Avionics News December 2011 - (Page 36)

— I N T E R V I E W b y P A T R I C I A L U E b K E A » » » What’s your role at Aero-Mach Labs? I’m an outside sales rep, and I take care of customers. I travel to our top 50 customers and any additional customers that I do business with. I attend all the shows and am responsible for our trade show activities. We are at AEA, NbAA, NbAA maintenance conferences and regionals. We are affiliated with RACCA – that’s the Regional Airline Cargo Carriers Association. We’re also at RAA and the various owner conferences, such as Cessna and Hawker. How much time do you typically spend traveling? About 18 weeks each year, but I like the travel because of the opportunity to see different areas of the U.S. and meet new and different people. Craig Harris of Aero-Mach Labs How long have you worked at Aero-Mach? With... I’ve been here a little more than five years. before that, I spent nine years at Cessna, where I finished in customer service engineering, but I started at Cessna as a drill press operator. How many employees are there at Aero-Mach? What kind of company is it? There are 125 employees, and we are very family oriented, since we’re family owned. A lot of our technicians have been here a long time. For me, coming from a big corporation to AeroMach is an eye opener. I am pleased with the closeness everyone has. Also, everyone has input from technicians on up. We are listened to by the upper management. There’s a lot of tenure, so there’s tribal knowledge here. ach Labs f Aero-M Harris o Craig ounded in Wichita, Kan., in 1971, Aero-Mach Labs has become one of the industry’s most recognized and trusted sources for aircraft instrument repair and overhaul. As a manufacturer of instruments and cabin display signs, Aero-Mach Labs offers a world-class measure of quality assurance to all its customers. Located in a modern, 60,000-square-foot facility in Wichita, Kan., Aero-Mach Labs is an FAA and EASA certificated aircraft instrument repair station for classes 1 through 4 and for fuel accessories (FAA CRS NU2R044L). Additionally, Aero-Mach Labs is ISo-9001/ AS9100 certified. Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics News contributor, spoke with Craig Harris to learn more about his work at Aero-Mach Labs. 36 avionics news F Tribal knowledge? What do you mean by that? That’s the knowledge that an employee has from experience. It’s knowledge you can’t write down to pass on – you just have learned it from experience. What do you do when you’re in the office? I take care of the oEM orders that come in through Cessna. I process all the items Aero-Mach manufactures for Cessna. I respond to customer requests, since I make myself their primary contact when I meet them when traveling. I answer any questions or concerns, and they call me directly. What do you like best about the job? I like helping people and fixing people’s problems. When they come to us, the problem often involves an AoG situation. They have their customers chomping on them, so I get great satisfaction making people happy. I know that sounds corny, but when I can fix something for someone, it makes me feel good. • december 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2011

Point of Communication
AEA Now
Before & After
The View From Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
EFB Solutions
Member Profile
Homebuilders
The Top Avionics Sellers for 2011
A Conversation With...
Alphabets Advocating for Aviation
Meet the AEA Board
Member Profile
Business Basics
Theory & Practice
Meet the AEA Staff
Advertisers Index
AEA Members Make Headlines at NBAA Convention
What's New
Marketplace Classifieds

Avionics News December 2011