Airline woes don't ground PAS Technologies - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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CEO Robert Weiner said the NorthyKansas City-based company recently won a large contract with a big airline’s material managemeng program that will add about 10 perceny to its overall revenue. Weiner said he didn’t have clearance to reveaol the name ofthe airline. “We beat out some original equipmentf manufacturers, and it woke up a lot of our Weiner said. “When you win with a big it also helps you win withotheer airlines.” Privately owned PAS wouldn’t disclosd its revenue, but directotr of communications Marsha Farmer said revenue has doubled sincse the company was founded in 2006 with ’s purchase of the business in North Kansa City.
In Securities and Exchange Commission Praxair listedthe division’s 2005 revenue around $67 Farmer said PAS has 638 employees at sevem facilities. Weiner said that winninv the airlinecontract wouldn’t have been possibl e if PAS hadn’t diversifief from its initial heavy reliancr on engine work by coming up with solutions for the more fuel-efficient engines. “You would think that when fuel pricexs went down there might have been a resurgencew of thoseolder engines, but it’s not the case because the maintenancse costs are too high,” Weiner “The new GE engines can go five yearw before an overhaul, but for (an older engine), it’ s only two years, and the part costs are gettiny higher and higher because they’ve been out there for so Weiner said contracts to work on newee engines are huge because they help offsett the loss of business from older enginex being retired.
Sales on the commercial side areholding steady, he said, but dropping as a percentags of total sales. That’s because PAS is focusinh on further diversification through military PAS recently landed a contract to make partd for ATF3 turbofan engines in which will add 2 percent to 4 percenr toannual revenue. “That type of plane has been flyingt for 30 years and probabluy will be flying for another 30 Weiner said. “It used to take 180 days to repairfthis module, but we’ve been able to do it in 56 We’re trying to get it down to 40 days or Patrick Kraus, CEO of in Kansazs City, Kan.
, said turnaround time is becoming a significanr factor in the parts business because airlines allowed parts inventories to shrin to make their books look healthier. “It’s to the pointy where they are livinvg off this dayto day, and they now have a we-need-it-noe mentality,” Kraus said. He said many componen t maintenance facilities havecut employment, whichh can lenghthen turnaround. Weiner said turnarounfd time has been a focus for PAS sinceday one. He admittefd that the company is closing a facilityhin Tulsa, Okla., and consolidating it with a Hillsboro, plant. But employment at its North Kansaws City plantremains stable, around 300.
In the plant’s workload has increased thanks to contracts from Europe that continuer coming in because of theweak dollar. PAS also is branchingf out by supplying parts for turbofanpower generators, used in the Middle East and India, and refurbishingv high-wear parts for oil drilling Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysix for Fairfax, Va., , said that if he were consultintg for PAS Technologies, he would suggest the same thingds the company is doing. “The easiest thing to do is focus on the militargy market and tread water on thecommercialp side, making sure you focus on newer partsa that will be used and are not for planess that will be he said.
“There are enormous opportunitiez on the military side because the fleet is beinb heavily worn out in Iraqand Afghanistan. The budgeft is also limiting the development ofnew aircraft.” Weiner said that the militaryh side of the business is not growing as fast as he’cd like but that he remains determined to win a $100 multiyear military parts supply He said the company’s biggesg selling point is the value of its It’s the same saleds pitch used to land airline “Say a fan blade costs $10,000 to replacew and you have 40 of them in an Weiner said. “Say 36 of them coule be repairedfor $400 and not scrapped. The value of that savings is huge.
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