Avista Inc., Platteville, Wis., is expanding operations in Wisconsin and plans to hire 40 more engineers, a move the company said is a result of four years of growth, particularly in commercial avionics and government and military programs. Avista has started developing new office space near its headquarters building to support the expanded payroll, including conference meeting space and a new secure software/hardware engineering lab. The new office space is in the Platteville Business Incubator and the company expects to move in during the first half of the year. The company’s recent projects include: U.S. Air Force B767 Global Tanker Transport Aircraft in-flight refueling aircraft, Radio Control Function system and Flight Management System and U.S. Air Force C-130J Hercules transport aircraft: as part of the Aircraft Management Program, an upgrade of the Flight Management System "With the growth in commercial aviation and military avionics programs around the world, we’ve maxed out our current facilities," said James T. Schneller, president of Avista, a subsidiary of Esterline Technologies. "Critical-systems software and systems development is highly specialized. Companies continue to hire us for our unique offering of U.S. based, full-time engineering staff and program managers."