Expansionary Mode Continued from page 35 S 18th heltair is currently evaluat- ing expansion opportuni- ties west of the Mississippi. What makes that newsworthy is that it would be the first time the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-headquartered FBO and airport property manage- ment and development company has seriously considered acquiring or building an FBO beyond its East Coast, Florida-centric market. That potential FBO would be the owned by Sheltair, the third larg- est FBO network in North America, behind Signature Flight Support and Atlantic Aviation. The 17 currently operating Sheltair facilities include 11 throughout Florida, five in the New York Metropolitan Area—includ- ing LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International (JFK)—and one in Georgia at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV). Sheltair’s footprint, in fact, cov- ers 23 airports, including six in Florida where it maintains and leases facilities, but does not oper- ate FBOs. All of the Sheltair FBOs sell fuel under the AvFuel banner. Right now, the company has a total workforce of 463, of which 361—78 percent—are specifically dedicated to its FBO operations. “Given the competitive nature of the FBO business, Sheltair has elected to operate with a business model that allows for focused efforts for each discipline—specifically real estate, construction management, and FBO operations,” said Warren Kroeppel, the company’s Chief Operating Officer. This allows each facility to concentrate on its “core competency of providing the goods and services demanded by its clients at its airport.” The Sheltair story is, in fact, a textbook case of “The tail that grew to wag the dog.” Fresh out of the Air Force in 1963, Jerry Holland, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Rendering of one of six hangars currently under construction—Republic Airport at Farmingdale NY (FRG) and Sheltair founder, started Holland Builders, a construction company that initially concentrated on single-family homes in Florida, but expanded into multi-occupant residential projects and commercial properties, includ- ing office complexes and shopping centers. By the mid-1980s, airport property development—and FBOs— were added. That was a turning point. “As I started building and leasing hangars throughout Florida, I gained an appreciation of the FBO busi- ness and saw opportunities there,” Holland said. In 1986, he took the plunge into FBO ownership, acquir- ing an operation, formerly doing business as Walkers Cay Aviation, on the north side of Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Under Holland’s owner- ship, the FBO was renamed Fort Lauderdale Jet Center. That facility was subsequently replaced with a brand new building, on the airport’s west side. From there, the nascent network grew with the acquisition of a second FBO at Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB). As the FBO network expanded, a branding issue emerged. “Each of our FBOs had the name of the airport it served, followed by the words “Jet Center,” Holland explained. “But we soon learned that ‘Jet Center’ was commonly used by other FBOs, hav- ing no affiliation with ours,” which led to some problematic misconceptions. He noted: “When a customer at our Fort Lauderdale FBO told us that he had a bad experience at another FBO that also used Jet Center in its name—and which he thought we owned—we had to explain that it was not our operation. As more people 36 Aviation Business Journal | 3rd Quarter 2017
