IT ALL STARTED WITH $7000

off the couch and

into the alps

Fast Growing Repair Centers1st Choice Aerospace and Silver Wings

World’s Deadliest Airport

December 2015

It’s simple enough: Trust matters. But when it comes to the maintenance of your fleet, nothing matters more. That’s why you can count on the team at Delta TechOps. Our certified, experienced technicians, as well as our account managers, are dedicated to keeping your planes in the air, time and time again. And with our Complete Fleet™ capabilities — including Airbus and Boeing airframes, 12 engine types, as well as component and line maintenance services — your aircraft always receives unparalleled service, for unparalleled reliability. And that’s a commitment we’re willing to make — absolutely.

YOU HANDLE THE ABSOLUTE ALTITUDE. WE’LL HANDLE THE ABSOLUTE COMMITMENT.

Visit www.deltatechops.com/145mag or call +1-404-773-5192 to contact us.

LEARN MORE 4

145 Magazine

Letter from the Editor

Season’s Greetings my favorite readers,

Well, the holidays are in full swing. It’s a crazy time of year, but I love it. To give you an idea just how much I love it, I’m that crazy person that likes lis-tening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. I don’t know about you, but the holidays always seem to put me in the best mood.

Well, we’ve got another great issue, and we can thank all of you for that! Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of the interesting stories you’ll want to read. How about a story of two guys who started their company in a 10x10 bedroom and had to share a desk? Or, a guy who’s mid-life crisis took him from the couch to a five day extreme mountain bike trip over the Alps? Oh, and can you tell me the name of an airport where the pilot risks falling off a 2,000ft. cliff at the end of the runway if he messes-up on the takeoff? It’s all good stuff and you’re going to want to read it!

So, before you take off for the holidays, make sure you take some time to sit down and give it a read. Better yet, read it on your phone or tablet while you’re sitting by your fireplace drinking hot chocolate and listening to “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”

Enjoy the holidays everyone! Talk to you next year!

Ashley Fox Editor-in-Chief

3

December/January Volume 2 Issue 6

CONTENTS

C o n t a c t U s

Email: info@145magazine.comTel: +1.888.820.8551 Ext. 704Fax: +1.801.772.1947

145 Magazine4

Deadliest Airport

Fast Growing Companies

Off the couch and into the Alps

Work Hard, Play Hard

Surf ’s Up

People in AviationExclusive interview with ITS

2015 Top Shop in Review

Mergers and AquisitionsPHS/MWA

Aviation Trivia

6

9

16

22

24

26

34

38

45

This airport has been labeled by some as “The World’s Most Dangerous Airport”. Why? Here are a few reasons:

1. There’s no control tower, radar or navigation beacon2. Pilots must rely on the view from their cockpit for takeoff and landing 3. The runway is built on a 11.7° slope on the side of a mountain and is only 460 meters long, a tenth the length of a standard runway4. If a pilot misjudges the landing there’s no room for a go-around. If they tried they’d impact the side of the mountain5. If the pilot aborts the takeoff, they risk falling off a 2,000ft. cliff at the end of the runway

Name this Airport

Answer: Tenzing-Hillary Airport- Lukla, Nepal

Why would anyone ever want to fly into the little village of Lukla, population 230? The answer, Lukla is the start-ing point for most people looking to hike into the Hima-layas. If you wanted to hike up to Everest Base Camp, or summit any one of the 8000+ meter peaks in the Sagamartha Zone, you would start by flying into Lukla.I actually had the opportunity to fly into this airport a few years ago on my way to Everest Base Camp. The flight originated in Katmandu with a flight time of one hour. When everyone was aboard the DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Yeti Airlines, the flight attendant passed through the aisle with a plate in each hand ask-ing: “Mint, Sir? Cotton ball, Sir? I got the mint, but was confused by the cotton balls - until the engines started.

That’s when I noticed everyone shoving cotton balls in their ears. The flight was great, especially when it came time for landing. Instead of just flying directly into the runway, the pilot put the plane into a pretty tight cork-screw about 1000 feet above the runway. Once the plane touched down we coasted uphill until the runway leveled out at the terminal. It’s not every day you taxi uphill to the terminal. I wish I could describe the return flight, but the fact is I can’t really remember it that well. That’s be-cause me and a couple of my trek mates ate something the night before that REALLY didn’t agree with us. Let’s just say the three of us spent all night staring into, and sitting on, the same Porcelain God. Bad juju, baaaad juju.

145 Magazine6

Fast growing companies

Just over a year ago, we featured Mario Catalano, one of the founders of 1st Choice Aerospace, in our first edition of 145 Magazine. At the time, 1st Choice had just finished their second month in their new Mira-mar expansion, and they were busy implementing their business plan for growth. Mario recalls, “When we moved into our new office the whole building was nothing but vacant rooms with carpet and blank white walls.” Over several months, the carpet has been removed room-by-room and replaced with tile. Today 80% of the company’s 40,000 square foot facility in Miramar, Florida is occupied with state-of-the-art test equipment, technicians, engineering, machine shop, NDT lab, rotable inventory, along with all support and administrative facilities. We followed up with 1st Choice recently to see just how fast their company has grown in the past 12 months, and where they see themselves in a few more years.

• Head count •September 2014 – 5 employees •October 2015 – 45 employees• Number of Repair Capabilities • 9,250 part numbers and growing rapidly• Revenue • While the company does not release specific revenue numbers, the company did exceeed its Annual 2015 Revenue target at the end of the third quarter. • Number of customers • 105 unique customers, 29 of which are airlines• Product lines • Pneumatics – High Temp and High Flow capabilities with fully digital and automated test equipment • Fuel – Newly acquired Bauer OEM Fuel Test stands capable of testing a wide range of fuel components • Electronics – Automated test equipment for all Boeing and Airbus GCU/BPCU inclu ding new and classic generations • Crew Seats – Performed at their CVG Facility – Crew Seat repairs with the ability to de velop and incorporate PMA/DER at owner/operator request for Boeing, Airbus, Bom bardier, Embraer and ATR.

Company Snapshot

Fast Growing Companies

145 Magazine 9

When the Miramar facility opened their doors in September of 2014, they began with a large foot-print and a vision of being a premier FAA 145 re-pair station servicing pneumatics, fuel and electri-cal accessories. The company invested heavily in infrastructure, by building the industry’s most ad-vanced, state-of-the-art automated test equipment for pneumatics. Additionally, the company added Bauer OEM fuel test stands and Avtron ATE for electrical accessories. Although the investment in equipment has been extensive, the heaviest invest-ment has been in personnel. Mario and his part-ners, Jose Sardinas and Octavio Silva, truly believe that you can have the most advanced equipment and nicest facilities in the world, but without the people to operate the equipment and provide all the nec-essary support services it doesn’t mean anything.

Governor’s Business Ambassador Award A little over a year ago, the company started with just five employees. That number has swelled to 45 employees, a staggering 800% growth, and is con-tinuing to grow. The company’s growth trajectory exceeded their commitment to the State of Flor-ida, Enterprise Florida, and the City of Miramar who were instrumental in helping 1st Choice grow into the business it is today. In October of this year, 1st Choice was recognized and visited by the

Governor of Florida, for having met its 3-year com-mitment for creating jobs in just 12 months. During the Governor’s visit, the partners were award-ed the Governor’s Business Ambassador Award.

Working at 1st Choice – an Employee’s View Ian Franklin, Director of Sales and Marketing, was one of 1st Choice’s first employee hires. When asked to explain what it’s like working for a fast grow-ing company Ian says: “I’ve never worked harder in my life, but I’ve also never had as much fun work-ing. I truly enjoy going to work every day no mat-ter where in the world I may be on any given day.”

Fastest Growing Companies

145 Magazine10

When asked what he liked most about working at 1st Choice Ian says: “The thing I love about 1st Choice is the fact that they empower their employ-ees. They allow me to make decisions and share ideas trusting that I will make those decisions and recommendations as if I were an owner. I had in-terviewed for similar sales and marketing manage-ment positions with other aviation companies in the past, but I was never offered the job because they felt I was either too young or too inexperi-enced. 1st Choice was different. They didn’t care about conforming to hiring norms or any “limita-tions”. They valued me for who I was, the talents I possess, and the energy I can bring to the team.”

Going Forward Today all revenue generated by the business is being reinvested back into the company, and will continue to be for quite some time. Mario says: “Now that the infrastructure is in place, our primary focus is on letting the industry know who we are, and the competitive advantages we have to offer.” Mario and his partners are work-ing on a five-year plan to grow the business like their previous companies Xtra Aerospace and High Tech Avionics. Given their track record for building, growing, and selling businesses, it’s just a matter of time before they do it again.

Fastest Growing Companies

145 Magazine 11

From Left to Right: Octavio Silva – PartnerLt. Governor – Carlos Lopez-CanteraGovernor – Rick ScottMario Catalano – PartnerJose Sardinas – Partner

From left: Octavio Silva, Jose Sardinas, Mario Catalano, Governor Rick Scott, Lt Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Mayor of Miramar, FL-Wayne Messam and other gentle-men from the greater Ft. Lauderdale Alliance

Fast Growing Companies

AnotherFast Growing Company

Silver Wings Aerospace began in 2007 as an a sset m anagement c ompany but quickly developed into aquality r epair s hop focusing on p ower g eneration, h ydraulics, and a ccessories. Here’s a look inside the

Princeton, Florida based repair station and some of their secrets to success.

• Head count • November 2011 – 12 employees • December 2015 – 58 employees • Number of Repair Capabilities • 3,432 part numbers and growing • Customers breakdown • Airline Direct- 38% • MRO or PBH Suppliers- 41% • Asset Managers- 21% • Product lines • IDG Generators, Hydraulics- Pumps, Manifolds, Actuators, Accessories- Lights, Fans, Toilets, Elec tro Mechanical, Electro Starters, APU Genertors, Panels, etc.

Company Snapshot

145 Magazine12

How it all started Eddie Montalvo grew up in a family that ate, drank, and slept aviation. His father worked as theSenior Vice President of Eastern Airlines before leaving to start his own company, Nortek Aviation, in1982. As a teen, Eddie would spend his summers working for his father and learning the industry. Afew years after Eddie started working for Nortek, Sean Beaubien started working there too. In 1997Nortek’s name was changed to Avborne, which was eventually sold to Sargent Aerospace in 2005.Eddie took his knowledge and expertise and made the decision in 2007 to start his own company.Getting off the ground Silver Wings began as a typical as-set management company, focusing ontrading. This worked for a few years, but it became obvious that the company was destined for biggerand better things. A year or so later, Sean Beaub-ien came over and joined Eddie and they began tofocus on transitioning to a repair station. Eddie be-gan looking to buy out a company, but was facedwith a serious problem – when you buy a company you buy someone else’s dreams and vision. In theend his vision didn’t match any available buy-outs so he decided to greenfield everything and startfrom scratch. In 2010, Sean and Eddie began pur-chasing testing equipment and assembling a repairstaff while also working on acquiring licenses and certificates. By November 2011 Silver WingsAerospace was off and running as a repair station. Gathering Assets and Customers: Eddie and Sean set out with the goal to create a base of corecustomers that included airlines, MROs , PBH m anagers and asset managers. Financially theyestablished and nurtured a great relationship with their bank while reinvesting their earnings into thecontinued growth of the repair shop. Currently they have about 75 active customers with whom theydo business.

Fast Growing Companies

145 Magazine 13

The REPAIR MANAGEMENt

With 30 years’ experience in component repair management for fixed wing aircraft, Airinmar has now expanded into the rotary wing market to support industries, such as search & rescue, offshore transportation and medical emergency, with our value add services and online management systems.

Currently Airinmar support repairs for more than 200 helicopters including Sikorsky, AgustaWestland and Eurocopter.

To contact us or for more information please visit our website.

SpecialistEXPERIENCED IN ROTARY WING REPAIRS

www.airinmar.comRegistered office: 1 Ivanhoe Road, Hogwood Industrial Estate Finchampstead, Berkshire RG40 4QQ. Registered in London No. 3125944. ISO 9002 Approved.

Focus, Focus, Focus Silver Wings has developed into a full service FAA repair station focusing on critical compo-nents for the global communications fleet. In order to be the best at what they do, they fo-cus on a specific group of parts and then work on buying, selling, and repairing these parts.Growth Through tight financial controls and a focused business model, Silver Wings Aerospace hasseen a consistent 30% growth from year to year, with 50% growth to the repair shop in the last year.Currently, Silver Wings operates out of a 20,000 square foot facility, with 11,000 sq. ft. dedicated toMRO and 9,000 sq. ft. to warehousing parts.The Future Silver Wings started right during a dark period in the economy; however this curse turned into a blessing for the company.There were a num-ber of qualified employees who were terminated from their jobs during this economic downturn and these workers were the ones Eddie and Sean sought to add to their team. About 75% of their employees were people who had recently been laid off. This created a workforce of fifty-six hard-working employees who are also loyal and ded-icated to the success of the company. The com-bined effort of smart financial decisions, quality employees, and a focused vision will continue to lead to success in both the near and distant future. While Silver Wings Aerospace is only a recent ad-dition to the field of aircraft repair, their success hascome through a smart business model and many years of prior expertise. As Eddie puts it,“Sometimes it takes twenty years to be an overnight success.”

Fast Growing Companies

145 Magazine 15

A Mid-Life CrisisGermany to Italy on a MTB

t was a Sunday, shortly before my 40th birthday. I stepped into the bathroom and there it was: the scale. I never used it really and to this day I don’t know why I decided

to step on it – but I did. It screamed something I never wanted to see - 89.9 kg (198.2 lbs). I was shocked! I’m 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall, which made it even worse. I froze like a column of ice and the only thought going through my head was, “Do not show me 90 kg again – that is not an option!”I stepped out into the hallway and my wife looked at me, thinking: What ruined his day? Then she saw it – the scale. The scale had ignited my first midlife crisis, before I even turned forty. What a bummer. I immediately had an idea. I went the garage to find my old bicycle from the 1990s. I dusted off the seat, inflated the tires that hadn’t tasted air for years and off I went on a bike with slim tires with too few

I gears. The downside struck me quickly. I needed to stay on the road even though I was in constant dan-ger of getting run over by speeding cars and trucks.

A friend of mine saw me just as I was finishing up my ride, and laughed at me. Here I was, on this bike with old gears from the ‘90s, having this fun-ny looking tool bag thing resting on the handlebar in front of me and me wearing long white socks. He said, “What are you doing? Exercising?” I said, “Yes. And I’m trying to stay alive on these roads.” Then he said something which changed my life: “Get yourself a decent mountain bike and I’ll show you some beautiful trails you can ride in the for-est. You can train all by yourself, without worry-ing about getting hit by a car. The trails go up and down a lot which will help get you back into shape.”

Bet you didn’t know

With the wear and tear of the daily grind, sometimes life seems so tedious and overwhelming, that it can lead to a midlife crisis. Is that a bad thing? Sometimes . . . but not always. Olaf Schultz shows us that a midlife crisis can

lead to a new beginning and a renewed fondness for life. We asked Olaf to share his story about riding 240 miles

(390 km) on a bike, through the Alps, as a means of dealing with his midlife crisis.

145 Magazine16

On the road to Italy

Bet you didn’t know

So I started my adventure–mountain biking. I start-ed by riding my bike through the woods around the house. My first route was a circle of approximate-ly 20 km (12 miles) which took be about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Once in awhile I would get lost in the woods, which extended my rides about two to four hours. It was a pain to get lost, but since I was getting in shape and the forest was so beautiful, it was a good kind of pain - if there is such a thing. After about three to four years I was consistently rid-ing 60 – 70 km (37 - 43 miles) with 1,200 – 1,500 m (4,000 – 5,000 ft) of total climb. My friend frequent-ly joined me on my training rides. It was great hav-ing him along because when you ride alone you run out of topics to talk to yourself about, and the deer and foxes don’t really join in on your conversations.By the end of 2008, some of my friends came up with the idea to cross the Alps on a mountain bike. As I was still at the beginning of my “getting my body back in sexy shape business”, I wasn’t sure if I could do it. My wife, however, committed me for the tour without me knowing it. So I had no other choice but to join the group. Now I had to train harder than ever. I set a per-sonal goal to ride 3,000 km (1,900 miles) from Jan-uary 2009 until the tour started in August of 2009. The organizer of the tour had recommended riding 2,000 km (1,200 miles), but I didn’t want to be “the fool of the Tour” – the guy everybody needs to wait for - which is why I bumped up my training by 1000 km. Slowly, but surely, I started losing weight and getting in better shape. All in all, I lost about 13 kg (29 lbs) of body fat preparing for the tour. The tour consisted of a 390 km (240 miles) ride from Garmisch, Germany, to Nauders, Austria, then onto Meran, Austria to Coredo, Italy and then finally to Riva del Garda, Italy, with a total of climb of 8,300 m (27,230 ft) in five days! Of course, we had no idea when we signed up for this torture fest, that it was going to be the hottest week of the year. Every day the sun greeted us in the morning and put us to bed at night. Every day we were exposed to 30°C (86°F) plus temperatures, with intense UV expo-sure while riding at altitude. Although there was no escape from the sun, I loved it! As a person who can handle the heat, all of these factors combined to give me one of the best experiences of my life.

145 Magazine 17

Eibsee, Germany

Reschensee, Italy

On the way to Brenta

View of Berwang, Austria

When life gives you

lemons, make lemonade!

Bet you didn’t know

145 Magazine18

King of the mountain-Olaf Schultz

But I wasn’t the only one who “enjoyed” the ride. The bike tour was definitely NOT for the faint-heart-ed. On our first day two guys in our group had to stop because of heat exhaustion. One of my teammates was constantly thirsty. He drank about seven liters (1.8 gallons) of water every day just to stay alive. Every water hole we reached, he just drowned his head in the water and tried to take a bath, which was difficult since he is 1.97 meters tall (6 ft 6 in) and weighs 112 kg (247 lbs). Two other guys were so exhausted at the end of the tour, that they had a terrible accident the last day, while going downhill. They bumped into each other and then lost control of the bikes. Both guys slid down the mountain getting road rash along the way and one of them even broke his helmet. They were bruised and sore and had to see a doctor, but thankfully they weren’t seriously injured. Another friend of mine was speeding along (and showing off mind you) when his bike went off a small cliff. He broke his foot, the poor bugger. One lesson I learned along the ride though was that I needed to consume more calories every day. I remem-ber not eating enough for dinner the first two nights, because I was afraid to gaining weight again. By the third day though I realized I needed to eat more in order to have enough energy to make it through the day. We had to climb only one mountain that day, in-stead of two like the previous days. The guide told us

that there would be a downhill section that would be about 90 km (56 mi) long AFTER we reached the top of the mountain. I thought, “I just need to make it to the top, then it’s all downhill from there - that should be easy, right!?!” Unfortunately, my friends decided to make a race out it, since just casually climbing to the top of the hill would be too boring. This was defi-nitely the hardest day of the tour for me. As a result I really started eating. Who would have thought? I dis-covered that you can also use food for energy. Isn’t that something? I had a big salad, with tuna, a well sized portion of spaghetti, a large pizza, and to fin-ish it off I had ice-cream cookies. Yes, all that food just for me – and I still lost weight. All you have to do to enjoy a diet like this is to ride your bike six hours a day, going up and down mountains in the Alps. We started with a team of twelve, plus a guide, and we came home with six of us. One of our team members was a woman, a very strong woman! She was re-ally fit, and trained as much as I did, and she joined us all in the sweet taste of victory at the end of the tour! Yes, finishing such a Tour with these circum-stances does taste sweet and it gives you a real sense of accomplishment. Winning against nature, us-ing your own strength, is an amazing feeling! And as for the midlife crises thing, I highly recommend it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

145 Magazine

Bet you didn’t know

21

WORKHARDPLAYHARD

Everyone needs a job and a hobby. It’s especially nice when the job and hobby are one and the same, but that’s usually not the case. Greg Guidera, the Director of Business Development at Abel Aerospace shows

that it’s completely possible to have a career, and a hobby you love, without compromising either. Greg has been playing guitar for close to 50 years and even has his own YouTube channel where he shows off his skills.

Here’s a look at Greg’s rockin’ talent.

How it all started: Greg began playing guitar when he was 7 years old when his parents bought him a guitar from a pawn shop so he could be like Elvis Presley. Greg says “It was an awful guitar. I could hardly press the strings down as the action was so high.” In spite of the sub-par equip-ment, he stuck with it and learned a few chords as a teenager from his friend’s dad, who also gave Greg one of his old guitars. Greg also had 6 lessons from a guy named Speedy, of which he says, “It was because of [Speedy’s] teaching and mathematical approach to music that I only needed 6 lessons.” After that it was nothing more than practice, practice, practice.Before long, Greg was jamming at parties and with various garage bands. At first he was inspired by acoustical artists like Neil Young, Cat Stevens and the Beatles. Before long, Greg discovered ampli-fiers and electricity and his musical inspirations changed to groups like Black Sabbath and ZZ Top.

Bet you didn’t know

145 Magazine

Greg playing the Guitar out-side in the sun

22

Bet you didn’t know

Hitting the Big Time: Well, not necessarily the “Big Time”; but Greg did start a local band back in the 1970s and 1980s called “Father Guido Sarduc-ci and the Fabulous Linguini Brothers” which only lasted for a few months. A few years later he was in a band called “Fresh” but that was also short lived. Now days, Greg says, “I am a solo act, or some-times I play with a co-worker as a duo. I still occa-sionally get gigs, but mainly just special events at country clubs, restaurants, and small venues. It’s still a lot of fun for me and definitely a passion.” Equipment and Music: Greg lists himself as a “classic rock and blues player, and a singer.” He does a lot of covers of other artists like The Eagles, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn. When Greg’s kids were living at home he was a Worship Leader at Church, playing Contemporary Christian Mu-sic to an audience of over 3,000 people at times. As a guitar connoisseur, Greg owns and plays a “414-CE Taylor, Gibson 12 String (that used to be-long to the Beach Boys), a 1963 Hofner F-hole, a Gretch Hot Rod/Brian Setzer, a 1983 Aria Pro II, a Fender Mustang from the 1960s, and a few others.”Balancing Family and Music: Greg’s answer to how he balances family, work, and music is, “Family comes first, work comes second (which helps pay for more guitars) and then comes music.” Greg’s daughter, Chantel, has followed in her father’s footsteps and at 26 years old is an accomplished singer and song writer. His wife comes from a long line of musicians, with cousins

in the group “The Lettermen” and her un-cles making up the Rinear Trio. Regard-ing his wife, Greg notes, “She is my best critic and probably my best fan, too.”Occasionally, Greg does get to mix busi-ness with pleasure. He will be playing at his company’s Holiday Party in Decem-ber along with company CEO, Lee Ben-son, who Greg points out “is a great player.” All Fun and Games: Greg has no intentions of retiring any time soon. He states, “I simply like to play music that people can relate to and en-joy. I don’t have any funny stories, except for the occasional string breaking, or my amps dying, or when I forget the words and have to ad lib. Most people don’t even notice that you changed the words. I guess that’s what makes it so much fun.” Greg is definitely living proof that life is best enjoyed when you work hard and play hard.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChAMB0e-NUkGzRr6T7WlNHIw

Link to Greg’s YouTube Channel

145 Magazine

Greg with his family

23

Surf’s Up

started taking an interest in surfing when I was 8 or 9 years old when we lived in Orange County, California. My brother

and I took a surf camp one summer and this was where I learned how to paddle and ride a wave. I saved my money through birthdays, chores, and a paper route and bought my first surfboard from Jacks Surf Shop in Newport Beach. It was a Herbie Fletcher twin fin with blue and red pin stripes. I would go surfing occa-sionally at Doheny State Beach with my buddy Jared Carns and his Dad and also when we would go to Newport Beach as a family. I remember riding some white wash, but more importantly how great it felt to be in the ocean and in the waves. We moved to Temecula when I was 10 and I lost touch with surfing for

Ia bit. We would go to the beach still, but it was pretty far; maybe 45 minutes to the nearest beach in Oceanside, California.

I reconnected with Surfing again in high school. One of my best friends, Rob, was a die-hard surfer. He shaped his own boards in high school and was a big influence in getting me interested again. I had an Aunt and Uncle that had recently bought some

land near Playa Negra in Costa Rica and my buddy Rob and I start-

ed talking about going there on a surf trip after we graduated. I played

football throughout high school, but also worked at the Chevrolet dealer-

ship as a lot boy, where I saved money to pay for the trip. We talked our friend

Bet you didn’t know

It doesn’t take a whole lot of practice to be an amateur at any sport or activity, but to get really good at anything takes time and

work and probably a few bumps and bruises along the way. Surfing is definitely one

of those sports that takes years to master, but Craig Bale, Vice President of Business

Development and Marketing at PHS/MWA Aviation Services, can definitely hold his

own. Let’s take a look at Craig and find out why this sport is such a passion in his life.

145 Magazine24

Tommy into going with us, and the three of us took off for an adventure a couple of weeks after we graduated high school. In Costa Rica, we surfed three times a day and explored the country and culture in between. Rob and Tom-my decided to go back to the states after 2 or 3 months, however I ended up staying for al-most 6 months before I ran out of money and it was time to go home. Surfing at that point be-came a passion and a driving force for my life.

Being from Southern California afforded many opportunities to travel down to Mexico and surf. My wife and I travel together often and follow the same beach themed passion in our relationship and interests. We have tak-en road trips throughout mainland Mexico through the states of Colima, Guerrero, Mi-choacan, and Jalisco and also done some short-er road trips in southern Baja around Cabo

San Lucas and Todos Santos We found a great beach and community on one of our trips called Troncones, where we eventu-ally decided to get married in 2008. It’s a lovely out-of-the-way community with nice scenery and great waves for surfing. In 2012, one year after our first son was born, we started going to Costa Rica as a family and I fell in love with the country all over again. This time I was with my family. I was able to share my experiences from the past with them and it was familiar. My wife fell in love with Costa Rica for many of the same reasons as I did. It has everything we love to do while vacationing; the people, the culture, the beaches, and the feeling of safety We have made Costa Rica an annual trip since that time. My wife and oldest son (4 years old) have been there 4 times now, while my young-est son (9 months) just completed his first trip.

Craig with his wife and kids

Bet you didn’t know

145 Magazine

Craig surronded by his surfboards

25

Costa Rica

Scott Tinker and Ryan Kohnke are the founding partners of Infinity Trading Solutions, aka: ITS, an avi-ation parts supplier located in Chandler, Arizona, about 20 minutes outside of Phoenix. Scott and Ryan launched ITS in May of 2002, at a time when the airline industry was still reeling from the effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. We met up with Scott and Ryan recently to learn firsthand how they were able to start, and grow, their business during one of the most tenuous periods in aviation history.

Company OverviewEstablished: May 2002Start-up Capital: $7000First Part Sold: Pneumatic Valve for $3500Aircraft Teardowns: 90Line Items Parts in Stock: 5 millionNumber of Employees: 60Annual Sales: $40+ millionParts Shipped Daily: 65+

People in Aviation

PeopleIn

Aviation

Partners’ BackgroundsScott TinkerScott was born March 21st, 1976 in Riverside, California and is the oldest of 3 boys. His father owned a large manufacturing company in Califor-nia, so most vacations were short and quick. Scott say: “Ninety Percent of our vacations were to the Colorado River where we would waterski and jet ski for the weekend. My mother was a stay at home mom so her life revolved around me and my two brothers.” Between skateboarding, water skiing,

BMX, and baseball, Scott had an extremely ac-tive childhood growing up in Southern California.His first real job was working at a bowling alley in Te-mecula, California at the age of 15. “I started as the kid who fixed the pins if they fell, and helped people set up the system to get their game started” says Scott. After about six months he was promoted to work at the front desk. “It was a fun job for a little while, un-til I starting working for my dad’s company, which is where I worked until I graduated from high school.”

145 Magazine26

ITS Facility, Chandler AZ

Ryan KohnkeRyan was born November 5th, 1975 in Fountain Valley, California, but moved to Arizona before he was even a year old. Ryan says he grew up in a pretty typical working middle class family. His dad worked in the paper industry and was very hard working and disciplined. His mom worked for the school district where Ryan and his one brother grew up, which allowed her to be very active with the boys through their school career and childhood. Like Scott, Ryan had a very active childhood. He played a lot of sports, including competitive soccer. “We spent a lot of time outdoors: camping, hunt-ing and fishing, snow skiing, boating, riding dirt bikes, you name it. If the activity was outdoors

we probably did it at least once.” says Ryan. Normal family vacations involved the family camp-er and some sort of motorized vehicle. We’d ei-ther head to the mountains of eastern Arizona, go down to Rocky Point, Mexico to ride motorcycles and enjoy the beach, or go to the lake for boating.Ryan’s first job was working in an after school pro-gram for latchkey kids at an elementary school. “I worked there for 3 years where my role was to put together activities for the kids for three hours each day. It was my first time truly being in a po-sition of a mentor. It was a very powerful experi-ence to have these kids look up to me and I defi-nitely think it helped shape the person I am today.”

People in Aviation

145 Magazine 29

How the two become friends? After graduating from high school, both Scott and Ryan attended Northern Arizona University in Flag-staff, Arizona. It was while attending school at NAU that the two met and became friends. Scott was work-ing on his business degree, with an emphasis in mar-keting. Ryan on the other hand was busy working on a degree in hotel and restaurant management. After graduating from college they were next door neigh-bors and drinking buddies. The two would frequent-ly meet up at the bar to talk about the pros and cons of working at their various jobs. Scott was working at an aviation outsourcing company and Ryan was working his way up the corporate ladder at IBM Di-rect selling PCs, servers, and laptops. Over time one thing both men realized they had in common was a strong desire to one day start and run their own busi-ness. They promised each other that if the opportu-nity ever arose they would go into business together.

Starting ITS ITS began in Scott’s 10x10 bedroom where they shared a desk they called “The Mega Desk”. Scott explains: “We negotiated a deal with my former boss to buy the desk, a comput-er, phone system and some chairs. We each put up $3500 to start the business, and that was it.” ITS was started with an exclusive consignment consisting of Honeywell products which they were selling to brokers, MRO’s and operators. The parts were stored at another warehouse and every part that was sold they would pick it up, take it back to the bedroom to repackage, and drop it off at ei-ther FEDEX or UPS. In the beginning the partners didn’t know exactly what ITS would become. Ryan says: “Although we may not have known exact-ly what the future would look like for us, there was no doubt we believed in ourselves and we believed the two of us could start a successful business.”

People in Aviation

145 Magazine30

Scott and his family in vistiting ITS in Ireland

Scott at the Sand Dunes in his 500HP Dune Buggy

Scott in Parker, Wakesurfing behind his Malibu Boat.

Ryan and his wife in Washington, DC

Ryan on va-cation with his wife and two kids

Ryan at the Glamis Imperial sand dunes with his family

Early Years Their first year in business Ryan and Scott did just over a $1 million in sales. “We found a buyer that wanted to pur-chase the entire consignment package, so of course we sold it to them. Once that happened, we were in a position to get the company off the ground.” says Ryan. For the next four years, ITS purchased sur-plus and obsolete parts from manufacturers, airlines and other brokers. Most parts were in new or new surplus condition and were from a wide range of aircraft types. Then in 2007, the decision was made to purchase, and tear-down, an MD83 from Spirit Airlines. This new business model allowed ITS to expand their business rapidly. Scott recalls “That first purchase of the MD83 from Spirit Air-lines was really the launching point of ITS.”

People in Aviation

145 Magazine 31

ITS TodayITS has now been recognized six of the last eight years in the INC 5000 List of fastest growing companies. The companies are se-lected based on their revenue growth over a three year period. In 2014, ITS did just over $30 million in revenue, and they are on track to do over $40 Million this year. “At ITS we rate our success on how well we can support and provide service to our customers. We’ve built a highly motivat-ed, highly talented team that makes sure we deliver the best customer support possi-ble. Being around this team has helped to keep us motivated, and stay focused on be-ing the leader in the aviation aftermarket.”

People in Aviation

`“At ITS we rate our success on how

well we can sup-port and provide

service to our customers.”

145 Magazine32

WE’RE BAE SYSTEMS – THE PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS THAT KEEP YOU FLYING.From smart engine controls to state-of-the-art flight controls and flight deck systems, to a leaner and more connected cabin system, you can count on our service and support to keep you flying.

Learn more at: www.baesystems.com/commercialsupport

2015 Top Shop in Review

How It StartedGyro Specialist Inc. (GSI) began as the brainchild of Rob Luce back in 2006 with a goal to provide the highest quality overhaul and repairs for a variety of Instruments. In the past 9 years GSI has grown from a 200 square foot shop with one employee to a shop of well over 2,000 square feet along with six technicians, an office manager, and several sales per-sons. The path that led to the formation of GSI was an unorthodox one, but the lessons learned along the way have helped create the company it is to-

Why Gyros? Fresh out of high school, Rob was given a choice by his father-join the Army or move to Miami to be near his sister and get a job. He followed the latter route and moved to Miami where he found work in a bowling alley. One day a friend of his told him about a job opportunity at a small commuter airline named Provincetown-Boston Airlines (PBA). Rob got a job throwing bags as a ramp agent which led to other jobs throwing bags, in the years that followed for Eastern Express and Continental Airlines. With Continental Airlines, Rob moved from Florida to California and upgraded his resume by becoming an instrument technician, a job in which he worked for the next eigh-teen years with several different companies. With twenty years of experience working with aircraft in-strumentation, Rob decided to start his own company.

Getting Started There are as many reasons for starting a com-pany as there are people. In Rob’s case, the mo-tivation to start a company came from his desire to work for himself. “I ultimately wanted to see if I could do it, and it was time for me to try some-thing different and challenge myself.” Rob says about starting the company, “I wanted to focus on instrumentation because this is what I did for many years at my other jobs, and I did it very well.” At this point, it’s impossible to tell the story of the success of GSI without mentioning the help and support given to Rob by his father, Billy Luce. Rob’s father worked in the Army for all of Rob’s for-

Gyro Specialist Inc.day; one that provides high quality instrumentation work for a number of customers around the world.

There are any number of reasons for starting a company in the aviation industry, but to succeed takes a little skill, a lot of luck, and the support of people around you. Rob Luce of Gyro Specialist Inc. is one of those people who overcame the odds to create a successful Repair Shop. We caught up with

Rob to find out his secret for success.

145 Magazine34

mative years, and was a Vietnam veteran, earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service during the war. His mom was from Italy and his parents met while his dad was stationed overseas. When Rob was getting ready to start up Gyro Specialists Inc, his father gave him $5,000 to help with the initial investment. Unfortunately, his father passed away a few years later as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam, but not before he was able to see GSI start to take off as a successful company. GSI began in a 200 square foot office/closet with one employee (Rob). Back in the beginning when the inspector would come for meetings, they would sit out in the hallway. It was a small com-pany, but one that Rob remembers very fondly.

Growing Pains Over the course of the past 9 years, GSI has grown from a 200 square foot office with one worker to a 2,000 square foot facility with six technicians at the bench, one office manager, and a sales staff. During this time the company has shifted its focus and worked through a number of ups and downs. The focus is specialized, with not many capabilities. The current capabilities for GSI are Gyros, (attitude direction in-

dicators (ADI), horizontal situation indicators (HSI), course indicators, flight directors, sensitive pressure indicators, and emergency locator transmitters (ELT). One of the most difficult growing pains in any in-dustry is trying to establish your customer base. Along with the help from his dad, one of the people to which Rob attributes a good deal of his initial suc-cess is Richard Probert from Aero Technology who was one of Rob’s previous bosses. Richard would forward any work he knew Rob could do over to GSI to help Rob establish customers. Rob notes that one of the other growing pains is “trying to break into the industry. It’s hard to get customers in this indus-try. People have a tendency to use the same repair centers time and time again because they’re either on their approved vendor list, or they don’t care to spend the time looking for alternatives. Most of our opportunities have come because others have prom-ised the customer and fallen short and they gave us a try.” When it comes to getting your foot in the door, Rob says, “When you have someone who is will-ing to hear your story and help you out, it’s huge.” One of the main growing pains GSI faces today is trying to compete with larger companies. This can be frustrating, as Rob points out, but it’s part of the indus-try. This growing pain isn’t always a bad thing, as it has forced GSI to shift their focus from time to time. As a result, they have become very good at what they do.

A quote that Rob has kept close to his heart for a number of years is, “Al-ways keep in mind, there’s plenty of work for everybody in this industry.”

2015 Top Shop in Review

145 Magazine 35

Above: Rob’s Father, Billy Luce

A quote that Rob has kept close to his heart for a number of years is, “Always keep in mind, there’s plenty of work for everybody in this industry.” This is the kind of industry

where a number of large and small companies can work together and there is enough work for everyone in the industry as long as they continue to do quality work. GSI has focused on a specific niche of the industry and the work they do, they continue to do

very well. Rob noted at the end that it’s important to remember that all these companies, large and small, are staffed by people–people who have families, and he hopes that the whole industry in general can continue to succeed as it supports the lives of millions of

people all across the world.

WORDS OF WISDOM

2015 Top Shop in Review

145 Magazine36

Rob Luce in the shop

Mer

gers

and

Aqu

isitio

ns

Mergers and AquistitionsPHS/MWA Aviation-Wencor

It’s amazing how many companies in our industry are family owned and operated. Safe Fuel Systems, Dun-can Aviation, and Iliff Aircraft Repair are all companies that we’ve featured in previous issues that coincidentally were all founded by family members. This month is no exception, as PHS/MWA explains the history behind the formation of their company. Craig Bale, Vice President of business development and marketing, tells us how an industrious grandmother started a stator winding busi-ness in her home and how her posterity helped grow the company into a business that was ripe for acquisition.

otor Winding Associates (MWA) was founded in 1967 by my grandparents.

My grandmother worked as an electric motor stator winder for Task Corporation in 1963 after relocating to California. She was considered to be innovative in her technique and a leader in her craft; however, she became sick with toxic poisoning and was asked to work from home winding stators. She and anoth-er female colleague had an idea to take the concepts and experiences gained working from home and start their own business. They started Motor Winding As-

M

sociates out of my grandparents garage in 1967. They began doing overflow work for Task corporation and also for what became subsidiary divisions and spin offs like Joy Industries, and Sundstrand. Because of her expertise and reputation at Task, she was asked to assist in training and setting up stator winding de-partments at other OEMs in Southern California such as Acurex Corporation (Now B/E Aerospace). They were successful enough to rent shop space and they moved the business out of the garage. My grandfather was on disability from serving in WWII and started helping my Grandmother and her business partner with the business side of the company. My father was a teenager at the time and started working for them winding and connecting stators to make money. He learned the business through hands on experience.

My mom and dad were high school sweethearts and got married soon after high school. After my dad graduated high school, he went to work for Texaco at an oil refinery. My uncle was quite a bit older and had bought a cement truck starting a career in con-struction as an owner-operator cement truck driver.

145 Magazine38

Mergers and Aquisitions

In the early 1980s, my grandparents decided to sell their business, but they retained rights to the name Motor Winding Associates. At around the same time, Able Corporation (Now GE Aviation, former-ly Smiths) was formed by the previous owner of Task Corporation, Elmer Ward. Able Corporation was manufacturing motor subassemblies for various OEMs for electric/hydraulic military and commer-cial aerospace applications. My grandmother was asked to become the primary stator winding source for new production support based on her past rela-tionship with Elmer and Task. My grandmother was again working out of her garage, but this time the sta-tor winders, connectors, and coil winders worked re-motely from home. Along with my grandmother, my mom and aunts, there were two to three other wom-en working out of the garage. The company would bring the completed product to my grandparent’s garage where they would finish the processing, put them in the trunk of her old Ford Thunderbird and my grandmother would make the deliveries herself.

Seeing my Uncles success in construction, my dad de-cided to become self-employed and followed a similar path, buying his own cement truck and becoming an owner-operator cement truck driver. My mom was very organized and helped my dad with the business, finances, and by dispatching his calls from home.

While helping my dad with his construction busi-ness, my mom would wind stators for my grand-mother from our kitchen table at home from around 1981 to around 1991. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly in 1987 and my parents convinced my grandmother to move with them to Temecula. In the late 1980s, early 1990s a heavy recession hit the economy, and construction was on a down cycle. My father’s construction business was at risk so he start-ed helping out my grandmother with Motor Winding Associates from her garage. Within a year, he had sold everything and started dedicating 100% of his time to Motor Winding Associates. He was able to engage Sundstrand and win direct stator winding business. In 1991, once again they moved the business out of my grandmother’s garage and rented shop space in Temecula. They saw the need for aftermarket support and gained 145 approval so they would be able to re-pair the stators they were manufacturing independent from the OEM. At this point a shift happened, where my grandmother started becoming more background support while my Father began running the business

with my mom taking over office management, financ-es, and accounting. My dad soon realized we needed to expand our product offerings to make a larger impact as a repair station. He hired some ex-OEM shop guys and bought test equipment at local aerospace auctions in Southern California. Motor Winding Associates started developing capabilities and was now able to test and repair electric motors, fans, and generators.

Abex Corporation (Now Parker Hannifin) became a large customer to Motor Winding Associates for new production stator winding and aftermarket sta-tor rewinding. In 1993, they merged with National Water Lift (NWL) and relocated operations and em-ployees away from Oxnard and Santa Maria, Cali-fornia. While transitions were taking place at Abex/NWL, they needed help supporting hydraulic after-market repairs for their customers. My dad made a deal to purchase remaining assets and provide sup-port while these transitions occurred. We hired 14 ex-employees from Abex and started Pacific Hydrau-lic Systems (PHS) in Santa Maria, California. PHS became the repair station supporting Abex/NWL for electro-hydraulic servo valves and hydraulic pumps.

Motor Winding Associates carried Pacific Hy-draulic Systems in the beginning years and the name PHS/MWA Aviation Services was conceived. Both divisions were developing and more impor-tantly, offering a breadth of products now to cus-tomers. This started changing customer make up from OEM only to also include brokers and airlines.

145 Magazine 39

1967 Motor Winding Associates building

Mer

gers

and

Aqu

isitio

ns In 1995, we were approached by Airinmar Ltd. and soon after received our first real service con-tract. This allowed us to gain more recognition and have a more recognized tag as a smaller repair station in the industry. At PHS, we recruited technicians from Tower Aviation in the Bay Area of California to develop hydraulic actuator and flight control ac-tuator capabilities in 1998. In the same year, Lu-cas Brea (Now Goodrich-UTAS) closed down due to acquisition by TRW. We hired 5 of their tech-nicians and former production personnel; devel-oped capabilities, and began repairing cargo PDU’s.

We have always financed our own growth, so tak-ing risks and seeing opportunities became necessary to survive and continue. We started designing and building our own test equipment and my dad started a heavy focus on engineering related services for inter-nal support as well as component piece part support. We were doing new production motors and stators for Abex/NWL in 1998 which was a significant contribu-tor to our overall revenue. Unfortunately, we lost the program unexpectedly to a large OEM and needed something big to fill the gap. Not long after, a large freighter operator called us seeking alternative repair vendors for Lucas (Goodrich) cargo PDU’s. The timing couldn’t have been better. This became our first large operator, high volume repair program, and soon after, a very large piece of our business. We gained notoriety for repairing cargo PDU’s at MWA and PHS became recognized for high quality hydraulics repairs. We con-tinued to leverage the overall company portfolio to of-fer services for multiple products and platforms while optimizing performance with engineering solutions.

Generation 2 and 3 During college, I had an opportunity to study abroad in Ecuador and work in an internship to finish my de-gree. I graduated from college in 2001 and moved back to Southern California. Having been exposed to travel, I knew I wanted to do something in my career that would allow me to continue travelling. I had no intention of working for the family company at that point, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what they did exactly. I knew they repaired airplane motors (or something to that effect). In late 2001, I started put-ting my resume out to surf companies looking to land a job as an international rep or in international sales. My dad talked me into coming to work at MWA and doing some part time market research. I used the pa-per copy of the World Aviation Directory to create a

wide body fleet profile and reference guide to target cargo PDU repairs. I found it to be very interesting. I then realized that the aviation industry was much greater, and with a lot more depth, than I had previ-ously realized. At that time, we had an inside sales guy working out of PHS in Santa Maria, but my dad was doing most of the travel and sales for the com-pany in addition to being general manager, quality manager, president, operations manager, engineering manager, and janitor. He talked me into leaving my brewery job (at Karl Strauss Brewery) and taking a full time sales position at the company pushing repairs for both repair divisions. I was 23 years old and was tak-ing a pay cut going from cash tips to a modest sala-ry position. I was tasked with building on my dads’ vision and developing a global presence and strate-gy. This is what excited me the most. My dad gave me a lot of flexibility to build my vision around his.

Coming into the industry in 2001, there was a lot of volatility in the U.S. market in our industry. We were doing small scale subassembly repair work with select airline back shops, and a lot of work with one large US based freighter operator. We just won new business with Boeing for the KC10 program primar-ily for hydraulics, but that was the bulk of our busi-ness in North America and a large piece of our overall revenue. Companywide we were still quite small and still very niche in our space. Between both repair lo-cations, we had roughly 30 employees and were just below $5 million dollars in total annual sales. We had very few Airline customers and still relied heav-ily on transactional business with brokers and stock-ists to get through the months. In spite of all of this, we had a solid foundation with a lot of momentum.

I started focusing the marketing of our company and niche product offerings through faxes, phone calls, and email. I went through the World Aviation Directory and cold called about 300 airlines (I think) in my first few months searching for the “right” per-son to talk to. I actually got my first contract offer from a call back regarding a fax I sent to a major Eu-ropean operator for Cargo PDU repairs. We looked for new opportunities regularly and put emphasis on our core products and capabilities development targeting new and existing customers. I researched parts and competitors constantly. I would spend hours looking at Aircraft IPCs searching for new capabilities that we could develop and advertise.

145 Magazine40

We needed to get our name out there and gain through reputation and we really focused on direct airline repair work across the globe. We began attend-ing trade shows and conferences and getting more brand recognition. I had another major European operator approach me at our booth at one of my first MRO conferences. He had carried my fax with him to ask me in person if it was true that we were doing re-pairs on the Goodrich PDU product lines. We started doing business with his company the week after and were able to leverage another contract as a result of this connection. It was clear to me that the interna-tional and European markets were responding to, and looking for, solutions that we were able to provide. I started traveling to Europe and was able to build a re-ally nice customer base. We were able to secure con-tracts and began to receive significant opportunities through building relationships and proving our value.

Mergers and Aquisitions

Around 2002, we were participating in one of our first large format RFP’s (request for proposal) with our big ticket U.S. freighter airline customer. We took advantage of the opportunity and were able to secure our first contract with a major U.S. airline. It was a first time experience for me and I worked on pricing content and the overall proposal package with my dad. There was a second wave of the RFP initiative that we worked into the beginning of 2003, which we would eventually win. We were marketing our services on a global level and incremental growth started happening quickly and more aggressively than expected. We were building capabilities, getting rec-ognition from customers, and growing as a company.

My dad realized we needed more support in opera-tions and production. He was focusing more on en-gineering and running the overall company. My older brother Bryan was living and working in Washington outside of Seattle, and, like me, had no intentions of

My brother is incredibly smart and is able to make sense out of complex equations and situations. His start in the business was a catalyst in helping my dad focus on running the business and Engineer-ing efforts; me on sales and marketing and my mom on office management, finances, and accounting. This completed the family make up in running our

business collectively from our own respective areas of expertise. As you can imagine, it was extreme-ly challenging and very stressful. However, it was

From 2003-2011, we continued down the same path as a family unit and as a company. We averaged 12-30% in YOY growth (depending on the year) and were still self-financing through that growth to expand our operations and product offerings. We became known for creative engineering solutions through my dad’s focus on DER repairs and PMA parts. We internalized much of our component and part support functions including the addition of a CNC machine shop. We had over thirty airline customers between the Amer-icas, Europe, and Asia. It was time to make another decision as a family and business on our next log-ical step to continue our vision and growth pattern.

working for the family company. In 2003, my Dad reached out to Bryan and convinced him that he would be a great fit for the company and we needed him to help us grow. He accepted the position and moved back to Southern California to become our produc-tion manager, then later our operations manager.

extremely rewarding and an amazing experience for each of us to accomplish a vision independent-ly and as a family unit. My grandmother continued to stay in the background, and continued to influ-ence the company until she passed away in 2011.

145 Magazine 41

Company building today

Santa Maria and Temecula are a four hour drive apart from each other. At this time, we were sharing the same internal resources and were branding on a corporate lev-el. In 2006, MWA in Temecula moved into a much larger facility which was overdue at the time, while PHS in Santa Maria was still being led by MWA in Temecula. We were winning contracts and new business on a corporate level as PHS/MWA Aviation Services. As we continued to grow, management and logistics became more challenging. We made a decision to combine the divisions and expand our campus in Temecula. In March of 2011, we closed Pacific Hydraulic Systems and merged the two repair divisions. The move took place over a weekend and when Monday came around, we were now a combined repair station oper-ating with six internal repair shops in a 70,000 sq. ft. facility.

I was able to start hiring and developing a team at this point. I hired Didier Vansteenberghe to take over European sales; hired an inside sales guy, and beefed up our Customer Service Department. I started focusing all of my efforts on the U.S. mar-ket and Asia while managing the department and Customer Service. Didier had existing relation-ships in Europe and a great reputation, so the trans-fer in account responsibility was virtually seamless.

Mer

gers

and

Aqu

isitio

ns

From 2011 to 2015, we experienced 15-42% YOY growth (depending on the year) and continued to de-velop partnerships with our customers and industry resources to enable the same vision to continue at a greater scale. We re-established a board of directors made up of our family, two members of upper man-agement, and an outside consultant. We started mak-ing a shift in running the business from the board lev-el, rather than from the family level exclusively. My dad was the Chairman and still held overall voting rights, however. This helped us become a more profes-sional organization and included objective resources that added to our individual and company strengths.

As a successful business in our industry, we have been ap-proached by many companies to be acquired. Quite hon-estly, it was never a thought to consider, but it was always a conversation point to explore as a family. My parents had invested their lives and all of their resources into the business. We have always run the business very conserva-tively from a financial standpoint and always re-invested to continue our growth and opportunity as a company independently from investors. Similarly, my brother and I had dedicated twelve and fourteen years of our lives re-spectively, to the company, and the industry was chang-ing and evolving around us. We realized two things over a period of time; (1) we needed to determine succession,

In late 2014, we were approached by Wencor Group. We believed that Wencor had a similar vision as us in our core strengths as a company and it was a good marriage (so to speak) to continue the path of success, but on a larger scale. They had been making significant efforts to build an MRO vertical through M&A and had acquired some very unique and well respected repair stations that we believed would complement our service offerings for our customers. At this point my parents were enjoy-ing semi-retirement for the first time ever in their lives. Overall, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for the company was to explore the conversation with Wencor and see what happens. After initial conversa-tions and meetings occurred, the sale process ensued and progressed rather quickly. We officially closed the sale of our business to the Wencor Group on April 3, 2015. My Parents officially retired and are spending most of their free time in Lake Tahoe, California. My father is still consulting with the Wencor Group and is mostly focused on engineering related activities. My brother and I chose to stay with the Company and help the transition while focusing on our areas of expertise. We are both still em-ployed by PHS/MWA Aviation Services, but assisting the Wencor Group in other areas of the corporation as well. Our story is the true American dream. My grand-parents instilled work ethics that have been passed to successive generations. We are entrepreneurs; hard working individuals, dedicated to our passions and disciplines. Although much detail was left out of this account, we accomplished something as a family and as a company that we wouldn’t be able to duplicate if we tried. We took advantage of our opportunities and chose a business approach and philosophy that was well received. We have established partnerships with our customers and industry colleagues and take great pride in our brand and contribution to the industry. In 2015, Services is operating in approximately 100,000 sq. ft. of shop space with 140 total employees. We have six internal repair shops and are focused on creative innova-tion through engineering solutions. We focus on repair and overhaul services for galley Inserts, cargo systems, hydraulic systems, electro-mechanical, electrical, me-chanical, and waste & water systems. We have diversity and depth in our internal support services that include engineering, DER/PMA development, inspection, mate-rial analysis, NDT, dynamic balancing, calibration, CNC machining, electronics laboratory, and stator winding.

and (2) consolidation seemed to be more active than ever in our industry. Airlines were merging, M&A was more aggressive than it had been in years, and independents were getting acquired to become part of something larger.

145 Magazine42

A. A picture taken by Charles Lindbergh after crossing the AtlanticB. The first aerial photograph takenC. A picture taken during World War II of Paris from a B-17 BomberD. A picture taken by Apollo 17 from the Moon

Balloon flight began in 1783 in France, and became very popular within the next twenty years. As people were finding more and more uses for the balloon, it wasn’t until 1860 that two men, James Wallace Black and Samuel Archer King determined to combine bal-loon flight with another relatively new invention, pho-tography. On October 13, 1860, the pair set off outside of Boston, Massachusetts on King’s hot air balloon, the Queen of the Air, armed with a camera. King was the navigator and Black took the pictures. They ascended up to 1,200 feet and took eight glass negatives (10 x 8 in) (4 x 3.2 cm) over downtown Boston. Only one of the 8 pictures worked out, which is pictured above. It was titled, “Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It.”

Aviation Trivia

What is the significance of this picture as far as aviation history goes?

Almost immediately, people across the world saw the benefit of aerial photography, especially the Union Army, which used aerial photography during the Civil War in America. Now days aerial photography is common place, with even the youngest child being able to access aeri-al photos of just about anywhere in the world at the click of a button. Thanks to the work of two aviation pioneers 150 years ago we can fly through the skies without ever leaving our house.

By: Zeke Christensen Photo: James Wallace Black / The Met

Answer: B

145 Magazine 45

General MRO Aerospace Inc.3018 N.W. 72 AveMiami, FL 33122

Office: (305) 482-9903Fax: (305) 482-9905

Toll free: +1 (866) 800-5284

401 W. Gemini DriveTempe, AZ USA 85283Tel: +1-480-345-9595

H A R T E R A E R O S PA C EComponent Repairs

> Ballscrew Actuators> Center Drive Units (CDU]> Directional Pilot Valves> Gearboxes> Hydraulic Actuation> Hydraulic Latches & Junction Boxes> Lock Brakes (TRAS Lock)> LVDT> Pneumatic Drive Units (PDU]> Pneumatic Valves> Position Switches > RVDT> Switch Valves

Aircraft Supported

> A300> A310> A319> A320> A321> A330> A340> B737> B747> B757> B767> B777> CRJ> DC-10> EMB> KC-10> MD-11> For More Inquire

Main Engines Supported

> CF34-3> CF34-8> CF34-10> CF6-50> CF6-6> CF6-80A> CF6-80C2> CF6-80E1> CFM56-3> CFM56-5A> CFM56-5B> CFM56-7> GE90> JT9D-7R4> PW4152> PW4158> PW4164> PW4168> RB211> T700> T800> V2500

Your Business Is Our Priority!