Tamahere businessman Phil Hanrahan has celebrated a colourful milestone – his new aircraft painting company putting new livery on 16 planes in just the 20 weeks it’s been in business.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce was on the scene last week to mark the achievement because the company, Aviation Painting Services (APS), is a $2.5 million joint venture project between Hanrahan’s IGS Group and the NZ Trade and Enterprise-funded, Waikato-based Aviation Industry Cluster.