(Photo courtesy of LGE Design Build)

Rendering of Rainbow Ryders building in north Phoenix.

A hot air balloon company expects business to rise enough over the next five years that it needs to expand.

Albuquerque-based Rainbow Ryders set up shop in Phoenix eight years ago. Now, a new building under construction near 7th Street and the Loop 101 will double its space. 

While tourists make up the majority of customers, company president Scott Appleman expects corporate branding customers will also grow. 

“You don’t see many people that stop on the side of the road to take a picture of a billboard, but you’ll see them stopping all the time to see a hot air balloon so that’s one of the angles we work with our clients on,” he said.

He says the new facility, scheduled to open next year, will allow them to boost their trips from about 500 to 900 a year.

When a balloon owned by a different company crashed in Texas last month, killing all 16 people on board, Appleman says they experienced a drop in calls for a couple weeks, but no cancellations.