Doubles in Size in 3 Years

Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC), the full service fixed base operator based at Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe, KS, reported today that the company had achieved record revenues and profits for the third consecutive year. They also revealed that as result of this success the company had more than doubled its revenues and profits during this period.
In business for more than 40 years, KCAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Peterson Manufacturing Company of Grandview, MO, one of the nation’s premier manufacturers of automotive safety lighting and equipment. KCAC offers line services, charter, aircraft maintenance, avionics, aircraft management, and new and used aircraft sales. New aircraft sales feature the Pilatus and Piper lines.
Commenting on the period of major growth, Angelo Fiataruolo, KCAC’s President, noted “during the most recent 36 months we have successfully converted KCAC from a small, local business to an expanding regional one with significant growth potential. We did this by refocusing our personnel and policies from a production orientation to a new standard based on active and aggressive customer satisfaction. In short, we understand that our reason for existing is to solve their problems, and not because we like to work on and fly airplanes.”
“To that end we also significantly expanded and enhanced our technical capabilities and just several months ago were awarded an STC from the Federal Aviation Administration to install the first Synthetic Vision System in the Pilatus PC-12 cockpit”, Fiataruolo continued. FAA certification of an STC is akin to a patent on the installation process, meaning KCAC will be the exclusive vendor of the retrofit package. The company projects a total market potential in excess of $30 million for the retrofit over the next several years. KCAC is awaiting an additional STC to install an alternative version Synthetic Vision System in the PC-12 that features two screens versus the three screens that the original STC covered. This new installation alternative provides many of the same technological features at a lower price.
The upgrade will give the PC-12 what pilots call a "glass cockpit." All instruments will be on high-resolution computer screens, reducing instrument panel clutter and offering the latest in navigation, weather and safety technology, said Bill Benton, who is responsible for technology sales and development for KCAC.
One key feature is the Vision-1 Synthetic Vision System, which creates a computerized 3-D image of the terrain in front of the aircraft, even at night or in cloudy conditions. "Our systems provide pilots with additional information and conditions to provide them with key knowledge for their decision making," Benton said. "It's a very safety-oriented system."
In addition to their new Synthetic Vision System STC, KCAC has recently opened its new St. Louis facility at the Spirit of St. Louis airport in Chesterfield, MO known as Midwest Aviation Center (MWAC). This full-service facility employs over 30 staff in the areas of line service, maintenance and customer service. The facility boasts over 40,000 square feet with an additional 10 acres available for future planned expansion.
KCAC has now set its sights on expansion in Oklahoma, Chicago, as well as other locations in the Midwest. “We feel that we have developed a very successful style of customer service that will do well in other locations,” stated Fiataruolo. “We understand that our customers want to feel special and receive exceptional service, which we are able to provide better than anyone.” This expansion will help to ensure that KCAC’s outlook remains extremely strong with large gains in revenues and staffing during 2007.