Company may move to hangar at airport

By VICTORIA MARTY
Gleaner staff
831-8341 * vmarty@thegleaner.com
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

An electronic avionics repair company that has been located at the Evansville airport for 38 years is in negotiations to move to the Henderson City-County Airport, officials said.

If finalized, the move would allow Ron Collins Aviation Electronics to set up shop in a newer hangar owned by Scott Industries. It would also allow the avionics repair company to expand -- potentially bringing more business to the Henderson airport.

"It's a much nicer facility (than the hangar the business currently occupies in Evansville)," said Bruce Tippett, a current employee of Ron Collins Aviation Electronics who will purchase the company with three other employees of that business. Ron Collins himself is retiring.

"The additions we would make to it would exactly fit our needs," he said, adding that the hangar is 40 years newer than the company's current hangar in Evansville.

Ron Collins Aviation Electronics services, repairs and installs aviation electronics items such as aircraft radios, autopilots and radars.

It currently has 12 employees but would add three to four more almost immediately if an agreement is made with the Henderson City-County Airport Board, Tippett said. The company would also be looking to hire entry-level technicians or those who have experience in electronics with an interest in the aviation industry.

The company considered renewing its lease with Tri-State Aero Inc., the fixed-based operator at the Evansville airport, Tippett said.

But Tippett said it expects to be able to arrange to pay equal or slightly less than what Tri-State Aero Inc. offered in a first draft of a written monthly lease if the company chooses to locate in Henderson.

While he would not reveal the possible dollar amount of the lease, he said the contract would probably last 20 years.

If everything falls into place, Tippett said he and his future partners expect to sign the contract with the Henderson City-County Air Board sometime between mid-March and mid-April.

The business itself would open at the Henderson airport almost immediately after the contract is signed, he said.

Ron Collins Aviation would not conflict with Don Davis Aviation, which provides chartered flights and sells aviation fuel, among other services, at the local airport.

"Both of us together will complement the airport," Tippett said. "There will be times when we will send work to Don Davis, and times when they will be sending work to us."

Tippett said Ron Collins Aviation has brought in a good amount of business to the Evansville airport, from added fuel sales to other forms of maintenance, since the company's founding.

"We have a 38-year reputation that is known in the aviation community from coast to coast (and) from around the world," he said. "We are looking to maintain the same quality and service that we have had but to open that up to a larger market."

Dick Wham, the former chairman of the Henderson City-County Air Board who is still on the board, said bringing Ron Collins Aviation to the local airport would be a tremendous improvement.

Northwest Kentucky Forward President and CEO Kevin Sheilley agreed.

"It's a great economic development project," he said. "What it will do for the airport is just phenomenal. The opportunity for other businesses in that area and for us to grow with other resources is really important."