may2023 - 16

Cover Story
2023
Service
Leader
of the
Year
U
Unifi
Leveraging technology, the ground handling firm has transformed from a wholly owned
subsidiary to the largest independent provider of aviation services in the United States.
BY JOSH SMITH
nifi Aviation's path to becoming an independent
ground handler began in 2019. And in a short
time, leadership at Unifi has been able to establish
a new company culture and build on its foundation.
By implementing new technologies, Unifi is enabling its frontline
employees to provide a full suite of ground services across
the United States, including ramp services, passenger handling,
maintenance services, ticketing and more.
In recognition of these achievements, Unifi Aviation has
been named the 2023 Ground Support Worldwide Service Leader
of the Year.
" Unifi was created largely because of the divestiture of Delta
Global Services (DGS) in 2019, " explains Unifi CEO Gautam
Thakkar, who joined the company in 2021. " They had a deal
with a company called Argenbright Capital, where they sold 51
percent of their stake to Argenbright. "
Argenbright shepherded the company's transition from subsidiary
to independent handler and began rebranding in 2020.
Following the transition, Unifi began building its current business
on top of the foundation established by DGS.
16 || Ground Support Worldwide || May 2023
" We've pretty much doubled our growth. We are close to
about $1 billion in revenue. We've got almost 210 stations
that we operate in and 23,000 employees across the country,
so it's a good footprint across all the possible service lines, "
Thakkar says.
Having an existing presence in key locations, including New
York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport (ATL), has allowed
Unifi to offer full ground handling services - both above and
below the wing.
" Just because of the scale that we had - and the presence and
the footprint that we had - our ability to provide adjacent services
in airports that we were already present went up dramatically, "
he adds. " Our presence in those locations gives us the
ability to expand our services and expand our footprint. "
While exponential growth has been a goal for Unifi, company
officials note the appropriate infrastructure needs to be in place
to facilitate that growth.
" We didn't want to build an architecture or infrastructure,
where I need to build huge data centers and employ more

may2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of may2023

Publisher's Note: Make Plans Now To Be at GSE Expo
Business Buzz
Industry Expert Column: Hamburg Airport's Efforts to Improve the Health of Ground Handlers
ITW GSE: 2023 Product Leader of the Year
Unifi Aviation: 2023 Service Leader of the Year
Ethan Begrowicz: 2023 Team Leader of the Year
Michalis Panagoulias: 2023 Lifetime Achievement
Africa's Opportunities and Obstacles
How to Acquire a SIDA Badge
The Benefit of Uniting Ground Power and Conditioned Air
Product Hangar
Spotlight on: Steve Berry
may2023 - 1
may2023 - 2
may2023 - 3
may2023 - 4
may2023 - 5
may2023 - Publisher's Note: Make Plans Now To Be at GSE Expo
may2023 - Business Buzz
may2023 - 8
may2023 - 9
may2023 - Industry Expert Column: Hamburg Airport's Efforts to Improve the Health of Ground Handlers
may2023 - 11
may2023 - ITW GSE: 2023 Product Leader of the Year
may2023 - 13
may2023 - 14
may2023 - 15
may2023 - Unifi Aviation: 2023 Service Leader of the Year
may2023 - 17
may2023 - 18
may2023 - 19
may2023 - Ethan Begrowicz: 2023 Team Leader of the Year
may2023 - 21
may2023 - 22
may2023 - 23
may2023 - Michalis Panagoulias: 2023 Lifetime Achievement
may2023 - 25
may2023 - 26
may2023 - 27
may2023 - Africa's Opportunities and Obstacles
may2023 - 29
may2023 - 30
may2023 - How to Acquire a SIDA Badge
may2023 - 32
may2023 - 33
may2023 - The Benefit of Uniting Ground Power and Conditioned Air
may2023 - 35
may2023 - Product Hangar
may2023 - 37
may2023 - 38
may2023 - 39
may2023 - 40
may2023 - 41
may2023 - 42
may2023 - Spotlight on: Steve Berry
may2023 - 44
may2023 - S001
may2023 - S002
may2023 - S003
may2023 - S004
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