Jun. 25—Earlier this month, Mesa officials helped cut the ribbon on a 93,000-square-foot headquarters north of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport for KP Aviation, a global jet parts supplier that recently completed a relocation from Reno, Nevada, to Mesa.

CEO Kim Schulze co-founded the aftermarket parts business in her garage in San Diego in 2001, a volatile time in aviation, she said, before moving to Reno for a larger space.

Times of crisis are sometimes fertile grounds for opportunity, and Schulze's company took off. Growth has been especially strong the past six years, and last year the company decided to find a new home for its next phase of growth.

After looking everywhere from Florida to Chandler, the company decided on Mesa.

KP has come a long way from Schulze's garage; its Mesa headquarters is a sleek office and warehouse building complete with an employee gym and large dining and kitchen area, where employees gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting with an impressive spread of food and beverages.

Mesa leaders covet business migrations with high-wage jobs, and the desire to attract companies like KP Aviation drives policy-making at the city. After the ribbon-cutting, the Mesa Tribune spoke with Schulze and two employees who moved with the company to Mesa to better understand their attraction to the community.

Schulze said the need to grow its workforce was a primary reason for the move to its new home in Mesa. In Reno, KP Aviation largely hired workers from outside the region, and the company wanted a place where it could find professionals closer to home.

So far, it's had success, hiring 31 employees in Mesa, with plans to hire 20 to 22 more.

Workforce seems to be critical for many businesses right now. Jet maker Gulfstream Aerospace, which recently signed a contract to build a maintenance hub to the south of KP Aviation, also cited the presence of skilled workers in its decision to settle in Mesa.

While workforce has been an asset for Mesa in attracting companies — the East Valley boasts relatively high levels of education — local companies still report a challenging environment for recruiting workers.

At a June 7 Mesa Economic Development Board meeting, Kathleen Jolivette, vice president of attack helicopters at Boeing, told the board that finding experienced aerospace workers is a "struggle" and an area where the city could continue to improve.

But for KP Aviation, the Valley represents a "massive talent base" compared to Reno, Chief Financial Officer Linn Shaw said.

Schulze said she also liked the Valley for reasons that are harder to quantify: the quality of entertainment, hotels and restaurants. These amenities were important to the company because even though KP Aviation's services are technical, the business is based on relationships, she said, so the ability to host and entertain clients when they visit headquarters is important.

Schultze gave the example of the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament in February. The company purchased a box at Hole 16 this year to host clients, and she said it was a great experience for the company.

The Phoenix Open is not in Mesa, which highlights how prospective companies don't look at Mesa in isolation when considering a move; they look at the broader region, too.

In this case, looking beyond Mesa worked in the city's favor, since a chorus of local leaders have noted Mesa's relative lack of destination dining and entertainment attractions. Jolivette also told the Economic Development Board that visiting Boeing executives tend to stay in Scottsdale, where she ends up having to drive for dinner.

Seventeen of KP Aviation's employees decided to move with the company,

and another key factor for Schultze in choosing Mesa was finding a place that offered something for those employees and their families.

"This area really offered an opportunity to expand their career growth," Schulze said of the Valley. She added that the availability of "infrastructure" for families, like schools and daycare, was an important factor in choosing the region.

Two of the employees who came to Arizona with KP Aviation said they are happy with their new home, though it may be worth nothing that both employees decided to live outside Mesa, as did Schulze, who lives in Gilbert.

This is something of a reversal for Mesa, which historically has housed workers who commute to job centers outside the city.

Director of Product Line Edy Cortes said "it was an easy decision" to move with the company to its Mesa headquarters. "It was time to make a change."

When looking for housing, though, the 30-something aviation professional settled on north Tempe, citing proximity to nightlife, gyms and other amenities for an active lifestyle.

"I love it. I love north Tempe," he said.

Repairs Manager Sumerae Sisemore moved to the area with her boyfriend, who also works at KP Aviation, in October, and she said finding a rental with her three dogs was difficult.

She said she submitted "tons of applications" before eventually landing a house in San Tan Valley, which she likes. She enjoys the quiet of her neighborhood, she said, and the sunny climate of Arizona, describing herself as a "patio person."

The Valley held many attractions for KP Aviation, and Schultze said the responsiveness of city staff made the decision to choose Mesa even easier.

She said there was "constant communication" with the city, and whenever the company had a problem, "all we had to do was make a call."