The world has transformed exponentially! Every business realm has witnessed growth that was once known to be impossible. Referring to the term – impossible, one of the perfect exemplifications explaining that technology knows no barrier, specifically when it comes to impossibility, is aviation.
The journey that started with the Wright Brothers is now skyrocketing revenue and feeding millions. And one of the crucial elements that came into the global spotlight with this explosion of growth is Aviation Solution Providers.
While on our search for the most favored aviation businesses, we crossed paths with PKL Services’ CEO, Michael Naylor.
He shared insights on the company’s growth, present endeavors, and future objectives. Let’s slide into the interview and learn the art of Michael’s technological leadership.
Follow the trail!
Please give us a brief overview of your company, its mission, and the key aspects of its strong foothold in the Aerospace Maintenance Services industry.
PKL was founded in 2003 in response to a noticeable need within the aerospace maintenance industry. PKL’s founder, Samuel Flores, Jr. is a retired US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel with 30 years of service. Upon leaving the Marine Corps, Mr. Flores recognized the need for logistics support to the US military and, as such, founded PKL to begin to support that gap. What began as a relatively small company, PKL grew quickly with multiple contracts that supported aircraft maintenance operations around the world.
PKL’s mission is to provide skilled personnel, committed to quality service, in the areas of maintenance, training, logistics, operations, and administrative services. We strive to be a company that balances agile, effective performance with unyielding commitment to our core values, committed to continual improvement, exceeding customer expectations, and implementing quality standards in dynamic environments.
The company has maintained this mission and our quality of service for over 19 years. We pride ourselves on hiring talented, highly trained professionals who continue to provide excellent service to our customers. This has allowed PKL to maintain a reputation that is recognized across the industry by customers, partners, and employees.
Describe your top-notch offerings that address the need of your customers.
PKL offers a range of services to the aerospace and military industry. We work with our customers to provide maintenance, training, logistics, operations, and administration services. We work with customers in multiple branches of the US military as well as our allied foreign militaries.
The aerospace industry has evolved over the years and has become saturated with more providers and competition. Our commitment to quality service is what has won us multiple re-competes on contracts and sole-source awards.
To maintain our quality of service, we are meticulous about quality and compliance. We are both ISO:9001-2015 and AS9110:C certified. These procedures and dedication to compliance ensure that PKL has the team, resources, expertise, and personnel required to meet the needs of our customers and maintain performance regardless of external circumstances.
Additionally, as technology and aviation demands continue to evolve, we saw a need for more advanced solutions and developed our trademarked training program, OmniSpec®.
OmniSpec® offers our customers with the opportunity to train and educate their personnel in any location worldwide while continuing to attain increased efficiencies and enhanced effectiveness. This program focuses on innovative solutions via various mechanisms, including computer-based training (CBT), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) and allows us to remain competitive while enhancing the results for our customers.
<strong>What makes your company a preferred choice among your clientele over other competitors?</strong>
PKL has become an employer of choice with a reputation for highly skilled personnel capable of delivering quality service to our customers. We have been recognized by customers, employees, and outside organizations for our expertise, professionalism, and contract deliverability.
We are proud to hire veterans and nearly 90% of our employees are military veterans. As veterans, our employees and leadership understand the environment of our customers and how to communicate effectively while providing solutions that match expectations in the military fields. Most of our employees have the military experience with unique skill sets related to the specific aircraft they operated and serviced during their time in the military. These skills are incredibly valuable to our customers and ensure our employees are providing the highest level of education and support to our customers.
PKL is also an agile company with a lean infrastructure. Our corporate team is efficient and well-retained. The average tenure of our corporate staff is 7 years. We don’t outsource tasks and our employees are involved directly in each aspect of the business. As a result, we can adapt quickly, make strategic pivots, provide prompt response, and keep our costs low. We can work harder and smarter for each of our customers and partners to ensure deliverability and exceptional results.
In your opinion, what could be the future of the Aerospace Maintenance Services industry, and how will your company change its market orientation.
PKL continually monitors our customer needs and advances in technology. We look for areas to improve training and encourage our employees to identify measures and processes that can improve efficiency and safety. As technology evolves and newer aircraft are being introduced, this will require new methods of maintaining and repairing these aircraft. There will always be a need to provide employment for veterans leaving the service with the skills and knowledge to maintain the legacy aircraft as well as the newer aircraft and equipment. That is where the need for continual training comes in. With our trademarked OmniSpec® Training System, PKL can provide that training and tailor it to specific requirements for each customer. The system is portable and provides remote training functionality so employees and students can train locally rather than having to take them off the job and send them to a classroom off site or in another state/country. These are the types of innovation that will push the industry forward.
In what ways have you or your company contributed to the community?
PKL has long supported military families, personnel, and various branches of the US military. We continue to support charitable organizations around the US that serve these members of the military and their families. We understand the challenges active-duty personnel and their families face and we know the difficulties that can arise transitioning from the military to civilian careers. Through our charitable associations and career support hiring veterans, we hope to continue to provide these men and women with the resources they need.
What are your future aspirations? Where do you see your company in the next five years?
Our vision is to continue to grow PKL in our current core business of aviation maintenance and logistics as well as the training in these areas and for the aircrew that operate the aircraft. We will continue to hire veteran employees and stress the importance of providing quality service. Our employees are our most important asset, and we will make sure they are recognized and encouraged to identify creative/effective ways to solve our customers’ challenges and improve performance on all contracts.
