Member Profiles
NBAA represents over 8,000 companies worldwide, and the diversity of our members reflects the diverse nature of the industry. We profile a different member in each issue of Business Aviation Insider. Take a look at our member profiles to learn about how business aviation helps a wide variety of businesses take flight.
Business Aviation Brings Electricity to Company, and Customers
Member Company Wilson Construction is one of the largest utility construction firms in the Northwest. Headquartered in Canby, OR, with satellite offices in Arizona and California, Wilson Construction depends on general aviation airplanes, as well as rotary-wing aircraft, to maintain and repair power lines and to support its business. Wilson Construction is profiled in the May/June issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Wilson Construction.
The Airplane as the Ultimate Sales Tool
When Gorman-Rupp Company first began using business aircraft just after World War II, company personnel primarily flew to visit customers. Today, Gorman-Rupp uses its King Air 350 mainly to bring customers to its headquarters in Mansfield, OH, where the company can demonstrate its wide range of fluid-handling products – from fractional-horsepower pumps to large flood-control systems – and show clients firsthand how it is dedicated to building quality products that are delivered on time and backed by reliable service. Gorman-Rupp Company is profiled in the March/April issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Gorman-Rupp.
Many Gain From One Plane
Bill Crutchfield, a business aircraft operator who in 1974 founded Charlottesville, VA-based Crutchfield Corporation – one of the largest and most recognized specialty direct retailers of consumer electronics – thinks that the more business aviation advocates focus on how the industry makes a difference in the lives of everyday people, the less trouble aircraft operators will have with critics of companies using business airplanes. Crutchfield Corporation is profiled in the January/February issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Crutchfield Corporation.
Business Airplane Helps Company Fly Through the Recession
UniFirst Corporation started a new corporate flight program and built an internal flight department during the economic downturn. Not only did buying an airplane and developing its own flight team help the company become more nimble in managing its overall business, it also helped the company contain costs, improve travel efficiency, boost its brand and secure larger customer accounts. Unifirst is profiled in the November/December issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for UniFirst Corporation.
Efficiency, Transparency Hallmarks of Utah's Division of Aeronautics
Utah's Division of Aeronautics
The Aeronautics Division is a real-world example of how business aviation helps government organizations. They have been operating King Airs for more than 30 years and currently flies a 1998 model C90B and a 2000 model B200, both of which can access virtually all of the state's 46 public-use airports. Utah's Division of Aeronautics is profiled in the September/October issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Utah's Division of Aeronautics.
Business Aviation Keeps This Company Connected
The Edwards Group – a privately held Seneca, SC corporation that publishes community newspapers, magazines and e-newsletters; operates radio stations and web sites; and is involved in real estate development – believes that connections are essential to success in any endeavor. That's why the company uses a Pilatus PC-12 single turboprop to meet most of its short- and medium-range travel needs. Edwards Group is profiled in the July/August issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Edwards Group.
Deere Flies Swiftly to Global Markets
For Moline, IL-based Deere & Company – which produces equipment used worldwide in agriculture, forestry, construction, earthmoving and material handling – having access to business aviation has been a tool for success since 1946. Deere's Gulfstream V, which has been the company's primary aircraft for international missions, enables passengers to get to distant destinations faster and do more in less time, Deere & Company is profiled in the May/June issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Deere & Company.
HP Puts the IT in International Travel
Today, the world's largest IT company operates in more than 170 countries, and its flight department has been transformed from a primarily scheduled domestic operation to an on-demand operator that flies worldwide in support of the company's enterprises. Hewlett-Packard is profiled in the May/June issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Hewlett-Packard.
Business Aviation Is at Work for This Union
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
In 2009, R. Thomas Buffenbarger, international president of IAM, took the stage at the Opening General Session of NBAA's Annual Meeting & Convention and gave one of the most stirring pro-industry speeches in recent memory. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is profiled in the March/April issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Costco's Passenger Seminars Enhance Safety
Costco's flight department has developed an innovative Passenger Aircraft Safety Seminar (PASS) for Costco employees who fly on company aircraft. The seminar combines an informative safety presentation by flight department staff with hands-on demonstrations of safety equipment and a mock evacuation. Costco's Passenger Seminars are profiled in the January/February issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Costco.
C&S Wholesale Grocers Is at the Heart of Business Aviation
How one Member Company uses its business airplane to help those in need.
C&S Wholesale grocers, one of the largest wholesale food distribution companies in the country, still finds the time to use their airplanes to help those in need. C&S is a member of Corporate Angel Network, Sky Hope Network and AERObridge. C&S Wholesale, is profiled in the November/December issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Honeywell Makes History With First Biofueled Flight
NBAA Member Company is the first to fly overseas on a business aircraft powered by biofuel.
NBAA Member Company, Honeywell, made history on June 18 in Morristown, NJ, when the company's transatlantic business-aircraft flight became the first to be powered in part by biofuel. Honeywell's Chief Pilot Ron Weight is profiled in the September/October issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Honeywell.
An Eye for Detail:
NBAA Member Dr. Lance S. Ferguson, an ophthalmologist and anterior segment surgeon from Lexington, KY flies a Cessna Citation Mustang in support of his referral-only surgical practice and several other business ventures. Dr. Ferguson from Commonwealth Eye Surgery is profiled in the July/August issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Commonwealth Eye Surgery.
South Carolina Aeronautics Commission:
For Member Company, Safety Is a Continuous Learning Process
South Carolina Aeronautics Commission was one of just two Member Companies to receive NBAA's inaugural 75-Year Safe Flying Achievement Award last year. The flight department, which is based at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), uses a King Air C90 and 350 to provide on-demand air transportation for a variety of state officials, including the governor, members of the general assembly, constitutional officers, state agency personnel, and state college and university representatives, as well as business prospects. South Carolina Aeronautics Commission is profiled in the March/April issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for South Carolina Aeronautics Commission.
Northwest Boring, Seattle, WA:
Investing in Safety Makes $ense For Northwest Boring
Northwest Boring is a pioneer in microtunneling technology, a method of drilling small tunnels underground that minimizes surface disruptions and can be performed via remote control. Based in Seattle, WA, this small, family-owned company employs fewer than 25 people. Northwest Boring is profiled in the January/February issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Northwest Boring.
Names and Numbers, Pittsburgh, KS:
Names and Numbers Calls on Business Airplane to Manage Growth
Names and Numbers, based in Pittsburgh, KS, produces phone books and business directories for nearly 100 communities in 14 states. This company is profiled in the November/December issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Names and Numbers.
Avjet Corporation, Burbank, CA:
Avjet's Hangar Puts Green Technologies to Work
There perhaps is no better example of how business aviation is meeting the challenge of environmental sustainability than Avjet Corporation's "green" Hangar 25 at Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in Burbank, CA. This company is profiled in the September/August issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Avjet Corporation.
Restaurant Equipment World:
Light Airplane Is Part of Company's Recipe for Success
In today's challenging economy, many companies have reacted by cutting discretionary spending and slashing travel budgets. Brad Pierce, president of Orlando, FL-based NBAA Member Company Restaurant Equipment World, has taken the opposite approach. This company is profiled in the July/August issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the Member profile for Restaurant Equipment World.
Special Services Corporation:
South Carolina Company Shows That Planes Mean Gains
When entrepreneurs Greenville, SC, gathered at an expo to showcase the value of small and mid-sized companies to the area's economy, one businessman looked to the event as an opportunity to highlight how a strategic asset – business aviation – helps many of those companies succeed. Read the Member profile for Special Services Corporation.
Lane Aviation:
"... We are dedicated to keeping the legacy and safety culture alive."
Milestones are important events in a company's history, and NBAA Member Company Lane Aviation in Columbus, OH marks an important anniversary in May. The fixed base operator (FBO) and on-demand charter provider, based at Port Columbus International Airport (CMH), has operated safely for 75 years. CEO Thomas Deuber says that record didn't happen by accident. This company is profiled in the May/June issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the entire Member profile.
Waste Reduction Technologies (WRT)
“An MU-2 is the turboprop of choice for owner/operator Waste Reduction Technologies”
Riley Hagan, owner of Waste Reduction Technologies (WRT), is able to sell his company's incinerators across the United States from his Baton Rouge base in large part because of his single-pilot aircraft. WRT makes high-tech incinerators that ease the overload on municipal landfills, and the advanced Smokeless Fire™ incinerators reduce new waste by more than 99 percent, greatly extending the life of landfills. This company is profiled in the January/Feburary issue of the Business Aviation Insider. Read the entire Member profile.
Viking Range Corporation
“With Business Aviation, Viking Brings Customers to Small Town”
In the lobby of a brick-walled building in Greenwood, MS sits a vintage stove with a cast-iron oven that served as the inspiration for one of the most recognizable kitchen equipment companies in the country: Viking Range Corporation. This company is profiled in the November/December issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Fagen, Inc
“Business Airplanes Help Renewable Energy Business Grow”
Ron Fagen knows the value of business aircraft. The president and CEO of Fagen, Inc. – one of the country's most respected green-energy builders – would not have grown from humble beginnings in Granite Falls, MN to become a leader in industrial construction without its airplanes. The organization is profiled in the September/October issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications
“Business Jet Puts This NBAA Company LaBov & Beyond the Competition”
Fort Wayne, IN-based LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications is able to attract clients located in New York City, Chicago and elsewhere across the country because of its business aircraft.
Agencies that specialize in advertising and marketing communications usually set up shop in large cities so they can be near dozens of local clients and have the potential to serve many more clients across the country by having access to a large commercial airport. The organization is profiled in the July/August issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Air Serv International
“Air Serv International Uses GA Plane to Serve People in Crisis”
When a war breaks out in the Congo, or when an earthquake levels part of Pakistan, relief workers and volunteers turn to one organization to reach communities in need of aid: Air Serv International. An NBAA Member Company based in Warrenton, VA, Air Serv has worked with almost every nonprofit relief group in the world in a very special way: The organization uses general aviation (GA) aircraft to fly doctors, engineers, volunteers and peacekeeping forces into remote locations and communities. Air Serv International operates in 36 countries around the globe, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and frequently works with groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the United States Agency for International Development. The organization is profiled in the May/June issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Safe Flight Instrument Corporation
“Safe Flight Makes Aviation Safety Its Business”
Since 1946, White Plains, NY-based Safe Flight has literally been on the leading edge of designing and producing aviation performance and safety equipment for military, commercial and general aviation aircraft. The company has grown along with the aircraft industry, constantly expanding its product line from simple, switch-type stall-warning systems for light aircraft to sophisticated speed command, auto-throttle and wind-shear warning units for highperformance jets. Today, the majority of the world's aircraft manufacturers are Safe Flight clients, as are more than 50 airlines, hundreds of NBAA Members and business aircraft users, and all the U.S. armed services. Safe Flight is profiled in the March/April issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Southern Illinois University
“At Southern Illinois University, They Practice What They Teach About Business Aviation”
Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale's Department of Aviation Management and Flight airplanes play two important roles. Not only do SIU officials benefit from the necessary and timesaving university charter service, but students also earn valuable flying experience on each flight. Just as businesses focus on maximizing their use of a business aircraft, the Aviation Management and Flight Program at SIU makes sure each flight serves the best interests of the school administration, staff and students. The University is profiled in the Jan/Feb issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Sklar Exploration Company, LLC
“Business Aviation Helps Fuel This Small Company's Success”
As aviation fuel prices soared during the past year, avgas and Jet A became a top issue for discussion among business aviation pilots and flight departments. But Shreveport, LA based NBAA Member Sklar Exploration Company, LLC has always been focused on fuel, relying on business aviation to search for and develop new sources of oil and natural gas. The company uses its airplane in part to support flights for locating deposits of those commodities, which larger companies then refine into automotive and aviation fuels, propane and other petroleum products people use every day. The company is profiled in the Nov/Dec issue of the Business Aviation Insider. View the complete profile.
Water Valley Land Company, Windsor, CO
“Airplane Helps Water Valley Land Company Ascend”
Colorado native and owner of NBAA Member Water Valley Land Company Martin Lind began his career as a farmer and built upon his knowledge of development trends to found his thriving family-owned real estate development and management company 20 years ago. Lind and his associates must cover vast tracts of land, and business aviation has helped his company ascend. “The airplane is a great tool for us to bring people to see our properties first hand,” Lind said, “We have a competitive advantage in that we can let our customers view a site with their own eyes.” Lind and two business partners share a King Air 350, and Water Valley uses the airplane, typically with all the seats full, once or twice a week to fly missions out of Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL). The company is profiled in the Sept/Oct issue of the Business Aviation Insider, sponsored by GE Capital. View the complete profile.
Schwan Food, Marshall, MN
“Business Aviation a Key Ingredient in Schwan Food's Success”
NBAA Member Schwan Food Company, based in the small southwestern Minnesota town of Marshall (pop. 13,000), has long understood how important transportation links are for remote communities. Thanks to the company's Beech 1900, which makes the 40-minute flight between Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) and Marshall's Ryan Field (MML) twice daily, the connection between the small town and the major airline hub is quick and easy. The family-owned company, which was founded in 1952, became famous for the yellow home delivery trucks that first distributed ice cream to rural customers who had just been connected to the electrical power grid. View the complete profile.
Luck Stone, Manakin, VA
“Business Aviation Helps Luck Stone Mine Opportunities”
During this challenging period for the housing industry, NBAA Member Company Luck Stone, a family-owned, Manakin, VA-based supplier of stone construction products, is reaffirming its commitment to business aviation. President and CEO Charles S. Luck, IV explained that meeting with customers and employees to boost confidence and morale is even more important during a downturn. Luck Stone's Beech King Air 350 allows Luck and his management team to visit employees at the company's plants, and is used to fly in prospective customers to see the quality products the company sells. View the complete profile.
Advantage Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI
“Airplane Keeps This NBAA Member Wired to Customers”
Many small businesses that must respond quickly to client demands on short notice rely on business aviation. Advantage Technologies, Inc., an NBAA Member Company based in Troy, MI, and its 28-year-old founder and president Bryan Currier rely on light single- and twin-engine airplanes for such responsiveness and mobility. The company provides back-office technologies to small health care practitioners scattered across the Great Lakes region. For Currier, based in the Midwest, with its great distances between population centers, car and airline travel were impractical. He decided to learn how to fly and utilize light airplanes to maximize his efficiency. View the complete profile.
Pentad Properties, Salt Lake City, UT
“From One Airplane, Many Opportunities”
Many small businesses rely on business aviation to expand their markets and increase their efficiency. Pentad Properties, an NBAA Member Company headquartered in Salt Lake City, is owned by Paul Stafford, who connects with his clients, business partners and government officials with the use of a single-engine, piston-powered airplane. Stafford is a commercial real estate investment specialist based in Missoula, MT. He uses his airplane to extend the reach of his real estate practice as far as Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Phoenix. "We're small, but nimble," Stafford said. "I don't know any other brokers that work the way I do and have the reach that I do. The airplane enables me to service a greater region, and it helps increase the volume of my business." View the complete profile.
Winner Aviation, Vienna, OH
“Winner Aviation Represents Industry Before Congress in User Fee Battle”
Rick Hale, president and CEO of NBAA Member Company Winner Aviation, traveled from Vienna, OH to Washington, DC last summer to testify before the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Hale told Congress that small companies like his, which make up the majority of business aviation enterprises, would be adversely affected by the imposition of aviation user fees. View the complete profile.
MacNeil Automotive Products, Ltd., Downers Grove, IL
“Business Aviation Is a Perfect Fit For MacNeil Automotive Products, Ltd.”
NBAA Member Company MacNeil Automotive Products, Ltd. uses sophisticated tools to produce custom-designed precision-fit floor liners, floor mats, cargo compartment liners, mud flaps, side window deflectors and other protective products that are carefully crafted for specific vehicle makes and models. "Our planes get us in front of our customers, eye-to-eye," David MacNeil says. "That hands-on approach has been a significant factor in the growth of our company." View the complete profile.
MI Windows and Doors, Inc., Gratz, PA
“Company Airplane Connects MI Windows and Doors With the World”
Places like the central Pennsylvania town of Gratz (population 676), whose primary employer is MI Windows and Doors, Inc., have found in business aviation an important economic motor. MI Windows and Doors has prospered thanks to a business model that relies on a company airplane to link its small-town headquarters with its plants and its customers, wherever they are located. While it used to take a full day to travel, "we now can be there in literally two hours," said Matt DeSoto, MI's executive vice president of eastern operations. "And the more we can be on-site, the more value we can provide to our team members and our customers." DeSoto believes that business aviation is the best way to build closer relationships with clients and respect the value of their time. View the complete profile
Apogee Medical Group, Scottsdale, AZ
“Business Aviation Helps Apogee Bring Health Care to Remote Areas”
Apogee Medical Group founder Dr. Michael Gregory says that business aviation has been the key to meeting the mission of his business: providing doctors to geographically remote hospitals. In order to pack as much into a travel day as possible, the Apogee airplane leaves Scottsdale before dawn and returns long after sunset, making multiple stops in between. The complete profile discusses how NBAA provides value to the company, and includes podcasts of Dr. Gregory and other Apogee employees discussing their need for business aviation and for NBAA. View the complete profile.
Manitoba, Lancaster, NY
“Business Aviation Helps Metal Recycler Manitoba Expand Its Opportunities”
Some specialized tools help NBAA Member Manitoba, a family-owned metals recycling company in Lancaster, NY, stay competitive. For instance, the company's list of must-have business tools includes a Mitsubishi MU-2 Solitaire. "My ability to fly an airplane is what helped us survive," Manitoba CEO Richard Shine says. The complete profile features a podcast interview with Shine. View the complete profile.
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