Business View - January 2016 79
throwing anything away. The most important thing to
them as it relates to us is the book value and residual
value of these assets as they age and get to the point
where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
“You want to pick a company that is expert in the
aviation aftermarket industry and that has a strong
marketplace for these components. If you don’t, then
you’re not going to achieve the maximum value from
the retiring asset. And depending on the owner’s cost
basis for the aircraft, it could really make a big differ-
ence in your gain or loss – it’s critical. We have an air-
craft acquisitions group here; they know what aircraft
components are selling. We have a proprietary model
that is highly sophisticated that allows us to forecast
and look for certain aircraft types down to the very fin-
est detail that will give us the highest yield in the cur-
rent marketplace.”
In 2013, UAM was bought by Keri Wright, who had
been the company’s Chief Operating Officer for sev-
eral years. According to Kling, Wright was “respon-
sible for the stratospheric growth and profitability of
the company for the last ten years, and was really the
one that put the company on the map. She’s a widely-
recognized expert in this field. She’s smart, driven, dis-
ciplined, and tough,” he says. In 2014, Aviation Week
acknowledged Wright as a “40 Under Forty” honoree.
This past year, she was selected as “CEO of the Year”
by Inside Memphis Business magazine.
UAM, itself, was recently included in Inc. Magazine’s
“5000 Fastest Growing Companies list for 2015,” hav-
ing achieved a three-year growth rate of 430 percent.
Kling says that UAM‘s future plans include some addi-
tional growth in Asia and that the company is particu-
larly interested in looking for opportunities in China.
“We’re also looking at additional expansion in Eu-
rope.” he adds.
When it comes to the safety of millions of flying pas-
sengers, their families, children, parents, and loved
ones, an airplane’s operational safety should never be
left to secondary standards. UAM and its global team
are clearly in a class by themselves. “We are the most
experienced people in the world that do this,” states
Kling. “We are the experts. While we operate in a won-
drous world behind the scenes that most passengers
rely on and trust, being first in class and standards will
never come in second place.”
PREFERRED VENDORS
Jackson, Shields, Yeiser & Holt
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