This sponsored article was created by Insight magazine, the sponsored content division of MHM Publishing, on behalf of Precision Aviation Group.
When it comes to providing industry-leading maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and supply chain services to mission-critical operators, Precision Aviation Group (PAG) has become the obvious choice for operators looking for a full suite of MRO services for fixed- and rotor-wing platforms.
This is because PAG is a market leader when it comes to making significant investments to expand its inventories, service capabilities, repair stations, and geographical locations. Every effort aligns with the company’s dedication to supporting aviation operators wherever and however they fly.
To ensure PAG fulfills its commitment to customers, the company has organized its MRO service offerings within four key market segments: avionics, components, engines, and manufacturing/DER.
“We’ve expanded our capabilities in every segment,” said Ketan Desai, PAG’s chief sales and marketing officer. “As a trusted industry leader, we have to stay ahead of the evolving aerospace environment and our customers’ changing requirements.”
PAG continues to bring additional capabilities in-house through strategic acquisitions. With the Pacific Turbine Group (PTB) acquisition in 2022, PAG operates 20 repair stations worldwide. Its engine services division offers MRO services on PT6, TPE331, M250, RR300 and J85 engines. Its supply chain services business has also been expanded.
“We will continue to invest in markets and products that aren’t expected to be impacted by technological evolution,” Desai said. “This includes products like engines, landing gear, wheels, brakes, starter generators and more.”
With an unwavering commitment to mission-critical operators, PAG has invested significant capital in its inventory and facilities to help sustain and support the massive growth it has seen over the last three years. Desai credits the company’s growth throughout the pandemic to a number of factors.
“We were available 24/7 globally,” Desai said. “We also had a significant amount of inventory on the shelf ready to deploy. As such, we experienced very few supply chain issues and were able to support mission-critical customers. We’ve also won many new customers over the last 18 months and supported them through our growing business segments.”
One of PAG’s unique attributes is its trademarked Inventory Supported Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (ISMRO) program — a value-added service that puts the company in front of the supply chain issues that have plagued the rest of the industry.
Through a robust inventory, ISMRO supports PAG’s MRO functions across all its business segments. In fact, PAG invests about $150-million in rotable inventory — a significant investment with the aim of keeping aviation operators mission ready.
“Chances are that eight of the 10 components you’re looking for will be on our shelves ready to ship within 30 minutes,” Desai said.
Unlike a typical repair station, where customers might have to wait 20 to 30 days to get their components overhauled, PAG’s ISMRO program gives customers the option of having replacement parts shipped out the same day. This eliminates supply chain delays, and more importantly, it gets their aircraft back in the air faster.
“The ISMRO program evaluates the customer’s asset, allowing us to charge customers the exact same dollar amount as having their own components fixed,” Desai said. “It’s a unique model, and there’s nobody else in our industry that offers ISMRO for all four market segments.”
Looking ahead, PAG plans to acquire additional service capabilities and geographic locations, particularly focusing on the engine and component services segments.
With 80 percent of its customer base being mission-critical operators, PAG carries a heavy responsibility as a leading provider of products and value-added services to aerospace and defense industries worldwide.
Customers who turn to PAG can expect a one-stop shop with a single point of contact. This person will handle all logistics between PAG’s business segments, capabilities, and services.
“After going through the pandemic together, we are undoubtedly a stronger organization today. I am truly humbled by the people that we have on our team,” Desai said.
Avionics services
Part failure that grounds an aircraft is a constant concern for fleet operators. But customers know they can rely on PAG to answer their call — day or night — giving them instant access to the company’s expertise and more than 200,000 ready-to-ship line items.
PAG offers a full suite of avionics services — from legacy products to current generation platforms for a wide range of commercial, business, and military rotor- and fixed-wing aircraft.
Its extensive suite of avionics services includes engine controls, flight control systems, navigation, communications, flight recorders, lighting systems, and weather radar.
“Essentially, whatever avionics service an operator needs, PAG will be able to deliver it through its full-service avionics shops and dealerships that service locations around the world,” said Mark Stemwedel, PAG’s vice president of avionics services.
In 2022, PAG added new capabilities to its growing suite of avionics services by acquiring Velocity Aerospace Group. Velocity’s EDN Aviation facility in Van Nuys, California, specializes in multilayer circuit board assemblies, cable and wiring harnesses, and avionics enclosures.
“Through Velocity’s facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Burbank, California, PAG offers MRO capability in avionics, electrical systems, fire protection, interior lights, water/waste assemblies, and more,” Stemwedel said.
This workforce brings decades of technical experience and strong customer relationships to PAG’s portfolio, enabling the company to offer an expanded range of products and services. PAG’s expertise in avionics MRO services results in far more efficient and cost-effective support than that of its competitors, and at a fraction of the turnaround time.
While many traditional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) might offer built-to-order service on spares, PAG’s strong relationships with OEMs allow operators to make immediate purchases from the company’s $150-million parts inventory.
Component services
With a proven track record of providing industry-leading fixed- and rotor-wing MRO services, PAG’s component services segment focuses on what was essentially the company’s original business model, providing MRO support for starter generators, wheels, brakes, landing gear, hydraulics, pneumatics, instruments, and batteries.
Jordan Webber, vice president of component services, said the unique capabilities within this segment are twofold — not only does PAG cover the entire product line, its geographic reach is extensive.
“As a one-stop solution for customers, there aren’t many companies that can offer our depth and breadth of support,” Webber said.
For instance, the company has five starter generator shops strategically located throughout the world, including one in Australia, Canada, and Brazil and two in the U.S., giving PAG a unique competitive edge.
“That’s an exceptional offering. People don’t have to transport parts halfway across the world to get them serviced,” Webber said. “We are available where our customer base is located.”
Performing over 100,000 repairs for 6,500 customers in 90 countries every year, PAG is well established as a global leader in the MRO industry. With specialized repair capabilities, PAG can save customers thousands of dollars by repairing components in-house.
With the acquisition of Trace Aviation in 2021, PAG expanded its components services capabilities to specialize in Beechcraft King Air and 1900 landing gear, as well as airframe component exchanges and overhauls. This strategic move expanded PAG’s footprint into Jackson, Mississippi.
PAG not only overhauls starter generators, with the acquisition of Precision Rewind Services (PRS) — formerly World Aviation — the company can rewind those components in house.
“Instead of scrapping out an item, we have internal capability to provide cost-saving full rewind, as opposed to customers having to buy new,” Webber said.
Engine services
When it comes to repairing and overhauling fixed- and rotor-wing engines and engine accessories, PAG offers a broad range of MRO and supply chain solutions supporting engines, modules, fuel controls, governors, bleed valves, nozzles, fuel heaters, turbine blades, compressors, and gear boxes.
“When customers turn to PAG’s engine services division, they are looking for timely and detailed support for inspection/repair services, or immediate access to our inventory of PAG-owned spares dedicated to supporting their operation,” said Keith Stringer, vice president of engine services.
Through the acquisition of Keystone Turbine Service (KTS), PAG acquired Rolls-Royce’s second largest Authorized Maintenance Repair Overhaul Center (AMROC), as well as a dedicated team that has been the recipient of the coveted Rolls-Royce “Best in Class” award for three consecutive years.
PAG offers an all-in-one solution, supporting inspection, repair, and full overhaul of the Rolls-Royce M250 and RR300 series of gas turbine engines, including modules, accessories, and components, as well as testing services. PAG also has the ability to provide customers with Honeywell and Triumph accessories, components, spare parts, and field service support.
In 2022, PAG acquired Pacific Turbine Group (PTB), expanding its repair capabilities for the Pratt & Whitney PT6 and Honeywell TPE331 engine lines.
“Through its internal network of rework and expanded capabilities, PAG not only provides the repair or overhaul of the assembly, but also the internal repairs necessary to return the engine to service in a timely and cost-effective way,” Stringer said.
PAG creates custom support solutions, incorporating new or used serviceable material (USM) and internal reworks to manage costs while ensuring high-quality standards. The company has taken great strides to invest in inventory, new capabilities, and technical training, allowing mission-critical operators to have immediate access to parts and timely support.
“We have more than doubled our investment in piece parts and completed modules in the last 18 months, and we continue to proactively manage our available resources,” Stringer said.
Manufacturing/DER services
Mission-critical operators know the importance of keeping their aircraft in the air — and so does the expert team at PAG. To ensure continuous readiness to meet customer needs, PAG has committed extensive resources to develop its manufacturing/DER services segment.
By acquiring EDN Aviation (EDN), Precision Rewind Services (PRS), and Precision Display Repairs (PDR), PAG added in-house repair functions and created DER repair processes where repair specifications or manuals were not available.
“What’s unique about this segment is there are only three or four other competitors in this space, which makes it a niche market,” Desai said.
Through PAG’s manufacturing/DER segment, mission-critical operators can receive MRO services for over 1,100 different armatures, stators, rotors, round wire, solenoids, coils, LCD displays and cockpit panels. PAG is also one of only two facilities in North America that can repair aircraft LCD displays. Where historically customers would have to purchase a new LCD display, PAG repairs them using proprietary processes.
PAG also specializes in manufacturing and refurbishing high-quality aircraft cockpit panels, multilayer circuit board assemblies, cable and wiring harnesses, avionics enclosures, and cockpit subassemblies.
“Besides incorporating the ISMRO supply chain model into this segment, our ability to solve a problem for a customer, whether it’s manufacturing a cockpit panel or an LCD display, gives us distinctive capabilities,” Desai said.
PAG’s manufacturing/DER services result in many advantages for the customer, including impressive cost-savings. For example, PAG’s proprietary reverse engineering processes can yield, in some cases, $10,000 to $25,000 in savings for a single LCD repair.
Through internal development and acquisitions, PAG has added over 900 specific DER repairs, and its engineers are constantly working on projects that will yield customers better turnaround times and increased savings on parts costs.
Superior support for mission critical operators
For mission-critical operators, there are direct and life-threatening consequences the longer an aircraft is grounded. That’s why they turn to PAG as their trusted MRO service provider.
“Our customers don’t have to find different suppliers for the components they need,” said David Mast, PAG president and CEO. “They call PAG. As a global brand, and our past performance speaks for itself. Acquiring facilities and businesses and adding additional locations truly improves the customer experience, allowing us to help get their aircraft back in the air sooner.”
As PAG expanded significantly over the years — in capabilities, products, and geographic regions — its customer service team has also been strengthened with each new business acquisition.
In fact, the company has doubled in size over the last 36 months and is now around 800 employees strong around the world. This includes 120 customer-facing employees who ensure a personalized relationship with every customer. PAG takes the time to learn what operators need, invest in the inventory to ensure parts availability, and grow its capabilities to provide an all-service support center.
“Our people truly make the difference in getting things done. They create a superior customer experience than what our market typically offers,” Mast said. “It’s also our products, availability, broad capabilities, and ISMRO model. All play a factor in the customer experience.”
While other competitors have been hesitant to invest in these areas during times of crisis, PAG has taken a leadership role in putting the business of its customers first.
“Ultimately, we consider ourselves the best value,” Mast said. “Customers have said we’re very competitively priced, considering the service and availability they get with PAG.”
The company is well positioned to continue its growth trajectory in the coming years. It plans to continue investing in existing business segments, scaling up capabilities, inventory, and people, to be ready to provide immediate service and ensure its customers remain mission ready.
