Welcome to our annual Profiles issue. In our Profiles section you will find information about some of the most innovative and interesting companies in the aviation maintenance business. As a reader, I always enjoy these as a way to learn about the business. With the ups and downs in the economy and particularly in aviation, you never know when the information you have gleaned through the years could come in handy.

Since these profiles are submitted by some our advertisers, they get to say what they want and put their best foot forward. These are the companies that many of you work with or may work with soon. Or, given the volatile nature of the business, one of them could be the company that you will work for in the future. This is great information for storing in the back of your mind should you need to deal with one of these companies or ask one of them for a job.

It was a great icebreaker for me to be able to say to the vice president that I had seen a recent news piece about him in a trade magazine.

I remember interviewing for a job at an aircraft manufacturer quite a few years ago and part of the interview included going to lunch with a vice president of the company. It was a great icebreaker for me to be able to say to the vice president that I had seen a recent news piece about him in a trade magazine. I was grateful that I had that bit of info and I like to think it helped me get that job. When I read that article, little did I know that I would be meeting and interviewing with that person in the not-too-distant future. One of our goals is that if you are ever in the same situation, you will remember a bit of information from our magazine that will help you in a similar way.

For instance, it impressed me to learn that GE Inspection Technologies has made numerous acquisitions of inspection equipment companies in recent years to bolster their position in the market. To learn about another interesting development at GEIT, read about their recently launched Rhythm Visual & Archive product (see story page 9) in our Intelligence section. I was also impressed to learn that Global Filtration was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the country’s fastest growing, privately held, women-owned businesses. I was also intrigued to learn about Rapco’s unique standby pneumatic system that does not have to be selected on, making it virtually (as an ATP with more than 4,000 hours, I can say this) idiot-proof. I hope you will read these profiles and grab some nuggets of informational gold that could come in handy some day.

Another story in our magazine I hope you will learn much from is the cover story about Duncan Aviation. There is something so very (I don’t know how to put it any other way) patriotic about this family-owned business in the heartland.

I used to work directly with the folks at Duncan. One of the aircraft manufacturers I worked for contracted with Duncan for completions of some of their aircraft and I interfaced with them on a regular basis. What I remember most about working with them was a realistic sincerity. We often asked them to meet difficult schedules and do seemingly impossible things. I never heard the word no from them. But I never got hollow promises either.

That same sincerity of spirit emanates from both father and son, J. Robert Duncan and Todd Duncan, owners of the business. I was fortunate to be able to meet with Robert Duncan in Paris, while I was at the Paris Air Show and he was traveling through Europe on a month-long trip. I talked to the younger Duncan while he was attending business school at Stanford. Both of these gentlemen came across to me as genuine and candid and shared their thoughts and insights about the past, present and future of their company (see story page 12, interviews, pages 14 and 15).

I also want to take a moment to thank all of you who participated in our online salary survey recently. We have more than doubled our response rate from the last year that we did it. Standby for the results. They’ll be coming soon. With such a tremendous response it will take us a bit to tally.