed for a year will soon have a new use: working on airplane parts for Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed announced in March that a plant in Johnstown will be preparing aircraft surface panels for F-35 fighter jets.

That work is set to be done at the old Planet Ice building in Richland Township, but only after the company completes a slew of upgrades at the building.

"We're kind of just cleaning up the place, getting it ready for what we need to do," said Gilda Jackson, general manager for Lockheed Martin Aeroparts in Johnstown.

She said they picked the location because it's close to their current building and it's big enough for the work they'll be doing.

The building used to serve as a hockey and figure skating rink, and Jackson said she was told they also used to manufacture ice rinks there — a tradition she's glad to carry on.

"We're going from manufacturing ice rinks to manufacturing components for aircraft," she said. "So it's a manufacturing to manufacturing win-win for the area."

Production at the plant is set to start in fall, employing an estimated 40 people.

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