Step into the world of ground support equipment innovation as the Power Stow Americas team opens their doors to reveal how they're quietly revolutionizing baggage handling operations worldwide. From their facility in Norcross, Georgia, this intimate conversation takes listeners on an unexpected journey through the company's fascinating origin story and current cutting-edge solutions.
The podcast features a remarkable cast of industry veterans - Ken Brown (KB), who spent 38 years with United Airlines before crossing over to lead Power Stow Americas; Justin Brennan, bringing his extensive GSE sales expertise; and most surprisingly, Arlie Wurtzen, who designed chocolate manufacturing equipment (including the knife that cuts Kit Kat bars!) before helping develop Power Stow's first prototype over 20 years ago.
What began as a solution to European regulations limiting lifting weight has evolved into a product line that dramatically improves ergonomics for ramp workers. The flagship roller track system, which extends conveyor belts directly into aircraft cargo holds, has become so valued that ramp agents have physically fought over units and stayed with them during breaks to prevent others from "borrowing" their equipment.
The conversation explores how Power Stow has expanded beyond their initial success with new innovations like the tail loader (bridging the gap between belt loaders and carts), the transfer belt (solving ergonomic challenges in baggage rooms), and assisted docking systems (addressing aircraft damage concerns). Throughout each development, the company maintains its obsessive focus on user experience and customer service, shipping parts same-day and deploying technicians within 24 hours when needed.
Most compelling are the stories of transformation - from KB's journey as a skeptical airline executive to becoming the company's biggest advocate, to the moments when resistant veteran ramp workers suddenly realize how the technology can extend their careers by protecting their bodies. These human elements reveal why Power Stow has earned such loyalty in an industry where relationships and reliability matter more than fancy marketing.
Ready to see these innovations in person? Visit Power Stow at the upcoming GSE Expo in Las Vegas, where they'll showcase their systems and demonstrate why this team has earned such respect throughout the aviation ground handling community.
Looking for reliable and flexible ground support equipment leasing solutions? Look no further than Xcēd! As your trusted partner, Xcēd specializes in tailored operating leases for ground handlers and airlines, offering top-notch equipment and flexible terms to suit your needs. Whether you're seeking the latest electric GSE or traditional equipment, Xcēd has you covered with competitive rates and exceptional customer service. Keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently with Xcēd. Visit xcedgse.com today and soar to new heights with Xcēd Ground Support Equipment Leasing!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Matt Weitzel (00:18):
We'll see you next time.
Xcēd adapts to your uniqueoperational needs.
Whether you're ramping up forpeak season or planning for
long-term growth, we provide theright equipment to keep your
operations running smoothly.
This anniversary, we renew ourdedication to empowering your
ground operations withefficiency and innovation.
With Xcēd, you're equipped forsuccess today and prepared for
(00:42):
the challenges of tomorrow.
Xcēd driving excellence on theground year after year.
Explore more at xcedgse.
com.
This is Jon Pfister.
I'm Brian Yoder.
This is Mathias Mouillenier.
Ken Brown (01:00):
This is Willy Martinez and you are listening
to GSE Podcast.
Matt Weitzel (01:05):
All right, well, welcome to the GSE Podcast.
I'm Matt Weitzel and I'm herewith Justin Brennan, Ken Brown,
kb, as everybody calls him andArlie Wurtzen from PowerStow
Americas.
Is that right, powerstowAmericas?
You got it.
Is that right, power StowAmericas?
You got it, got it.
And we are in Norcross, Georgia, at their facility where they
(01:28):
put together the booms hereright and attached the Power
Stow units to the belt loadersand just got a plant tour.
It was fantastic.
I really appreciate you alltaking me around.
Arlie had the most information,or at least useful information,
I think, which was what I wastold would be the case, right,
and that ended up becoming true,which is fantastic.
(01:48):
Let's go around, and why don'tyou all introduce yourselves?
We'll start with KB.
Ken Brown (01:54):
Yeah, hey, good to visit with you.
My name is Ken Brown and, asmentioned, most people refer to
me as KB.
I'm the president of PowerStore Americas here.
I've been with the companyabout nine months.
I came over after a long stintat United Airlines and joined
the team and been here eversince.
Matt Weitzel (02:14):
Nice.
Justin Brennan (02:14):
All right, justin.
I'm Justin Brennan.
I've been at PowerStoreAmericas for about seven months,
so I came on just after KB didand do sales activities here at
PowerStow.
I came from Textron where Ispent many years and have a lot
of good friends still over there, but very happy to be at
PowerStow.
Matt Weitzel (02:35):
That's awesome man .
And then Arlie is our veteran.
I think yeah.
Arly Würtzen (02:54):
I got more than seven months.
Matt Weitzel (02:55):
So I've been with.
Arly Würtzen (02:56):
PowerStore since the beginning.
Matt Weitzel (02:57):
I don't know when that was, but it's more than 20
years ago, but, arlie.
So why don't you tell us alittle bit about how the idea,
the concept started and then youknow how you know, kind of, how
it's going today?
Arly Würtzen (03:10):
Yeah, well, back in the day there was a lot of
attention on work environmentover in Copenhagen airport and
the ground handlers over therewas limited in how much their
employees could lift during aday's work.
So the handlers were kind of ina situation where they either
(03:37):
had to hire more manpower or geta tool that could solve the
situation of lifting the bagswhen they'd load and offload the
planes.
So Martin Vestergaard, theowner and founder of PowerStow
he came up with this idea thatthe PowerStow roller track, now
with the conical rollers thatcould extend into the plane.
Back when I started withPowerStow, martin and another
(04:00):
engineer, jens, who was employeenumber one in PowerStow, jens
Bunte they had made a prototypeof a roller track.
They had it in a circle on afloor in this little shop.
So when I came down andinterviewed for my job, it was
Jens and Martin and theybasically the shop tour, was
(04:21):
this thing sitting on the floorand hooked up to two car
batteries, and they proudlyshowed me what they'd done.
And this little circle ofrollers could handle pallets,
geese, suitcases and it wouldn'tfall off.
So they were dead certain thatthis was the future.
And then I started on and westarted basically making the
(04:45):
exterior designs.
We needed to attach this to abelt loader.
Somehow A company back in theday they were called Novia in
Copenhagen Airport.
They let us borrow one of theirbelt loaders.
So we attached the PowerStoresystem to this belt loader.
First we designed all thebrackets and all that stuff,
then we put it on a belt loader.
(05:05):
First we designed all thebrackets and all that stuff,
then we put it on a belt loaderand kind of like a year after I
started we were ready to putthis belt loader in service in
Copenhagen airport and it workedfor like a good three hours or
something.
Then it broke.
Matt Weitzel (05:17):
Oh wow, Did you fix that, Arlie.
Arly Würtzen (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, we fixed it and we kind of that.
Following year we were maybenot daily in the airport, but
almost following up making sureeverything worked, fixing stuff
that broke, making notes,because we all knew that this
was not the final product.
This was a prototype and we hadto kind of figure out all the
weak points so we could come upwith a good, strong design.
(05:41):
So over that first year we sawa lot of things break and a lot
of things that didn't work asplanned, but we made good notes
and after a year we sat down andthen we designed PowerStore
number two and if you look at aPowerStore number two and
PowerStore number 3000, youcan't tell the difference.
I can tell the difference, butthey look the same.
(06:03):
And PowerStore number one andPowerStore number two are still
in service.
They work every day inCopenhagen.
Matt Weitzel (06:08):
Really.
Yeah, that's incredible.
That's a good selling pointright there.
So what kind of background didyou have, arlie, that made it?
So it was a perfect fit for youto come over to PowerStore.
Arly Würtzen (06:19):
So, yeah, I was the perfect fit because I'm a
mechanical engineer.
My background is work sheetmetal at a shipyard, so I was a
welder and a sheet metal guy.
I took an engineering degree,mechanical engineer.
I worked for a chocolatecompany for a good four years Of
(06:39):
course.
I designed different machinesfor chocolate manufacturing.
I designed different machinesfor chocolate manufacturing.
I designed the knife that cutsthe cracker in the big Kit.
Justin Brennan (06:50):
Kat bar for instance no way, yes way, you
didn't know you're going to meetthat guy.
No, I did not.
Matt Weitzel (06:54):
I didn't see this coming, I got to add this to my
resume now, so, and then I gotlaid off there.
Some English guy bought twothirds of the whole world's
capacity of cocoa beans.
Arly Würtzen (06:59):
So the whole industry stopped and I got laid
off.
There Some English guy boughttwo-thirds of the whole world's
capacity of cocoa beans, so thewhole industry stopped and I got
laid off.
And then I started working forPower Store, and then yeah, how
did they find?
You.
They had an ad in the newspaper, I think.
Matt Weitzel (07:17):
Okay, so you found them.
Yeah, okay, gotcha.
Arly Würtzen (07:21):
And I went down.
We had a nice job interviewwith Jens and Martin and I
remember they had bought twodifferent cakes for the job
interview.
You've got to remember therewas three of us, so two cakes
was barely enough and we justsat there, for I think the job
interview took more than twohours.
We just sat there and talkedand ate cake?
Matt Weitzel (07:40):
Did you tell them you knew how to cut it?
Arly Würtzen (07:43):
Yes, and I told them that I was not interested
in anything that had to do withmanagement.
All I wanted was to sit anddesign machines.
Matt Weitzel (07:52):
Yeah, and that's what they allowed you to do.
Yeah, that's amazing, ken,we're going to go to you because
Justin can't follow that up,you know.
But you, with your storiedhistory in the GSE industry, I
think you know if anybody cancompete with the Kit Kat story,
I think it's you.
How did you get your start inthe industry?
Ken Brown (08:10):
I didn't realize it was going to be so educational.
Here today I'm hearing thingsabout Arlie I'd never heard
before.
Yeah, but yeah, I, you know Ireally started on the airline
side of things and found myself.
I took a job with UnitedAirlines many, many years ago as
a summer temporary loadingairplanes and, you know, a year
later found myself working fulltime and sort of one thing led
(08:33):
to another.
I was always just somebody whowas looking to learn something
new and do something differentand eventually became an
aircraft fueler, did wide bodyfood running, just did a lot of
different things.
That led to a training jobeventually, which really was
sort of near and dear to myheart, because I also had been a
high school football coach thatsort of called to me just
(08:54):
helping people along from UnitedAirlines and joined the Marine
Corps and, to be honest, Ididn't know at the time that
United Airlines would hold myposition and guarantee that
position, which was fantasticfor that.
They would do that.
But that was something I sortof needed a box, I needed to
(09:15):
check in my life, and so I spentsome time in the Marine Corps,
returned to United Airlines andwas really blessed over the
course of a 38-year career towork in hub environments, line
station environments,international, domestic.
I spent time at headquarters,some of that time leading ground
equipment operations, but I'vespent time in fuel efficiency
(09:38):
work, a lot of operationsleadership work over the years.
I actually was the president oftheir subsidiary ground
handling company, united GroundExpress, for a few years, before
then returning to Denver whereI last worked before retiring
and joined the PowerStow family.
I had the pleasure of meetingthe PowerStow group probably 10
(10:01):
or 12 years ago when Unitedfirst started to consider this
RollerTac product and I was oneof the point.
People on United and so got toknow Arlie and Ben Reeves really
well, spent a lot of time withthem and candidly and rightfully
so started as a skeptic of amachine that seemed complicated.
But every moment, every bit ofskepticism I had got washed away
(10:25):
as I learned and put my handson the machine, flew out to
Boston and climbed in anairplane to load fish alongside
20-year ramp employees and theywon me over and I ended up
becoming a big advocate andplayed a pretty important role,
I think, in sort of Unitedheading down the path with
(10:47):
PowerStow.
They now own about 580 of theroller track system at United
Airlines and then had thisfantastic opportunity to go from
being a customer and a friendto being a colleague just under
a year ago, and so made thatdecision.
I've been very, very pleasedwith it.
I have gotten to spend a lot oftime with other customers.
(11:10):
One of the things that I'vereally loved is validating that
my perception as a formercustomer of PowerStore really
matches what I find in our othercustomers.
Powerstore has a greatreputation for customer service.
Our other customers PowerShell,has a great reputation for
customer service.
The product is high quality.
Its in-service rate is aboveall others.
(11:32):
But what I hear a lot is what Iexperienced as a customer and
something that I know that thisgroup works really hard, and
that's keeping our culture ofbeing highly customer-focused,
and so we spend a lot of timeinteracting with our customers,
and showing up Parts issomething in the GSC industry
you hear a lot about.
You know, waiting on parts andthings like that we take a lot
(11:53):
of pride in.
If you call us, if you contactus before noon, we're probably
going to have that part shippedout same day.
It's very rare that you have towait more than a day, and so
there's just an importanthandful of things that, I really
think, sets PowerStow apart,and I couldn't be more proud to
be part of this group.
Matt Weitzel (12:12):
That's awesome, man.
Yeah, that's great.
So you took over for Ben Reeves.
Is that correct, or is Benstill around?
Ken Brown (12:18):
Yeah, that's a really .
You asked that question in a waythat yes and yes.
So it's just another thing thatI think for me anyway, that I
had a lot of appreciation forwith PowerStow is I started this
conversation with PowerStowabout this role and it was sort
of in my mind, the ultimatesuccession planning Ben had sort
(12:41):
of said listen, I'm thinkingabout sort of slowing down a
little bit, maybe going a littlepart-time and participating a
little less over a two-yearperiod, and a lot of companies
would wait until two weeksbefore that to start looking for
a replacement.
But their mindset is just uniquein that way.
So they started looking forBen's replacement early on and
(13:03):
that's what led to my hiringhere.
So I have the unique benefit ofspending a year or so with Ben
as he sort of steps back intomore of a part-time role and
consultant really largely to meand then ultimately will
continue to serve on the board.
So not only is he a good friend, but he's an excellent leader
(13:27):
and has done a fantastic job onthe sales side here, and so I
couldn't be more pleased withPowerStow's sort of vision of
looking to replace him far inadvance and giving us the
benefit of spending a lot oftime working together before he
steps off, a little morepermanent basis.
Matt Weitzel (13:43):
Yeah, two industry giants we got with Ben Reeves
and KB.
So, man, justin, yep, I hate todo this to you, but you got to
follow that up.
Justin Brennan (13:53):
Well, I'll do my best.
I definitely wasn't cuttingchocolate back before I came
here.
Matt Weitzel (14:01):
You weren't doing that in Amsterdam at any point
during your career.
Justin Brennan (14:04):
No, no, it's never been an option.
Matt Weitzel (14:06):
Cocoa production nothing, no, okay, all right, go
on.
Justin Brennan (14:09):
No.
So been at PowerStow for ashort while but, like KB, just
very happy with the culturethat's here and one of the
unique things I think one of thebiggest draws to PowerStow that
anybody would have is the waythe family kind of runs the
business and really the ultimatefocus on the person who's
(14:30):
working on the ramp and that isabsolutely kind of the North
Star, the driving force behindeverything that's done, from
product development to how thecustomer is served, and it's
just it's been a great fit andreally refreshing.
And it's just it's it's been abeen a great fit and really
refreshing.
But I spent about 20 years withTextron before I came here and
(14:52):
had a lot of different roles.
I spent the last five years inTextron's GSE business where I
made a lot of good friends and alot of great relationships with
different customers out there,spent a lot of time in that
factory as well.
But before that I had a lot ofsales roles, mostly around our
golf cart business that Textronhad.
(15:13):
So I got to travel thebackwoods of Arkansas and Far
East Texas and do a lot ofdifferent things with the golf
cart business at Textron.
But my history has really kindof been around sales, whether it
was territory sales or, youknow, leading salespeople or
selling, you know, large ticketitems.
(15:34):
That's really where I spentmost of my career and very
fortunate that I've been able tocome over to PowerStow and,
like KB, take a lot of goodlessons from Ben and really get
to spend a lot of time withwhat's made him and what's made
PowerStow successful.
And you know, the intention isthat we continue that tradition
here at PowerStow and continuewhat everybody has come to
(15:55):
expect.
So just a very exciting timeand a lot of really neat things
happening here at PowerStowright now.
Matt Weitzel (16:02):
Yeah, for sure.
And I also worked for Textron,but prior to well, I worked for
Textron at the same time.
You worked for Textron, but youweren't the GSE business yet.
I left right before you came in.
And then I got to meet you onceyou started and you know I
could see that you immediatelymade all the friendships in GSE.
And then once you get in GSE,you never leave.
(16:22):
It's not like chocolate, right?
No, everybody leaves chocolate,big chocolate.
You know you leave, but younever leave GSE.
And people try, like Ben tried.
You know he tried to leave atsome point.
He always come back.
So we're glad that you stayedwith us in GSE.
And now that you're a PowerStow, oh yeah, it's very exciting.
So well, now that we've kind ofgot the introductions out of
(16:44):
the way, let's talk about theproduct.
So let's talk about the coreproduct and I'll have you start.
Justin Brennan (16:58):
So at Power Stowe we really have kind of
four products right now thatwe're out there marketing and
selling and manufacturing.
So I think most people arefamiliar with our Roller Track
product so KB talked quite a bitabout that and the use with the
airlines and the groundhandlers in the US, and that's
really the product that putPowerStow on the map.
And what Arlie started with inDenmark is our Rollertrack track
(17:25):
still has, you know, a long wayto go and a lot of opportunity
in it.
But you know, as we've kind ofdeveloped and become, you know,
a bigger business, we've kind offocused on the other places
where we could help the guy orthe girl who's on the ramp,
who's either throwing bags orloading airplanes or working on
the ramp, and really our focushas been around the ergonomics
and the safety side of the rampand primarily the ergonomics
(17:47):
side.
So we've got a couple of newproducts that we really
showcased the last few years atthe GSE Expo.
So we've got our, what we callour tail loader, which you saw
today, which really bridges thegap between the end of the belt
loader and the bag cart on theramp.
And you know what we're tryingto do and what we've done is
(18:11):
we've taken the ramp agent andtaken them away from having to
bend and twist to move a bagfrom the belt loader to the bag
cart to really automating thatprocess.
And so we're very excited tostart getting our demos out and
you know the units that are soldin the field and being used,
start getting those testimonialsback from you know the ramp
agents and hearing how thatproduct has helped them.
(18:33):
And then we also have a newproduct.
That's really kind of, I wouldsay, our first kind of venture
outside of the GSE space wherewe're really kind of in the bag
room world a little bit now, andwe have a product that we call
the transfer belt.
And the transfer belt bridgesthe gap between those induction
belts going into the airport andthe bag cart.
(18:55):
So you know, a lot of folks inGSE, or especially manufacturing
of GSE, probably haven't seen,you know a lot what happens.
You know underneath the airportwhen your bag is coming to the
carousel, when you pick it up,but there's a gap between that
cart and that induction beltwhere an agent has to reach into
the bag cart and grab and twistand throw a bag onto the belt.
(19:17):
And we've created a transferbelt that really bridges that
gap between those two pieces ofequipment at the airport.
And as we work with airportauthorities and airlines, you
know we're really starting tosee those benefits for the
agents that are out thereworking every day.
And then really our fourthproduct is what we call assisted
docking, and so I would sayit's the PowerStow take on
(19:40):
collision avoidance.
You know we're a little bitunique compared to other belt
loaders where we actuallyphysically dock onto the
aircraft.
That's how you get our rollertrack extended into the belly of
the plane.
And so that comes with its ownunique challenges of kind of
guiding the operator into theaircraft and docking the roller
(20:01):
track onto the plane.
And so through the use ofLIDARs and you know Arlie would
give you a very technicaldescription of what happens here
We've been able to map out theaircraft and really help guide
and control how the operatordrives up and docks onto the
airplane.
And really at PowerStow, youknow, we've taken what we've
learned from the roller trackand the things that have been
(20:23):
helpful to the ramp agent andtried to put that knowledge in
other places as well.
And you know, very excited forwhat the future holds for us.
Matt Weitzel (20:32):
Yeah, the roller track system.
You know, when you're just atan airport anywhere across the
US, you see it.
I mean it's everywhere.
It's at, almost, I would say,every single airport and it's a
fantastic system it's been outfor.
So when did it actually come tothe US?
Like, when did you all start?
Arly Würtzen (20:49):
We opened up in December 2013.
Okay, since 2013.
Matt Weitzel (20:55):
Yeah, because when I was working at Tug, we were
building the special chassis forthe 660s that the RollerTrac
system could fit onto.
So do you all have thecapability to attach to any belt
loader?
Arly Würtzen (21:11):
And, arlie, I'll let you speak to this In theory,
yes, but we have highexpectations from the actual
belt loader that we're attachingstuff to.
So we're not going to attachour stuff to something that we
know is going to break fatiguecracks or which can't hold the
load or so that we're attachingstuff to.
So we're not going to attachour stuff to something that we
(21:31):
know is going to break fatiguecracks or which can't hold the
load or so.
Our product is a very stable,solid built product so we can't
put it on a piece of junk thatdoesn't work or breaks down
every other day.
So when you start to work withus, we have some requirements,
but we can.
For now we put PowerStow on aroller track on Chuck belt
loaders, tld belt loaders.
We got Mulock belt loaders,tips Malahans oh, there's one
(21:55):
over in England somewhere, Ican't remember the name.
Matt Weitzel (21:59):
So I would say most of the major GSE
manufacturers that offer beltloaders in their fleet.
You all pretty much work withthem, and would they then build
the chassis and then send ithere, I would imagine, for you
all to?
Justin Brennan (22:13):
attach it.
What Arlie said is you know,we've got some requirements that
are specific to you know, beingable to attach a roller track
and being able to use a rollertrack.
But at the end of the day, wekind of have this list of folks
who you know.
We say, hey, we can work withthese, and then it's really up
to the customer.
We have no preference on thechassis that somebody would pick
(22:36):
.
We want our customers to bevery happy with what they have,
and so we really kind of givethem that decision.
And so you know they'll havetheir own requirements and
reasons for why they pick achassis.
But at the end of the day it'sreally up to whoever the end
user is.
And then you know it's our jobto make sure that we secure a
(22:57):
high quality chassis to matchthe roller track or the tail
loader or, you know, ourassisted docking the roller
track or the tail loader orassisted docking.
Matt Weitzel (23:10):
No-transcript.
Arly Würtzen (23:11):
It's changed, Like the motor technology that we
use.
All the electric motors we usethey are now all brushless.
In the beginning they were justDC brush motors that would wear
out over time.
Different designs, because overtime we start seeing fatigue,
(23:35):
cracks and things wear out.
There's always a weak point.
So we always have something towork on and make better.
So we constantly strive to dothat.
Our challenge is whatever wemake has to be retrofittable to
all the way back to PowerStorenumber one, basically.
Matt Weitzel (23:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Arly Würtzen (23:53):
It's a challenge sometimes if you want to update
a product.
Matt Weitzel (23:56):
Yeah, I bet, Especially when it's built
really well, right, it's findingthose common problems right and
then trying to fix those.
And then what does that looklike out in the field?
So if a customer calls you,United Airlines, and says, hey,
we have this issue out in thefield, do you all send somebody
out Like, how does that work?
Ken Brown (24:15):
Yeah, I mean I'll jump in here and you generally
can add color to that.
But, as I mentioned earlier,you know, I think PowerShell has
a reputation for being verycustomer focused and it's
nothing for us to deploysomebody, change schedules and
be on an airplane the next day,depending on the nature of the
call that we get right andthat'll dictate in some ways who
we send right.
(24:36):
Or the call that we get rightand that'll dictate in some ways
who we send right.
If it's a training issue, ifit's a more technical issue,
that Arlie, of course, isprobably going to be there
personally or one of his techs,but it's nothing for a member of
this team to get on an airplaneand be there, you know, within
24 hours on site, pretty muchanywhere in the US, to help
solve a problem.
Matt Weitzel (24:52):
And then it sounds like parts are readily
available.
They're here in Norcross.
You don't really have to ship alot overseas because you stock
here, correct?
Justin Brennan (25:01):
Yeah, it's nice when you have a limited number
of products, so your SKU countsa little bit lower on your parts
and it's a lot easier to beable to handle anything that
comes up.
Matt Weitzel (25:13):
Yeah, that is really nice.
And then so with the tailloader.
Did the customers ask you forthis?
Was this like feedback that youall had gotten about?
This was an issue out in thefield, or was this just purely
innovation that you all came upwith?
Justin Brennan (25:27):
I can make something up, but maybe Arlie
should answer that question.
Arly Würtzen (25:32):
All that was done over in Europe.
But but again there was aproblem.
Someone was lifting the bagsand we saw different products
out there that weren't reallygreat, like just a bit of manual
rollers that you could folddown, or there were some half
automated solutions, but they'renot great.
(25:54):
They're too slow, the operatorsdon't want to use them, it's
too heavy and it can't keep upwith the way, the motion range
that they need and the speedthat they need to make it a good
tool that they want to use.
So over in Denmark they decidedthat we could probably do
better, and we had an engineeron that for four years or
something.
He was working on it and yeah,so now the product is getting
(26:16):
into the field, and so now we'regoing to find some weak points
and then we have some otherstuff to work on.
Matt Weitzel (26:21):
Yeah, that looks like a really interesting
product.
New product development fromyou guys is that tail loader and
then obviously the assisteddocking.
So again, same question type ofthing.
The assisted docking is thatsomething you all were looking
at?
I know that a bunch of the beltloaders in the industry now
have some kind of docking system.
What have you on it that youcan get like Tug has a smart
(26:45):
sense and things like that?
So was this something to makesure you all kept up with that
kind of like where thetechnology was heading?
Ken Brown (26:51):
I'll jump in here and some of this applies to your
last question as well.
But I really think it's ablended approach.
I think it's in PowerShell'sDNA to seek to be the solution
to pain points and problems,particularly on the ramp, and so
a combination of just sort ofsmart people kind of constantly
(27:11):
thinking on their own.
What's the next opportunity forus to help?
Constantly thinking on theirown.
What's the next opportunity forus to help?
But we also never miss anopportunity to engage our
customers and ask them what'syour pain point?
What's a problem for you thatwe might be able to solve?
Talk to us about what'shappening in your workspace.
And we really try to diversifyour contacts with our customers
(27:33):
so that we aren't just visitingwith the GSC folks, but we are
very purposeful about spendingtime with their safety
organizations, with theirinnovation organizations and
even now so with the TransferBelt, some of the facilities
groups.
So we're very proactive aboutseeking their input about what
their pain points are and whatthe opportunities are that we
might be able to help solve that.
At the same time, we've got alot of experience internally and
(27:59):
so we sit and talk andbrainstorm about those ideas.
So it's kind of a blendedapproach.
More specific to your questionabout the assisted docking, for
years and years the number oneand number two cause of aircraft
damage in industry has been jetbridges and belt loaders, and
so it's an obvious opportunityto help mitigate some of that,
and so developing some type ofcollision mitigation was
(28:23):
somewhat a no-brainer, and Ithink that I would also add that
sort of rebounding from COVIDwas a very unique time for
especially these major aircarriers.
So ground handlers have alwayshad a high turnover rate and
always had to constantly hireand train folks.
But I think some of the morelegacy airlines always had the
(28:44):
benefit of maybe not having torecruit as hard and always
having people who wanted to work.
And that pendulum kind of swungin the recovery from COVID and
I think they've really foundthemselves having a hard time,
you know, filling that need andthen having a much junior
workforce where training becameso much more important, and so
(29:05):
having a product that helpsreduce risk.
You know your training is stillimportant, but reducing risk of
aircraft damage, of injury,became more and more important
to these airlines, and so Ithink that really helped shine a
light on the opportunity forsomething like assisted docking.
Now, much like a lot of ourproducts, this is not an.
It might be a fairly newproduct, but it's not a new idea
(29:27):
.
You're probably getting a sense.
You know, through Arlie andothers, that you know we don't
develop something and put it outto market pretty quickly.
Even at times you have to sortof struggle between you might be
missing the opportunity to goto market, but you know credit
to our founder and Arlie andothers we will not put a product
out until it has been testedand tested, and if it can be
(29:49):
broken we are going to break itourselves and fix it.
And so the assisted docking isone of those products as well,
been underdeveloped for severalyears.
We also know, like a lot of ourproducts, that nothing quite
tests a product like beingactually in the ramp environment
and maybe I would say in theramp environment in the US,
where employees can be reallyhard on ground equipment.
(30:10):
So we anticipate that we'regoing to learn and improve
things and this also goes backto an earlier question you asked
.
But one of the things thatalways impressed me about
PowerStow as a former customerand that it's part of my job to
make sure we maintain this aspart of our DNA is that
PowerStow has always been very,very open to user feedback.
(30:31):
I've worked with a lot of othermanufacturers who were really
proud of their product,sometimes so much so that if you
offered them some feedbackabout how they might be able to
make it better, they weren't allthat interested.
But I would say that PowerStowhas always been very interested
and sought that type of feedback, and when you walk the floor
you see the fruits of thoseconversations, of those
(30:57):
conversations they're, you know,like Arlie describes.
You know, unit number oneversus unit number 3,000 might
not look the same to sort of theaverage person walking by, but
there's been a lot of smallimprovements made over time,
largely based on feedback fromthe customer, and I think that's
another thing that makes thiscompany unique.
Matt Weitzel (31:10):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
Have you all seen a rollertrack system?
Outlive a belt loader.
Arly Würtzen (31:17):
So PowerStore number one is still on the same
chassis.
The bed has been replaced, atleast once, the engine it's on
its fourth engine or something,okay but the bottom frame is
still the same.
So yes and no, okay.
Matt Weitzel (31:35):
Yeah, I was just more curious.
It's a very robust product,right, and I can see that
there's a ton of moving parts,but obviously you all have built
this thing to last correct, andso you know, as we know,
there's a certain amount of timethat a belt loader is good for.
Well, I mean, they can repowerthe heck out of them, right.
Justin Brennan (31:56):
I mean KB's been around the ramp.
For I mean, these things don'tdie, you just rebuild them and
rebuild them and rebuild them.
Matt Weitzel (32:00):
Yeah, yeah, what does that look like?
Can some of those rollers goout and some of those motors,
and they're pretty easy toreplace, like?
Can the customer do that?
Do you send somebody out, likehow's that work?
Arly Würtzen (32:09):
If you've got 15 minutes, you can replace a
roller plays a role.
Matt Weitzel (32:17):
Wow, okay, well, if you're.
Ken Brown (32:19):
Arlie, you only need 15 minutes, that's it.
If you're slow, yeah, many ofour customers they do their own
preventative maintenance and ourteam provides schematics and
training.
In fact I've had the benefit ofsitting in on some training
that Arlie provides and it'sfantastic.
It's kind of a university sortof a recurrent opportunity for
mechanics to spend timereviewing troubleshooting
(32:41):
schematics real time, get ourhands on an actual roller track
system, and I've witnessed thatfirsthand how valuable that is
to these technicians and howmuch they enjoy it.
It also helps us continue tokeep our relationship with our
customers, even beyond theleadership team right down to
the folks that are actuallyturning the wrenches, and so the
formula seems to work reallywell and as a person who's sat
(33:03):
in and participated, I can tellyou that the mechanics respond
to it very, very well, so theycan handle a lot of things.
Every one of our RollerTraksystem RollerTrak units has
Arlie's cell phone number on it.
He's like a one-man call center.
The good news is that ourproduct is robust and that
minimizes the amount of callsthat he receives.
But he will pick up the phonepretty much 24 hours a day and a
(33:27):
lot of times can talk atechnician through something if
they've got a little bit of asnag, but if it's something a
little more serious, we'll havesomebody on an airplane and
we'll be there probably within24 hours to help them through it
.
Matt Weitzel (33:38):
Yeah, we've been talking a lot about training on
the podcast, and so what doesthat look like?
Arlie, will people come herefor the training or do you go on
site?
Arly Würtzen (33:47):
We can do whatever .
We have people coming here, wedo classes here for like 12
mechanics at a time.
We can do a one-day class or atwo-day class.
I just spent the whole dayyesterday training MENCIS up in
DCA MENCIS and United.
Matt Weitzel (34:04):
Oh, wow, so you actually physically went there
yourself.
Yeah, yeah.
Arly Würtzen (34:07):
So we go out and do training.
If we open up a new stationlike a place that's never had
power stoves before someone goesout either Right now I've only
got two guys it's me or Paul.
Matt Weitzel (34:18):
Okay.
Arly Würtzen (34:19):
We go out.
We spent like four or fivehours with the GSE mechanics and
kind of run them through how apower stove is put together,
what we call the differentthings, and how it operates, and
then they get my phone number.
Then we go up on the ramp andthen we spent the rest of the
week training on the ramp.
We physically go in and loadand stack.
(34:42):
I show the people how to stack,how to operate the system
inside the plane, while one ofthe sales guys are on the ground
killing all kinds of rumorsthat have started about
PowerStore doing this or that.
Matt Weitzel (34:55):
That's hilarious.
Justin Brennan (34:56):
That's one of the best parts about this job is
when we're out there training anew station that hasn't had a
roller track.
There's really two sides of that.
So Arlie's usually up in thebelly of the plane with somebody
who's stacking and he's the onethat gets the reaction from
that person of the light bulbgoes off once they see that unit
and how it works and how it'sgoing to help them in the plane
(35:17):
and how those bags come aroundthe corner and the loading head
that lifts up.
And now I don't have to reachup and stack them.
And then, you know, mike or Iwill be down at the bottom and
we'll be talking to like five orsix ramp agents who are looking
at that and the only thingthey're thinking is well, whose
job is that going to take?
And that'll break immediatelyas soon as we get.
You know you guys leave hereand usually it only takes an
(35:40):
hour or so and you put somebodythat's skeptical up in the plane
with it and they becomebelievers very, very quickly and
when that light bulb goes off,that's a pretty neat thing to
see happen.
Arly Würtzen (35:51):
I was checking in Tuesday afternoon down here in
Atlanta, flying out to DCA, andnow they got these little
machines where you have to checkin and print your bag tag.
And there was this nice ladyfrom Delta and she was helping
people and she came over to meand she looks at me and said oh,
you from PowerStore, yeah, yeah, oh, I love your machine.
(36:12):
And it saved me.
And so she almost gave me a hugand then I gave her a PowerStow
hat.
Justin Brennan (36:22):
It's amazing how often that happens, though,
where you'll be in the terminaland somebody has moved
themselves from the ramp like upinto like kind of the customer
service and you'll wear yourPowerStow shirt or you know,
you'll have a blue bag with youor something like that, and
they're like, wait a second, Iknow PowerStow, and then they'll
talk to you about that.
Matt Weitzel (36:38):
Yeah, you saved my shoulder and my back.
Yeah, for sure, it's beenfantastic.
Yeah, that's unbelievable, or?
Justin Brennan (36:44):
they'll say something of you know.
Well, they need more at thisstation because you know they're
always stealing mine from mygate, or you know oh?
Matt Weitzel (36:51):
I bet that is a big problem, right Is these
power stoves are being takenfrom gate to gate because
they're so used to it and theydon't want to have to go to a
plane that just has a normalbelt loader at it right, there
has been physical altercationson the ramp about power stoves.
Arly Würtzen (37:08):
like whose power stove it is?
Yeah, that's mine.
Ken Brown (37:11):
Yeah, there were early on.
In particular, there arestories I can attest to some of
them myself firsthand that youknow ramp employees could be
very, very creative and theywould disable the power stove.
You know sort of found theirown way to try to hit a kill
switch or something, so nobodywould take it or park it.
(37:31):
And I've seen employeesliterally take their lunch on
their power stove because theydon't want to walk away for fear
somebody might borrow it.
Matt Weitzel (37:39):
Yeah, somebody's going to take my chair.
Ken Brown (37:41):
It's very interesting to watch that play out at times
.
So yeah, it absolutely happensand they get a little protective
of their power stove.
In fact, I think the mechanicswould tell you that sometimes
they have a hard time gettingtheir preventative maintenance
done because the ramp doesn'twant to give it up.
Or maybe, as Harley describes,maybe we'll have a roller that
burns out.
(38:02):
It doesn't mean the unit's notusable, it is usable, but the
ramp doesn't want to report itbecause they're afraid they're
going to lose the unit for a day.
We think that's solvablebecause they probably just need
at least one more roller track.
Matt Weitzel (38:13):
Yeah, and they only need 15 minutes or less.
Ken Brown (38:16):
We'll sell them another one.
But no, it's, as Justin says,watching those light bulbs go
off.
I tell people when we go andtrain, especially if it's a new
place.
I look to folks and I and tellthem embrace your skepticism.
I know what you're thinking.
Right now, it's okay, say itout loud.
It looks complicated.
You don thinking, right now,it's okay, say it out loud.
This is, it looks complicated.
You're you don't think it'sgoing to work, or you think it's
(38:37):
going to break a lot.
And cause I was one of thosefolks and so I think it.
I think for us to embrace thatand tell them it's okay to think
those things, but let's go giveit a try, let me go show it to
you and, um, but occasionallyyou'll get that sort of more
senior, I don't want to tryanything new.
Yeah, you know, leave me alone.
And this is how I get myworkout.
And there was a.
There was actually a fairlyrecent story.
(38:58):
I won't share the location orthe airline, but we had a very,
very senior employee.
We were there doing trainingand he was pretty adamant like
you don't need to show me thatthing, I'm never going to use it
.
And about 15 minutes later theywere planning the next arrival
and they said hey Joe, you'vegot the rear of the airplane and
, by the way, there's your humanremains on the airplane.
And he kind of walked over tous and looked at us and said,
(39:21):
will that thing move humanremains?
We said, absolutely, let usshow you.
And this was that moment thatJustin was just driving went
into the rear of that aircraftand he turned that airplane and
he came out of there.
Matt Weitzel (39:57):
Now, that was his roller track he went from I will
never use this machine.
To don't touch my machine.
You know, when they realize howit makes their life and their
job easier and can elongatetheir career, it sells itself at
least from the user'sperspective.
Ken Brown (40:09):
Yeah, and I was watching the video on is it the
hold on the tail loader?
And that looked like the samething, this huge time saver,
back saver, shoulder I mean andthe value of that and keeping
your employees safe and able tocome to work every day.
Our products more and more makesense is when we train people,
(40:32):
especially if you're a longtimeramp employee, is convincing
them to let the tool do its job,because they've spent years and
years of lifting these bags andpulling them and so even with
our product, sometimes theirnatural tendency is to grab the
bag or try to pick it up insteadof letting the machine do it
for them, and so the trainingbecomes really important to help
(40:56):
change those behaviors andteach them to really let the
machine do it for you.
So, again, that's one of thosemoments where you know somebody,
the light clicks and theyrealize I don't have to snatch
that bag, it's going to.
This thing will help me move itwithout picking it up.
Matt Weitzel (41:11):
Yeah, and that tail loader does 160 degrees, so
I heard that's the rumor anyway.
Arly Würtzen (41:16):
That's what Justin says.
Anyways, yeah, exactly.
Matt Weitzel (41:19):
And so you can turn and move that thing all
around.
You don't have to do that withthe bags, right?
You don't have to do that turnwith the bag, you can just do
the turn that's, I'm guessing,powered by the PowerShow tail
loader.
Ken Brown (41:31):
Yeah, that tail loader is not only adjustable
side to side 160 degrees, butit'll go up well above the
height of an average person andit'll go down all the way to the
ground, and so you got a lot offlexibility at what would be
the bottom part of the beltloader.
Now, in addition to again, as aperson who's been around
(41:52):
operations forever clearly thisequipment was designed for its
ergonomic benefit.
But if you're an operator andyou look at the ability to
extend the back of the tailloader and to swing it left or
right, there are some otheropportunities there that maybe
weren't intended in the designbut are still very valuable.
One as an example sometimesyou're offloading that front of
(42:13):
that 737 aircraft.
That belt loader gets veryclose to that engine on the
right side of the aircraft andthis tail loader allows you to
get some distance, especially ifyou're staging more than one
cart at the bottom of the belt.
Maybe you're staging cartsbecause you have a lot of
transfer bag activity.
This gives you a little morereal estate to stage those carts
or to swing that work away fromthe engine.
(42:34):
And on the other side of that,again at the front of 737,
there's sometimes a lot ofconflict between a catering
truck and a belt loader and it'shard sometimes to load and
offload the aircraft while thatcatering truck is there.
But the extra extension thatthe tail loader gives you helps
mitigate that as well.
Matt Weitzel (42:51):
Yeah, what is that extension?
How much does that give you offthe end In feet, not weight?
Yeah, none is that extension.
Arly Würtzen (42:55):
How much does that give you off the end In feet,
not feet?
Yeah, none of that metric stuff, yeah we don't need any metric
stuff today.
Let me do the math here.
I don't know the exact number.
Matt Weitzel (43:03):
Yeah.
But I would say- this is yourbest guess.
Arly Würtzen (43:06):
Yeah, yeah yeah, I'm working on it Like almost
six feet.
Ken Brown (43:11):
Yeah, oh, wow, yeah, I'd say five to six feet would
have been my guess.
Justin Brennan (43:14):
That's a lot Like six feet.
That is a lot of space to getaway from that engine as you're
pulling up with a train of carts.
Ken Brown (43:23):
Yeah, and that's not to say that it has to be fully
extended.
It literally can be utilizedwithout being extended at all.
I don't know why you would dothat.
Yes, but it is adjustable.
(43:43):
It doesn't have to be fullyextended.
And so, depending on the gapthat you're trying to bridge,
based on how you've parked yourequipment or whether you're
extending it into a cart or acontainer as an example, if
you're offloading a narrowbodyaircraft and you're loading into
a container, maybe you'retransferring to a widebody
aircraft oftentimes you'll see aperson at the bottom of the
belt loader and another personinside that container, not that
different from the pit of theaircraft.
But now you're in a containerand the tail loader actually
allows you to extend into thatcontainer and create a much more
(44:06):
ergonomic you know beneficialenvironment for the employee.
Matt Weitzel (44:10):
So I think I saw a demo unit of the tail loader
out there.
Are there demos out therecurrently, or is this kind of
the first one?
Justin Brennan (44:17):
Yeah, there's.
We have a few demos that areout in the field and starting to
do some production of it.
We do a lot of our testingclose to home, in Denmark, so we
have a tail loader that's beenin use there for quite a while,
but we're starting to deploythem in North America and, like
Arlie said, we're going to grabfeedback and you know if
(44:39):
improvements need to be made.
I'm very confident that thosewill get done very quickly.
But it's just.
It's such a great tool toremove one more lifting point
from the operation for theoperator.
Ken Brown (44:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'd say in, and probably in the next
month or so, we will have demosand or ownership with uh five of
our america's customers, sowe'll be poised to get some
really good feedback.
Um, and take this to the nextlevel yeah, I can't wait to see
it.
Matt Weitzel (45:10):
So you all did so.
It was a gse exp Europe.
Did you have it there?
I think you did right, we did,we did.
Ken Brown (45:16):
Yeah, we had both the docking system assisted docking
as well as the tail loader, ondisplay there.
Justin Brennan (45:22):
Yeah so you could see assisted docking, the
roller track, the tail loaderand also our transfer belt, both
at Lisbon last year and thenwhen we go to Vegas this year.
You'll be able to see all ofthose in action.
Matt Weitzel (45:36):
Yeah, are you going to be outside at the Expo?
Justin Brennan (45:39):
I mean, it only makes sense, it's Las Vegas,
right yeah the place to be isoutside.
Matt Weitzel (45:43):
You got to be outside.
Well, that's not well, I don'tknow.
So what I've seen is a lot ofpeople are going inside this
year.
Justin Brennan (45:52):
So, but you all will be outside.
Okay, maybe we'll follow thattrend in the future.
Matt Weitzel (45:55):
Yeah, exactly.
Ken Brown (45:56):
We'll be outside.
We're making some changes toour exhibit, oh nice, so it'll
be a little more.
We'll have more cooling optionsfor our customers who want to
visit with us and spend sometime outside with us.
Matt Weitzel (46:08):
That's awesome.
Well, I can't wait to come seeit.
So, Justin, you worked withBrad Compton for a minute.
Justin Brennan (46:14):
I've heard of him.
Matt Weitzel (46:15):
Yeah, and so everybody that has worked for
Brad Compton has to have somekind of GSC story.
Ken Brown (46:24):
And we are now at that point of the podcast.
Matt Weitzel (46:25):
It doesn't have to be about Brad, or even with
Brad, but I do know the peoplethat hang out with him tend to
have some pretty good stories.
So do you want to kick us offon our GSE story?
Justin Brennan (46:33):
Yeah, I mean you've got two guys here that
have a plethora of experience inthe GSE space.
A lot of Brad's stories, youknow maybe aren't told on the
GSE podcast.
Matt Weitzel (46:47):
Yeah, I know why.
I mean, I don't know whyactually.
Yeah.
Justin Brennan (46:52):
I mean, I've seen him shoeless before.
I was there for that.
Shirtless, shirtless, sure,sure.
Matt Weitzel (47:00):
Yeah, that's a big one.
Justin Brennan (47:01):
There's plenty of those, but I think that's the
inherent nature of GSE, thatthose stories exist, and I think
that's why you kind of have tostay in the industry, because
everybody has those stories, andso if you were to leave,
somebody might tell one of thosestories on you and then you're
just stuck right back.
Matt Weitzel (47:18):
Oh, so that's the reason people aren't leaving.
Justin Brennan (47:20):
I think it's out of fear.
Matt Weitzel (47:21):
Ah fear, there you go.
See, we finally figured it out.
It only took us like the 29thepisode.
We're just now figuring thisthing out.
Justin Brennan (47:28):
Uh-huh.
Matt Weitzel (47:28):
That's awesome.
Ken Brown (47:40):
So, kb, do you have a good GSE story for us?
Well, I don't know if I qualifyas good, but I probably have
too many to pick one, but I cantell you that we recently were
fortunate enough to participatein a GSE event that was put on
by some other folks.
That included some snowmobiling.
Matt Weitzel (47:51):
Oh, I heard about this.
Ken Brown (47:53):
Some people could choose to ski, some could
snowmobile and a few otherthings, and of course, most of
our group chose to snowmobile.
It was the first time I'd everbeen on a snowmobile, I thought
you used to live in Denver.
That's true.
What the heck KP?
What can I tell you?
Matt Weitzel (48:08):
You're letting us all down.
Ken Brown (48:09):
I spent a lot of time hunting and fishing, oh, and
fishing.
And so you know, these 14ers,these 14, these, all these
mountains in Colorado that thefolks that understand that
language will know is 14,000feet up and I think there's like
25 mountains and people climbthat for sport.
I call that an unsuccessfulhunt.
So I'm walking mountains.
(48:31):
You know I have purpose, butI've done it with without
harvesting an animal as well,but yeah, I mean I will share.
But I've done it withoutharvesting an animal as well,
but yeah, I mean I will sharewith you that.
I think it was fantastic.
There were a lot of folks thathad experience.
I know Justin was one of themand there was a lot of us who
had done it for the first time.
But it's always the camaraderieis always great at these events
and sort of some of the afterhours, you know antics, sort of
(48:53):
networking, but also just tosort of see people experience
that snowmobiling for the firsttime, I will throw myself on the
sword that I just, you know I'ma person who's adventurous and
it's like I'm going to be onthis thing, especially if it's
rented.
I'm going to find out what itcould do, and so I may or may
(49:29):
not have rolled it over, but itwas a good time, it was well
protected, soft snow and rolledit right back up and got back on
it, but I don't think I was theonly one that did that.
But I guess if I'm going totell a story, I should be
self-deprecating versus pointingat somebody else.
Like many of these events,networking is an important part
of this business.
Some people use the termboondoggle and I'm sure maybe
there's a flavor of that, butthere's so much important
business that takes place inthese events.
You get to sit down and havesome deep conversation and
you've created a relaxedatmosphere.
You get to learn about people'sfamilies and what's happening
(49:51):
in their life outside of work.
I think that just makes theindustry stronger and I think
that also contributes to whatyou were describing is people
don't really leave the industry.
You know, and I think that's acontributor as well because you
actually the relationships thatyou build are real and you get
to know people.
You get to know about theirfamily and you get to know about
their business and you becomeinvested and I think that's
(50:15):
unique and it's something thatI've really appreciated being
part of.
Matt Weitzel (50:18):
Yeah, I think that's another common thing that
comes up on our on our podcastis the GSE community and and we
really do have a fantasticcommunity and, yeah, I just love
it, which is the reason Istarted this podcast.
I wanted to talk to people andand people really enjoy
listening because they like tohear their buddies talk right,
Because everybody knowseverybody and everybody's
friends.
Do we have any good storiesover on the side of the table
(50:41):
here?
Arly Würtzen (50:42):
Well, I was sitting here thinking and then
KB threw me for a loop.
Matt Weitzel (50:46):
Oh he did.
Yeah, oh, you mean him fallingoff the snowmobile?
Arly Würtzen (50:49):
No, it's like people have a life outside work.
Matt Weitzel (50:53):
What's that all about?
Ken Brown (50:54):
Yeah, wait what I've been telling you about this,
this thing.
Arly Würtzen (51:02):
I didn't know.
Yeah, well, I can tell you, wego to many, many different
airports.
When we go out and trainoperators, and when we go to an
airport, we're not badged.
We don't have a CIDR badge, sowe need an escort and I think
95% of the times we've been toan airport, we have been left by
(51:23):
our escort and been sittingalone unescorted, trying to hide
from-.
Ken Brown (51:29):
It's amazing how often that happens, he doesn't
mean in a secured area, just incase.
Oh no, no, no no, that's neverhappened.
Matt Weitzel (51:36):
No, I get it.
Arly Würtzen (51:37):
I was in an airport with Mike and it was
cold, raining, windy, and we wasput in a van by our escort.
So we were sitting in a van andthen we look around and he's
gone.
And then we sit there and wait.
That's the only thing you cando, you can't go anywhere.
And then, I think 30 minutes in, we see these two security
(52:01):
guards come walking up to thevan and we're like this is it?
Justin Brennan (52:04):
We're getting 40 .
We've got to find a new job now.
Arly Würtzen (52:08):
And then they walk up to the van and they look at
us and say hey, get out, we needthe van.
And then they drove off.
Matt Weitzel (52:17):
That's a pretty good one.
Justin Brennan (52:17):
So now you don't have a van to hide in?
Arly Würtzen (52:19):
Yeah no, but luckily it's caught your eye
eventually.
Matt Weitzel (52:24):
Eventually.
Well, so you guys, are yougoing to be at the GHI Americas
in Orlando, florida?
Justin Brennan (52:31):
Yeah, you'll see KB and myself and Mike and
Julie will make an appearance atthe.
Matt Weitzel (52:38):
GHR Americas.
You got to bring Julie.
Justin Brennan (52:41):
I mean, a lot of people talk to her on the phone
and this is the chance to meether.
Matt Weitzel (52:46):
This is the kind of content that we needed today,
I know.
Justin Brennan (52:48):
You know what I mean so yeah, come to Orlando.
Matt Weitzel (52:51):
see, Julie, you've been waiting.
Ken Brown (52:53):
If you really want to know who runs Power Store
Americas, come meet Julie.
Matt Weitzel (52:56):
Yep.
Ken Brown (52:57):
The power behind the throne.
Justin Brennan (52:59):
Get a selfie and , you know, be ready to go.
Matt Weitzel (53:02):
I love it.
And then you're going to beobviously at the GSE Expo in
Vegas, where you will have avery cool outside booth
Absolutely To show off all yournew products.
Ken Brown (53:14):
We'll have what some refer to as a fully pimped out
roller track.
Wow, that'll have the assisteddocking and the tail loader on
it as well, man.
Matt Weitzel (53:24):
And then you think Mr Ocon will come to Vegas.
Ken Brown (53:29):
I have to check that with his parole officer.
Matt Weitzel (53:31):
Okay, Because, I mean, if we're talking about GSE
industry legends, you got tothrow Ocon in the mix.
There are a few of them runningaround this factory there really
is yeah, it's a little reunionhere that I've been having today
, having worked at Tug for 10years and then walking in this
door and realizing that peoplethat I spend a better part of my
(53:55):
life with are all here, and sothat was a very cool surprise
that I just did not know wasgoing to happen today.
I knew Nikki was here andeverybody loves Nikki and she's
like Julie right, everybody kindof knows her name and they
don't really get to see her thatoften, but I think she was in
Vegas, maybe two years ago shewas, so I got to see her then
too.
But anyways, this has been justa fantastic experience.
(54:18):
So what haven't I covered?
What haven't we got out therein the industry that you need
people to know about?
Did we do enough on theassisted docking, do you think?
Justin Brennan (54:28):
You know, I think we did.
Really, we're kind of four coreproducts here at PowerStow.
We're very adamant about makingthose products right and making
a great experience for numberone, the operator on the ramp
and number two, the guyresponsible for keeping that GSE
(54:49):
up and running.
Those are very, very importantpeople to everybody here at
PowerStow and it's really kindof what drives everything that
we do.
Ken Brown (55:08):
Yeah, and it seems like I mean it's a family
atmosphere here.
Probably be remiss if I didn'tadd to your comment about Bill.
I had a little fun at hisexpense there, but I could tell
you that he impresses me everyday, that he sees things that
others can't see, and just hiswealth of experience, but also
his ability to see something andsolution it, and really I have
(55:30):
an idea.
Here's what we could do, here'show we can make that better,
and it shows itself allthroughout our facility here and
how we function.
Geez, we could really usesomething that would help us
test this and Bill can make that.
He doesn't need a drawing.
He can see it in his mind's eyeand he will build it, and it's
just incredible to have a talentlike that amongst many talented
(55:51):
people.
So I kind of wanted to sharethat.
You've heard the name Mike acouple of times here.
He's one of our colleagues, notrepresented.
We talked a little bit aboutBen Reeves already, and Mike is
part of the sales team here andbeen with PowerStove seven or
eight years, but has been in theindustry a very long time,
formerly with Flightline, andprobably somebody that most of
(56:11):
the listeners would also know.
But I just want to give him alittle shout out too.
He's a valued member of theteam, does really good work with
us.
But to answer your questionabout you know what else we
could cover?
I think I would.
You know, I'd encourage peopleto, especially if you're less
familiar with our products ormaybe you're really familiar
with our flagship product, butyou're curious about some of
these other products.
You know.
(56:35):
Check out our website.
We're improving that all thetime.
We're including some videolinks.
I know probably a lot of yourlisteners are like me.
They're very visual and it's onething to talk about a product,
but when you can see it inaction, it can really help
answer a lot of questions.
So we encourage people to checkout our product online and if
they have questions or they wanta demo, whether they want to
take a trip out here, and we'llhost them in our facility and do
(56:56):
a tour, something like we didfor you, or we'll meet them on
the road somewhere.
And we've got a lot of greatcustomers and great customer
relationships and they've alwaysbeen, you know, really willing
to allow us to bring other folksto come, you know, show our
product and educate people onwhat we can do, what we can't do
.
And then, lastly, I would justadd that, you know, similar to
the earlier part of ourconversation, we're very
(57:19):
interested in being the solution.
So if there's pain points outthere, if there's opportunities
where people think PowerStromight be able to solve that for
them, we'd love to engage inthat conversation, put our eyes
on it, and we have a verytalented research and
development team that's alwayslooking for the next thing and
maybe some things we're notgoing to be the perfect match
for, but we would love to putourselves in a position to help
(57:41):
people solve their pain points.
Matt Weitzel (57:43):
Well, this has been an absolute pleasure.
I've had such a good time heretoday seeing everybody and
getting to spend time with youall and seeing the facility and
seeing the product.
And I agree with you that Iwent on today while I was on the
flight and watched all thevideos on your YouTube channel.
It really helps out to kind ofvisualize how it's all working.
It's even different than seeingit at a trade show, you know,
(58:05):
at a mock thing.
I mean.
When you can see it in reallife application, it's very,
very cool.
So I'm with you.
I think everybody should go toYouTube, check out those videos
that you all have, go to yourwebsite and learn more about the
product.
But yeah, I mean that's all Ihave for today.
I really appreciate you alljoining me on the podcast and
thank you so much.
Ken Brown (58:24):
And that's been an honor to be invited.
Appreciate you taking time.
Come spend some time with us.
Let us talk about our company.
Matt Weitzel (58:29):
Awesome.
All right, this has been Matt,justin, ken and Arlie for the
GSE Podcast.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the GSE Podcast.
We hope you found itinformative and engaging.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with your
(58:50):
colleagues and peers in theground support equipment
community.
Your support is invaluable tous.
We'd appreciate it if you couldtake a moment to rate and
review our podcast.
Your feedback not onlyencourages us, but also helps
expand our reach within the GSEcommunity.
Keep an eye out for moreepisodes as we continue to
explore the dynamic world ofground operations, bringing you
(59:10):
the latest trends, insights andstories from the industry.
Thank you for listening to theGSE Podcast.
Until we meet again, staygrounded and keep pushing
forward.
We'll see you next time.
Xcēd adapts to your uniqueoperational needs.
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(00:42):
the challenges of tomorrow.
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Explore more at xcedgse.
com.
This is Jon Pfister.
I'm Brian Yoder.
This is Mathias Mouillenier.
Ken Brown (01:00):
This is Willy Martinez and you are listening
to GSE Podcast.
Matt Weitzel (01:05):
All right, well, welcome to the GSE Podcast.
I'm Matt Weitzel and I'm herewith Justin Brennan, Ken Brown,
kb, as everybody calls him andArlie Wurtzen from PowerStow
Americas.
Is that right, powerstowAmericas?
You got it.
Is that right, power StowAmericas?
You got it, got it.
And we are in Norcross, Georgia, at their facility where they
(01:28):
put together the booms hereright and attached the Power
Stow units to the belt loadersand just got a plant tour.
It was fantastic.
I really appreciate you alltaking me around.
Arlie had the most information,or at least useful information,
I think, which was what I wastold would be the case, right,
and that ended up becoming true,which is fantastic.
(01:48):
Let's go around, and why don'tyou all introduce yourselves?
We'll start with KB.
Ken Brown (01:54):
Yeah, hey, good to visit with you.
My name is Ken Brown and, asmentioned, most people refer to
me as KB.
I'm the president of PowerStore Americas here.
I've been with the companyabout nine months.
I came over after a long stintat United Airlines and joined
the team and been here eversince.
Matt Weitzel (02:14):
Nice.
Justin Brennan (02:14):
All right, justin.
I'm Justin Brennan.
I've been at PowerStoreAmericas for about seven months,
so I came on just after KB didand do sales activities here at
PowerStow.
I came from Textron where Ispent many years and have a lot
of good friends still over there, but very happy to be at
PowerStow.
Matt Weitzel (02:35):
That's awesome man .
And then Arlie is our veteran.
I think yeah.
Arly Würtzen (02:54):
I got more than seven months.
Matt Weitzel (02:55):
So I've been with.
Arly Würtzen (02:56):
PowerStore since the beginning.
Matt Weitzel (02:57):
I don't know when that was, but it's more than 20
years ago, but, arlie.
So why don't you tell us alittle bit about how the idea,
the concept started and then youknow how you know, kind of, how
it's going today?
Arly Würtzen (03:10):
Yeah, well, back in the day there was a lot of
attention on work environmentover in Copenhagen airport and
the ground handlers over therewas limited in how much their
employees could lift during aday's work.
So the handlers were kind of ina situation where they either
(03:37):
had to hire more manpower or geta tool that could solve the
situation of lifting the bagswhen they'd load and offload the
planes.
So Martin Vestergaard, theowner and founder of PowerStow
he came up with this idea thatthe PowerStow roller track, now
with the conical rollers thatcould extend into the plane.
Back when I started withPowerStow, martin and another
(04:00):
engineer, jens, who was employeenumber one in PowerStow, jens
Bunte they had made a prototypeof a roller track.
They had it in a circle on afloor in this little shop.
So when I came down andinterviewed for my job, it was
Jens and Martin and theybasically the shop tour, was
(04:21):
this thing sitting on the floorand hooked up to two car
batteries, and they proudlyshowed me what they'd done.
And this little circle ofrollers could handle pallets,
geese, suitcases and it wouldn'tfall off.
So they were dead certain thatthis was the future.
And then I started on and westarted basically making the
(04:45):
exterior designs.
We needed to attach this to abelt loader.
Somehow A company back in theday they were called Novia in
Copenhagen Airport.
They let us borrow one of theirbelt loaders.
So we attached the PowerStoresystem to this belt loader.
First we designed all thebrackets and all that stuff,
then we put it on a belt loader.
(05:05):
First we designed all thebrackets and all that stuff,
then we put it on a belt loaderand kind of like a year after I
started we were ready to putthis belt loader in service in
Copenhagen airport and it workedfor like a good three hours or
something.
Then it broke.
Matt Weitzel (05:17):
Oh wow, Did you fix that, Arlie.
Arly Würtzen (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, we fixed it and we kind of that.
Following year we were maybenot daily in the airport, but
almost following up making sureeverything worked, fixing stuff
that broke, making notes,because we all knew that this
was not the final product.
This was a prototype and we hadto kind of figure out all the
weak points so we could come upwith a good, strong design.
(05:41):
So over that first year we sawa lot of things break and a lot
of things that didn't work asplanned, but we made good notes
and after a year we sat down andthen we designed PowerStore
number two and if you look at aPowerStore number two and
PowerStore number 3000, youcan't tell the difference.
I can tell the difference, butthey look the same.
(06:03):
And PowerStore number one andPowerStore number two are still
in service.
They work every day inCopenhagen.
Matt Weitzel (06:08):
Really.
Yeah, that's incredible.
That's a good selling pointright there.
So what kind of background didyou have, arlie, that made it?
So it was a perfect fit for youto come over to PowerStore.
Arly Würtzen (06:19):
So, yeah, I was the perfect fit because I'm a
mechanical engineer.
My background is work sheetmetal at a shipyard, so I was a
welder and a sheet metal guy.
I took an engineering degree,mechanical engineer.
I worked for a chocolatecompany for a good four years Of
(06:39):
course.
I designed different machinesfor chocolate manufacturing.
I designed different machinesfor chocolate manufacturing.
I designed the knife that cutsthe cracker in the big Kit.
Justin Brennan (06:50):
Kat bar for instance no way, yes way, you
didn't know you're going to meetthat guy.
No, I did not.
Matt Weitzel (06:54):
I didn't see this coming, I got to add this to my
resume now, so, and then I gotlaid off there.
Some English guy bought twothirds of the whole world's
capacity of cocoa beans.
Arly Würtzen (06:59):
So the whole industry stopped and I got laid
off.
There Some English guy boughttwo-thirds of the whole world's
capacity of cocoa beans, so thewhole industry stopped and I got
laid off.
And then I started working forPower Store, and then yeah, how
did they find?
You.
They had an ad in the newspaper, I think.
Matt Weitzel (07:17):
Okay, so you found them.
Yeah, okay, gotcha.
Arly Würtzen (07:21):
And I went down.
We had a nice job interviewwith Jens and Martin and I
remember they had bought twodifferent cakes for the job
interview.
You've got to remember therewas three of us, so two cakes
was barely enough and we justsat there, for I think the job
interview took more than twohours.
We just sat there and talkedand ate cake?
Matt Weitzel (07:40):
Did you tell them you knew how to cut it?
Arly Würtzen (07:43):
Yes, and I told them that I was not interested
in anything that had to do withmanagement.
All I wanted was to sit anddesign machines.
Matt Weitzel (07:52):
Yeah, and that's what they allowed you to do.
Yeah, that's amazing, ken,we're going to go to you because
Justin can't follow that up,you know.
But you, with your storiedhistory in the GSE industry, I
think you know if anybody cancompete with the Kit Kat story,
I think it's you.
How did you get your start inthe industry?
Ken Brown (08:10):
I didn't realize it was going to be so educational.
Here today I'm hearing thingsabout Arlie I'd never heard
before.
Yeah, but yeah, I, you know Ireally started on the airline
side of things and found myself.
I took a job with UnitedAirlines many, many years ago as
a summer temporary loadingairplanes and, you know, a year
later found myself working fulltime and sort of one thing led
(08:33):
to another.
I was always just somebody whowas looking to learn something
new and do something differentand eventually became an
aircraft fueler, did wide bodyfood running, just did a lot of
different things.
That led to a training jobeventually, which really was
sort of near and dear to myheart, because I also had been a
high school football coach thatsort of called to me just
(08:54):
helping people along from UnitedAirlines and joined the Marine
Corps and, to be honest, Ididn't know at the time that
United Airlines would hold myposition and guarantee that
position, which was fantasticfor that.
They would do that.
But that was something I sortof needed a box, I needed to
(09:15):
check in my life, and so I spentsome time in the Marine Corps,
returned to United Airlines andwas really blessed over the
course of a 38-year career towork in hub environments, line
station environments,international, domestic.
I spent time at headquarters,some of that time leading ground
equipment operations, but I'vespent time in fuel efficiency
(09:38):
work, a lot of operationsleadership work over the years.
I actually was the president oftheir subsidiary ground
handling company, united GroundExpress, for a few years, before
then returning to Denver whereI last worked before retiring
and joined the PowerStow family.
I had the pleasure of meetingthe PowerStow group probably 10
(10:01):
or 12 years ago when Unitedfirst started to consider this
RollerTac product and I was oneof the point.
People on United and so got toknow Arlie and Ben Reeves really
well, spent a lot of time withthem and candidly and rightfully
so started as a skeptic of amachine that seemed complicated.
But every moment, every bit ofskepticism I had got washed away
(10:25):
as I learned and put my handson the machine, flew out to
Boston and climbed in anairplane to load fish alongside
20-year ramp employees and theywon me over and I ended up
becoming a big advocate andplayed a pretty important role,
I think, in sort of Unitedheading down the path with
(10:47):
PowerStow.
They now own about 580 of theroller track system at United
Airlines and then had thisfantastic opportunity to go from
being a customer and a friendto being a colleague just under
a year ago, and so made thatdecision.
I've been very, very pleasedwith it.
I have gotten to spend a lot oftime with other customers.
(11:10):
One of the things that I'vereally loved is validating that
my perception as a formercustomer of PowerStore really
matches what I find in our othercustomers.
Powerstore has a greatreputation for customer service.
Our other customers PowerShell,has a great reputation for
customer service.
The product is high quality.
Its in-service rate is aboveall others.
(11:32):
But what I hear a lot is what Iexperienced as a customer and
something that I know that thisgroup works really hard, and
that's keeping our culture ofbeing highly customer-focused,
and so we spend a lot of timeinteracting with our customers,
and showing up Parts issomething in the GSC industry
you hear a lot about.
You know, waiting on parts andthings like that we take a lot
(11:53):
of pride in.
If you call us, if you contactus before noon, we're probably
going to have that part shippedout same day.
It's very rare that you have towait more than a day, and so
there's just an importanthandful of things that, I really
think, sets PowerStow apart,and I couldn't be more proud to
be part of this group.
Matt Weitzel (12:12):
That's awesome, man.
Yeah, that's great.
So you took over for Ben Reeves.
Is that correct, or is Benstill around?
Ken Brown (12:18):
Yeah, that's a really .
You asked that question in a waythat yes and yes.
So it's just another thing thatI think for me anyway, that I
had a lot of appreciation forwith PowerStow is I started this
conversation with PowerStowabout this role and it was sort
of in my mind, the ultimatesuccession planning Ben had sort
(12:41):
of said listen, I'm thinkingabout sort of slowing down a
little bit, maybe going a littlepart-time and participating a
little less over a two-yearperiod, and a lot of companies
would wait until two weeksbefore that to start looking for
a replacement.
But their mindset is just uniquein that way.
So they started looking forBen's replacement early on and
(13:03):
that's what led to my hiringhere.
So I have the unique benefit ofspending a year or so with Ben
as he sort of steps back intomore of a part-time role and
consultant really largely to meand then ultimately will
continue to serve on the board.
So not only is he a good friend, but he's an excellent leader
(13:27):
and has done a fantastic job onthe sales side here, and so I
couldn't be more pleased withPowerStow's sort of vision of
looking to replace him far inadvance and giving us the
benefit of spending a lot oftime working together before he
steps off, a little morepermanent basis.
Matt Weitzel (13:43):
Yeah, two industry giants we got with Ben Reeves
and KB.
So, man, justin, yep, I hate todo this to you, but you got to
follow that up.
Justin Brennan (13:53):
Well, I'll do my best.
I definitely wasn't cuttingchocolate back before I came
here.
Matt Weitzel (14:01):
You weren't doing that in Amsterdam at any point
during your career.
Justin Brennan (14:04):
No, no, it's never been an option.
Matt Weitzel (14:06):
Cocoa production nothing, no, okay, all right, go
on.
Justin Brennan (14:09):
No.
So been at PowerStow for ashort while but, like KB, just
very happy with the culturethat's here and one of the
unique things I think one of thebiggest draws to PowerStow that
anybody would have is the waythe family kind of runs the
business and really the ultimatefocus on the person who's
(14:30):
working on the ramp and that isabsolutely kind of the North
Star, the driving force behindeverything that's done, from
product development to how thecustomer is served, and it's
just it's been a great fit andreally refreshing.
And it's just it's it's been abeen a great fit and really
refreshing.
But I spent about 20 years withTextron before I came here and
(14:52):
had a lot of different roles.
I spent the last five years inTextron's GSE business where I
made a lot of good friends and alot of great relationships with
different customers out there,spent a lot of time in that
factory as well.
But before that I had a lot ofsales roles, mostly around our
golf cart business that Textronhad.
(15:13):
So I got to travel thebackwoods of Arkansas and Far
East Texas and do a lot ofdifferent things with the golf
cart business at Textron.
But my history has really kindof been around sales, whether it
was territory sales or, youknow, leading salespeople or
selling, you know, large ticketitems.
(15:34):
That's really where I spentmost of my career and very
fortunate that I've been able tocome over to PowerStow and,
like KB, take a lot of goodlessons from Ben and really get
to spend a lot of time withwhat's made him and what's made
PowerStow successful.
And you know, the intention isthat we continue that tradition
here at PowerStow and continuewhat everybody has come to
(15:55):
expect.
So just a very exciting timeand a lot of really neat things
happening here at PowerStowright now.
Matt Weitzel (16:02):
Yeah, for sure.
And I also worked for Textron,but prior to well, I worked for
Textron at the same time.
You worked for Textron, but youweren't the GSE business yet.
I left right before you came in.
And then I got to meet you onceyou started and you know I
could see that you immediatelymade all the friendships in GSE.
And then once you get in GSE,you never leave.
(16:22):
It's not like chocolate, right?
No, everybody leaves chocolate,big chocolate.
You know you leave, but younever leave GSE.
And people try, like Ben tried.
You know he tried to leave atsome point.
He always come back.
So we're glad that you stayedwith us in GSE.
And now that you're a PowerStow, oh yeah, it's very exciting.
So well, now that we've kind ofgot the introductions out of
(16:44):
the way, let's talk about theproduct.
So let's talk about the coreproduct and I'll have you start.
Justin Brennan (16:58):
So at Power Stowe we really have kind of
four products right now thatwe're out there marketing and
selling and manufacturing.
So I think most people arefamiliar with our Roller Track
product so KB talked quite a bitabout that and the use with the
airlines and the groundhandlers in the US, and that's
really the product that putPowerStow on the map.
And what Arlie started with inDenmark is our Rollertrack track
(17:25):
still has, you know, a long wayto go and a lot of opportunity
in it.
But you know, as we've kind ofdeveloped and become, you know,
a bigger business, we've kind offocused on the other places
where we could help the guy orthe girl who's on the ramp,
who's either throwing bags orloading airplanes or working on
the ramp, and really our focushas been around the ergonomics
and the safety side of the rampand primarily the ergonomics
(17:47):
side.
So we've got a couple of newproducts that we really
showcased the last few years atthe GSE Expo.
So we've got our, what we callour tail loader, which you saw
today, which really bridges thegap between the end of the belt
loader and the bag cart on theramp.
And you know what we're tryingto do and what we've done is
(18:11):
we've taken the ramp agent andtaken them away from having to
bend and twist to move a bagfrom the belt loader to the bag
cart to really automating thatprocess.
And so we're very excited tostart getting our demos out and
you know the units that are soldin the field and being used,
start getting those testimonialsback from you know the ramp
agents and hearing how thatproduct has helped them.
(18:33):
And then we also have a newproduct.
That's really kind of, I wouldsay, our first kind of venture
outside of the GSE space wherewe're really kind of in the bag
room world a little bit now, andwe have a product that we call
the transfer belt.
And the transfer belt bridgesthe gap between those induction
belts going into the airport andthe bag cart.
(18:55):
So you know, a lot of folks inGSE, or especially manufacturing
of GSE, probably haven't seen,you know a lot what happens.
You know underneath the airportwhen your bag is coming to the
carousel, when you pick it up,but there's a gap between that
cart and that induction beltwhere an agent has to reach into
the bag cart and grab and twistand throw a bag onto the belt.
(19:17):
And we've created a transferbelt that really bridges that
gap between those two pieces ofequipment at the airport.
And as we work with airportauthorities and airlines, you
know we're really starting tosee those benefits for the
agents that are out thereworking every day.
And then really our fourthproduct is what we call assisted
docking, and so I would sayit's the PowerStow take on
(19:40):
collision avoidance.
You know we're a little bitunique compared to other belt
loaders where we actuallyphysically dock onto the
aircraft.
That's how you get our rollertrack extended into the belly of
the plane.
And so that comes with its ownunique challenges of kind of
guiding the operator into theaircraft and docking the roller
(20:01):
track onto the plane.
And so through the use ofLIDARs and you know Arlie would
give you a very technicaldescription of what happens here
We've been able to map out theaircraft and really help guide
and control how the operatordrives up and docks onto the
airplane.
And really at PowerStow, youknow, we've taken what we've
learned from the roller trackand the things that have been
(20:23):
helpful to the ramp agent andtried to put that knowledge in
other places as well.
And you know, very excited forwhat the future holds for us.
Matt Weitzel (20:32):
Yeah, the roller track system.
You know, when you're just atan airport anywhere across the
US, you see it.
I mean it's everywhere.
It's at, almost, I would say,every single airport and it's a
fantastic system it's been outfor.
So when did it actually come tothe US?
Like, when did you all start?
Arly Würtzen (20:49):
We opened up in December 2013.
Okay, since 2013.
Matt Weitzel (20:55):
Yeah, because when I was working at Tug, we were
building the special chassis forthe 660s that the RollerTrac
system could fit onto.
So do you all have thecapability to attach to any belt
loader?
Arly Würtzen (21:11):
And, arlie, I'll let you speak to this In theory,
yes, but we have highexpectations from the actual
belt loader that we're attachingstuff to.
So we're not going to attachour stuff to something that we
know is going to break fatiguecracks or which can't hold the
load or so that we're attachingstuff to.
So we're not going to attachour stuff to something that we
(21:31):
know is going to break fatiguecracks or which can't hold the
load or so.
Our product is a very stable,solid built product so we can't
put it on a piece of junk thatdoesn't work or breaks down
every other day.
So when you start to work withus, we have some requirements,
but we can.
For now we put PowerStow on aroller track on Chuck belt
loaders, tld belt loaders.
We got Mulock belt loaders,tips Malahans oh, there's one
(21:55):
over in England somewhere, Ican't remember the name.
Matt Weitzel (21:59):
So I would say most of the major GSE
manufacturers that offer beltloaders in their fleet.
You all pretty much work withthem, and would they then build
the chassis and then send ithere, I would imagine, for you
all to?
Justin Brennan (22:13):
attach it.
What Arlie said is you know,we've got some requirements that
are specific to you know, beingable to attach a roller track
and being able to use a rollertrack.
But at the end of the day, wekind of have this list of folks
who you know.
We say, hey, we can work withthese, and then it's really up
to the customer.
We have no preference on thechassis that somebody would pick
(22:36):
.
We want our customers to bevery happy with what they have,
and so we really kind of givethem that decision.
And so you know they'll havetheir own requirements and
reasons for why they pick achassis.
But at the end of the day it'sreally up to whoever the end
user is.
And then you know it's our jobto make sure that we secure a
(22:57):
high quality chassis to matchthe roller track or the tail
loader or, you know, ourassisted docking the roller
track or the tail loader orassisted docking.
Matt Weitzel (23:10):
No-transcript.
Arly Würtzen (23:11):
It's changed, Like the motor technology that we
use.
All the electric motors we usethey are now all brushless.
In the beginning they were justDC brush motors that would wear
out over time.
Different designs, because overtime we start seeing fatigue,
(23:35):
cracks and things wear out.
There's always a weak point.
So we always have something towork on and make better.
So we constantly strive to dothat.
Our challenge is whatever wemake has to be retrofittable to
all the way back to PowerStorenumber one, basically.
Matt Weitzel (23:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Arly Würtzen (23:53):
It's a challenge sometimes if you want to update
a product.
Matt Weitzel (23:56):
Yeah, I bet, Especially when it's built
really well, right, it's findingthose common problems right and
then trying to fix those.
And then what does that looklike out in the field?
So if a customer calls you,United Airlines, and says, hey,
we have this issue out in thefield, do you all send somebody
out Like, how does that work?
Ken Brown (24:15):
Yeah, I mean I'll jump in here and you generally
can add color to that.
But, as I mentioned earlier,you know, I think PowerShell has
a reputation for being verycustomer focused and it's
nothing for us to deploysomebody, change schedules and
be on an airplane the next day,depending on the nature of the
call that we get right andthat'll dictate in some ways who
we send right.
(24:36):
Or the call that we get rightand that'll dictate in some ways
who we send right.
If it's a training issue, ifit's a more technical issue,
that Arlie, of course, isprobably going to be there
personally or one of his techs,but it's nothing for a member of
this team to get on an airplaneand be there, you know, within
24 hours on site, pretty muchanywhere in the US, to help
solve a problem.
Matt Weitzel (24:52):
And then it sounds like parts are readily
available.
They're here in Norcross.
You don't really have to ship alot overseas because you stock
here, correct?
Justin Brennan (25:01):
Yeah, it's nice when you have a limited number
of products, so your SKU countsa little bit lower on your parts
and it's a lot easier to beable to handle anything that
comes up.
Matt Weitzel (25:13):
Yeah, that is really nice.
And then so with the tailloader.
Did the customers ask you forthis?
Was this like feedback that youall had gotten about?
This was an issue out in thefield, or was this just purely
innovation that you all came upwith?
Justin Brennan (25:27):
I can make something up, but maybe Arlie
should answer that question.
Arly Würtzen (25:32):
All that was done over in Europe.
But but again there was aproblem.
Someone was lifting the bagsand we saw different products
out there that weren't reallygreat, like just a bit of manual
rollers that you could folddown, or there were some half
automated solutions, but they'renot great.
(25:54):
They're too slow, the operatorsdon't want to use them, it's
too heavy and it can't keep upwith the way, the motion range
that they need and the speedthat they need to make it a good
tool that they want to use.
So over in Denmark they decidedthat we could probably do
better, and we had an engineeron that for four years or
something.
He was working on it and yeah,so now the product is getting
(26:16):
into the field, and so now we'regoing to find some weak points
and then we have some otherstuff to work on.
Matt Weitzel (26:21):
Yeah, that looks like a really interesting
product.
New product development fromyou guys is that tail loader and
then obviously the assisteddocking.
So again, same question type ofthing.
The assisted docking is thatsomething you all were looking
at?
I know that a bunch of the beltloaders in the industry now
have some kind of docking system.
What have you on it that youcan get like Tug has a smart
(26:45):
sense and things like that?
So was this something to makesure you all kept up with that
kind of like where thetechnology was heading?
Ken Brown (26:51):
I'll jump in here and some of this applies to your
last question as well.
But I really think it's ablended approach.
I think it's in PowerShell'sDNA to seek to be the solution
to pain points and problems,particularly on the ramp, and so
a combination of just sort ofsmart people kind of constantly
(27:11):
thinking on their own.
What's the next opportunity forus to help?
Constantly thinking on theirown.
What's the next opportunity forus to help?
But we also never miss anopportunity to engage our
customers and ask them what'syour pain point?
What's a problem for you thatwe might be able to solve?
Talk to us about what'shappening in your workspace.
And we really try to diversifyour contacts with our customers
(27:33):
so that we aren't just visitingwith the GSC folks, but we are
very purposeful about spendingtime with their safety
organizations, with theirinnovation organizations and
even now so with the TransferBelt, some of the facilities
groups.
So we're very proactive aboutseeking their input about what
their pain points are and whatthe opportunities are that we
might be able to help solve that.
At the same time, we've got alot of experience internally and
(27:59):
so we sit and talk andbrainstorm about those ideas.
So it's kind of a blendedapproach.
More specific to your questionabout the assisted docking, for
years and years the number oneand number two cause of aircraft
damage in industry has been jetbridges and belt loaders, and
so it's an obvious opportunityto help mitigate some of that,
and so developing some type ofcollision mitigation was
(28:23):
somewhat a no-brainer, and Ithink that I would also add that
sort of rebounding from COVIDwas a very unique time for
especially these major aircarriers.
So ground handlers have alwayshad a high turnover rate and
always had to constantly hireand train folks.
But I think some of the morelegacy airlines always had the
(28:44):
benefit of maybe not having torecruit as hard and always
having people who wanted to work.
And that pendulum kind of swungin the recovery from COVID and
I think they've really foundthemselves having a hard time,
you know, filling that need andthen having a much junior
workforce where training becameso much more important, and so
(29:05):
having a product that helpsreduce risk.
You know your training is stillimportant, but reducing risk of
aircraft damage, of injury,became more and more important
to these airlines, and so Ithink that really helped shine a
light on the opportunity forsomething like assisted docking.
Now, much like a lot of ourproducts, this is not an.
It might be a fairly newproduct, but it's not a new idea
(29:27):
.
You're probably getting a sense.
You know, through Arlie andothers, that you know we don't
develop something and put it outto market pretty quickly.
Even at times you have to sortof struggle between you might be
missing the opportunity to goto market, but you know credit
to our founder and Arlie andothers we will not put a product
out until it has been testedand tested, and if it can be
(29:49):
broken we are going to break itourselves and fix it.
And so the assisted docking isone of those products as well,
been underdeveloped for severalyears.
We also know, like a lot of ourproducts, that nothing quite
tests a product like beingactually in the ramp environment
and maybe I would say in theramp environment in the US,
where employees can be reallyhard on ground equipment.
(30:10):
So we anticipate that we'regoing to learn and improve
things and this also goes backto an earlier question you asked
.
But one of the things thatalways impressed me about
PowerStow as a former customerand that it's part of my job to
make sure we maintain this aspart of our DNA is that
PowerStow has always been very,very open to user feedback.
(30:31):
I've worked with a lot of othermanufacturers who were really
proud of their product,sometimes so much so that if you
offered them some feedbackabout how they might be able to
make it better, they weren't allthat interested.
But I would say that PowerStowhas always been very interested
and sought that type of feedback, and when you walk the floor
you see the fruits of thoseconversations, of those
(30:57):
conversations they're, you know,like Arlie describes.
You know, unit number oneversus unit number 3,000 might
not look the same to sort of theaverage person walking by, but
there's been a lot of smallimprovements made over time,
largely based on feedback fromthe customer, and I think that's
another thing that makes thiscompany unique.
Matt Weitzel (31:10):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
Have you all seen a rollertrack system?
Outlive a belt loader.
Arly Würtzen (31:17):
So PowerStore number one is still on the same
chassis.
The bed has been replaced, atleast once, the engine it's on
its fourth engine or something,okay but the bottom frame is
still the same.
So yes and no, okay.
Matt Weitzel (31:35):
Yeah, I was just more curious.
It's a very robust product,right, and I can see that
there's a ton of moving parts,but obviously you all have built
this thing to last correct, andso you know, as we know,
there's a certain amount of timethat a belt loader is good for.
Well, I mean, they can repowerthe heck out of them, right.
Justin Brennan (31:56):
I mean KB's been around the ramp.
For I mean, these things don'tdie, you just rebuild them and
rebuild them and rebuild them.
Matt Weitzel (32:00):
Yeah, yeah, what does that look like?
Can some of those rollers goout and some of those motors,
and they're pretty easy toreplace, like?
Can the customer do that?
Do you send somebody out, likehow's that work?
Arly Würtzen (32:09):
If you've got 15 minutes, you can replace a
roller plays a role.
Matt Weitzel (32:17):
Wow, okay, well, if you're.
Ken Brown (32:19):
Arlie, you only need 15 minutes, that's it.
If you're slow, yeah, many ofour customers they do their own
preventative maintenance and ourteam provides schematics and
training.
In fact I've had the benefit ofsitting in on some training
that Arlie provides and it'sfantastic.
It's kind of a university sortof a recurrent opportunity for
mechanics to spend timereviewing troubleshooting
(32:41):
schematics real time, get ourhands on an actual roller track
system, and I've witnessed thatfirsthand how valuable that is
to these technicians and howmuch they enjoy it.
It also helps us continue tokeep our relationship with our
customers, even beyond theleadership team right down to
the folks that are actuallyturning the wrenches, and so the
formula seems to work reallywell and as a person who's sat
(33:03):
in and participated, I can tellyou that the mechanics respond
to it very, very well, so theycan handle a lot of things.
Every one of our RollerTraksystem RollerTrak units has
Arlie's cell phone number on it.
He's like a one-man call center.
The good news is that ourproduct is robust and that
minimizes the amount of callsthat he receives.
But he will pick up the phonepretty much 24 hours a day and a
(33:27):
lot of times can talk atechnician through something if
they've got a little bit of asnag, but if it's something a
little more serious, we'll havesomebody on an airplane and
we'll be there probably within24 hours to help them through it
.
Matt Weitzel (33:38):
Yeah, we've been talking a lot about training on
the podcast, and so what doesthat look like?
Arlie, will people come herefor the training or do you go on
site?
Arly Würtzen (33:47):
We can do whatever .
We have people coming here, wedo classes here for like 12
mechanics at a time.
We can do a one-day class or atwo-day class.
I just spent the whole dayyesterday training MENCIS up in
DCA MENCIS and United.
Matt Weitzel (34:04):
Oh, wow, so you actually physically went there
yourself.
Yeah, yeah.
Arly Würtzen (34:07):
So we go out and do training.
If we open up a new stationlike a place that's never had
power stoves before someone goesout either Right now I've only
got two guys it's me or Paul.
Matt Weitzel (34:18):
Okay.
Arly Würtzen (34:19):
We go out.
We spent like four or fivehours with the GSE mechanics and
kind of run them through how apower stove is put together,
what we call the differentthings, and how it operates, and
then they get my phone number.
Then we go up on the ramp andthen we spent the rest of the
week training on the ramp.
We physically go in and loadand stack.
(34:42):
I show the people how to stack,how to operate the system
inside the plane, while one ofthe sales guys are on the ground
killing all kinds of rumorsthat have started about
PowerStore doing this or that.
Matt Weitzel (34:55):
That's hilarious.
Justin Brennan (34:56):
That's one of the best parts about this job is
when we're out there training anew station that hasn't had a
roller track.
There's really two sides of that.
So Arlie's usually up in thebelly of the plane with somebody
who's stacking and he's the onethat gets the reaction from
that person of the light bulbgoes off once they see that unit
and how it works and how it'sgoing to help them in the plane
(35:17):
and how those bags come aroundthe corner and the loading head
that lifts up.
And now I don't have to reachup and stack them.
And then, you know, mike or Iwill be down at the bottom and
we'll be talking to like five orsix ramp agents who are looking
at that and the only thingthey're thinking is well, whose
job is that going to take?
And that'll break immediatelyas soon as we get.
You know you guys leave hereand usually it only takes an
(35:40):
hour or so and you put somebodythat's skeptical up in the plane
with it and they becomebelievers very, very quickly and
when that light bulb goes off,that's a pretty neat thing to
see happen.
Arly Würtzen (35:51):
I was checking in Tuesday afternoon down here in
Atlanta, flying out to DCA, andnow they got these little
machines where you have to checkin and print your bag tag.
And there was this nice ladyfrom Delta and she was helping
people and she came over to meand she looks at me and said oh,
you from PowerStore, yeah, yeah, oh, I love your machine.
(36:12):
And it saved me.
And so she almost gave me a hugand then I gave her a PowerStow
hat.
Justin Brennan (36:22):
It's amazing how often that happens, though,
where you'll be in the terminaland somebody has moved
themselves from the ramp like upinto like kind of the customer
service and you'll wear yourPowerStow shirt or you know,
you'll have a blue bag with youor something like that, and
they're like, wait a second, Iknow PowerStow, and then they'll
talk to you about that.
Matt Weitzel (36:38):
Yeah, you saved my shoulder and my back.
Yeah, for sure, it's beenfantastic.
Yeah, that's unbelievable, or?
Justin Brennan (36:44):
they'll say something of you know.
Well, they need more at thisstation because you know they're
always stealing mine from mygate, or you know oh?
Matt Weitzel (36:51):
I bet that is a big problem, right Is these
power stoves are being takenfrom gate to gate because
they're so used to it and theydon't want to have to go to a
plane that just has a normalbelt loader at it right, there
has been physical altercationson the ramp about power stoves.
Arly Würtzen (37:08):
like whose power stove it is?
Yeah, that's mine.
Ken Brown (37:11):
Yeah, there were early on.
In particular, there arestories I can attest to some of
them myself firsthand that youknow ramp employees could be
very, very creative and theywould disable the power stove.
You know sort of found theirown way to try to hit a kill
switch or something, so nobodywould take it or park it.
(37:31):
And I've seen employeesliterally take their lunch on
their power stove because theydon't want to walk away for fear
somebody might borrow it.
Matt Weitzel (37:39):
Yeah, somebody's going to take my chair.
Ken Brown (37:41):
It's very interesting to watch that play out at times
.
So yeah, it absolutely happensand they get a little protective
of their power stove.
In fact, I think the mechanicswould tell you that sometimes
they have a hard time gettingtheir preventative maintenance
done because the ramp doesn'twant to give it up.
Or maybe, as Harley describes,maybe we'll have a roller that
burns out.
(38:02):
It doesn't mean the unit's notusable, it is usable, but the
ramp doesn't want to report itbecause they're afraid they're
going to lose the unit for a day.
We think that's solvablebecause they probably just need
at least one more roller track.
Matt Weitzel (38:13):
Yeah, and they only need 15 minutes or less.
Ken Brown (38:16):
We'll sell them another one.
But no, it's, as Justin says,watching those light bulbs go
off.
I tell people when we go andtrain, especially if it's a new
place.
I look to folks and I and tellthem embrace your skepticism.
I know what you're thinking.
Right now, it's okay, say itout loud.
It looks complicated.
You don thinking, right now,it's okay, say it out loud.
This is, it looks complicated.
You're you don't think it'sgoing to work, or you think it's
(38:37):
going to break a lot.
And cause I was one of thosefolks and so I think it.
I think for us to embrace thatand tell them it's okay to think
those things, but let's go giveit a try, let me go show it to
you and, um, but occasionallyyou'll get that sort of more
senior, I don't want to tryanything new.
Yeah, you know, leave me alone.
And this is how I get myworkout.
And there was a.
There was actually a fairlyrecent story.
(38:58):
I won't share the location orthe airline, but we had a very,
very senior employee.
We were there doing trainingand he was pretty adamant like
you don't need to show me thatthing, I'm never going to use it
.
And about 15 minutes later theywere planning the next arrival
and they said hey Joe, you'vegot the rear of the airplane and
, by the way, there's your humanremains on the airplane.
And he kind of walked over tous and looked at us and said,
(39:21):
will that thing move humanremains?
We said, absolutely, let usshow you.
And this was that moment thatJustin was just driving went
into the rear of that aircraftand he turned that airplane and
he came out of there.
Matt Weitzel (39:57):
Now, that was his roller track he went from I will
never use this machine.
To don't touch my machine.
You know, when they realize howit makes their life and their
job easier and can elongatetheir career, it sells itself at
least from the user'sperspective.
Ken Brown (40:09):
Yeah, and I was watching the video on is it the
hold on the tail loader?
And that looked like the samething, this huge time saver,
back saver, shoulder I mean andthe value of that and keeping
your employees safe and able tocome to work every day.
Our products more and more makesense is when we train people,
(40:32):
especially if you're a longtimeramp employee, is convincing
them to let the tool do its job,because they've spent years and
years of lifting these bags andpulling them and so even with
our product, sometimes theirnatural tendency is to grab the
bag or try to pick it up insteadof letting the machine do it
for them, and so the trainingbecomes really important to help
(40:56):
change those behaviors andteach them to really let the
machine do it for you.
So, again, that's one of thosemoments where you know somebody,
the light clicks and theyrealize I don't have to snatch
that bag, it's going to.
This thing will help me move itwithout picking it up.
Matt Weitzel (41:11):
Yeah, and that tail loader does 160 degrees, so
I heard that's the rumor anyway.
Arly Würtzen (41:16):
That's what Justin says.
Anyways, yeah, exactly.
Matt Weitzel (41:19):
And so you can turn and move that thing all
around.
You don't have to do that withthe bags, right?
You don't have to do that turnwith the bag, you can just do
the turn that's, I'm guessing,powered by the PowerShow tail
loader.
Ken Brown (41:31):
Yeah, that tail loader is not only adjustable
side to side 160 degrees, butit'll go up well above the
height of an average person andit'll go down all the way to the
ground, and so you got a lot offlexibility at what would be
the bottom part of the beltloader.
Now, in addition to again, as aperson who's been around
(41:52):
operations forever clearly thisequipment was designed for its
ergonomic benefit.
But if you're an operator andyou look at the ability to
extend the back of the tailloader and to swing it left or
right, there are some otheropportunities there that maybe
weren't intended in the designbut are still very valuable.
One as an example sometimesyou're offloading that front of
(42:13):
that 737 aircraft.
That belt loader gets veryclose to that engine on the
right side of the aircraft andthis tail loader allows you to
get some distance, especially ifyou're staging more than one
cart at the bottom of the belt.
Maybe you're staging cartsbecause you have a lot of
transfer bag activity.
This gives you a little morereal estate to stage those carts
or to swing that work away fromthe engine.
(42:34):
And on the other side of that,again at the front of 737,
there's sometimes a lot ofconflict between a catering
truck and a belt loader and it'shard sometimes to load and
offload the aircraft while thatcatering truck is there.
But the extra extension thatthe tail loader gives you helps
mitigate that as well.
Matt Weitzel (42:51):
Yeah, what is that extension?
How much does that give you offthe end In feet, not weight?
Yeah, none is that extension.
Arly Würtzen (42:55):
How much does that give you off the end In feet,
not feet?
Yeah, none of that metric stuff, yeah we don't need any metric
stuff today.
Let me do the math here.
I don't know the exact number.
Matt Weitzel (43:03):
Yeah.
But I would say- this is yourbest guess.
Arly Würtzen (43:06):
Yeah, yeah yeah, I'm working on it Like almost
six feet.
Ken Brown (43:11):
Yeah, oh, wow, yeah, I'd say five to six feet would
have been my guess.
Justin Brennan (43:14):
That's a lot Like six feet.
That is a lot of space to getaway from that engine as you're
pulling up with a train of carts.
Ken Brown (43:23):
Yeah, and that's not to say that it has to be fully
extended.
It literally can be utilizedwithout being extended at all.
I don't know why you would dothat.
Yes, but it is adjustable.
(43:43):
It doesn't have to be fullyextended.
And so, depending on the gapthat you're trying to bridge,
based on how you've parked yourequipment or whether you're
extending it into a cart or acontainer as an example, if
you're offloading a narrowbodyaircraft and you're loading into
a container, maybe you'retransferring to a widebody
aircraft oftentimes you'll see aperson at the bottom of the
belt loader and another personinside that container, not that
different from the pit of theaircraft.
But now you're in a containerand the tail loader actually
allows you to extend into thatcontainer and create a much more
(44:06):
ergonomic you know beneficialenvironment for the employee.
Matt Weitzel (44:10):
So I think I saw a demo unit of the tail loader
out there.
Are there demos out therecurrently, or is this kind of
the first one?
Justin Brennan (44:17):
Yeah, there's.
We have a few demos that areout in the field and starting to
do some production of it.
We do a lot of our testingclose to home, in Denmark, so we
have a tail loader that's beenin use there for quite a while,
but we're starting to deploythem in North America and, like
Arlie said, we're going to grabfeedback and you know if
(44:39):
improvements need to be made.
I'm very confident that thosewill get done very quickly.
But it's just.
It's such a great tool toremove one more lifting point
from the operation for theoperator.
Ken Brown (44:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'd say in, and probably in the next
month or so, we will have demosand or ownership with uh five of
our america's customers, sowe'll be poised to get some
really good feedback.
Um, and take this to the nextlevel yeah, I can't wait to see
it.
Matt Weitzel (45:10):
So you all did so.
It was a gse exp Europe.
Did you have it there?
I think you did right, we did,we did.
Ken Brown (45:16):
Yeah, we had both the docking system assisted docking
as well as the tail loader, ondisplay there.
Justin Brennan (45:22):
Yeah so you could see assisted docking, the
roller track, the tail loaderand also our transfer belt, both
at Lisbon last year and thenwhen we go to Vegas this year.
You'll be able to see all ofthose in action.
Matt Weitzel (45:36):
Yeah, are you going to be outside at the Expo?
Justin Brennan (45:39):
I mean, it only makes sense, it's Las Vegas,
right yeah the place to be isoutside.
Matt Weitzel (45:43):
You got to be outside.
Well, that's not well, I don'tknow.
So what I've seen is a lot ofpeople are going inside this
year.
Justin Brennan (45:52):
So, but you all will be outside.
Okay, maybe we'll follow thattrend in the future.
Matt Weitzel (45:55):
Yeah, exactly.
Ken Brown (45:56):
We'll be outside.
We're making some changes toour exhibit, oh nice, so it'll
be a little more.
We'll have more cooling optionsfor our customers who want to
visit with us and spend sometime outside with us.
Matt Weitzel (46:08):
That's awesome.
Well, I can't wait to come seeit.
So, Justin, you worked withBrad Compton for a minute.
Justin Brennan (46:14):
I've heard of him.
Matt Weitzel (46:15):
Yeah, and so everybody that has worked for
Brad Compton has to have somekind of GSC story.
Ken Brown (46:24):
And we are now at that point of the podcast.
Matt Weitzel (46:25):
It doesn't have to be about Brad, or even with
Brad, but I do know the peoplethat hang out with him tend to
have some pretty good stories.
So do you want to kick us offon our GSE story?
Justin Brennan (46:33):
Yeah, I mean you've got two guys here that
have a plethora of experience inthe GSE space.
A lot of Brad's stories, youknow maybe aren't told on the
GSE podcast.
Matt Weitzel (46:47):
Yeah, I know why.
I mean, I don't know whyactually.
Yeah.
Justin Brennan (46:52):
I mean, I've seen him shoeless before.
I was there for that.
Shirtless, shirtless, sure,sure.
Matt Weitzel (47:00):
Yeah, that's a big one.
Justin Brennan (47:01):
There's plenty of those, but I think that's the
inherent nature of GSE, thatthose stories exist, and I think
that's why you kind of have tostay in the industry, because
everybody has those stories, andso if you were to leave,
somebody might tell one of thosestories on you and then you're
just stuck right back.
Matt Weitzel (47:18):
Oh, so that's the reason people aren't leaving.
Justin Brennan (47:20):
I think it's out of fear.
Matt Weitzel (47:21):
Ah fear, there you go.
See, we finally figured it out.
It only took us like the 29thepisode.
We're just now figuring thisthing out.
Justin Brennan (47:28):
Uh-huh.
Matt Weitzel (47:28):
That's awesome.
Ken Brown (47:40):
So, kb, do you have a good GSE story for us?
Well, I don't know if I qualifyas good, but I probably have
too many to pick one, but I cantell you that we recently were
fortunate enough to participatein a GSE event that was put on
by some other folks.
That included some snowmobiling.
Matt Weitzel (47:51):
Oh, I heard about this.
Ken Brown (47:53):
Some people could choose to ski, some could
snowmobile and a few otherthings, and of course, most of
our group chose to snowmobile.
It was the first time I'd everbeen on a snowmobile, I thought
you used to live in Denver.
That's true.
What the heck KP?
What can I tell you?
Matt Weitzel (48:08):
You're letting us all down.
Ken Brown (48:09):
I spent a lot of time hunting and fishing, oh, and
fishing.
And so you know, these 14ers,these 14, these, all these
mountains in Colorado that thefolks that understand that
language will know is 14,000feet up and I think there's like
25 mountains and people climbthat for sport.
I call that an unsuccessfulhunt.
So I'm walking mountains.
(48:31):
You know I have purpose, butI've done it with without
harvesting an animal as well,but yeah, I mean I will share.
But I've done it withoutharvesting an animal as well,
but yeah, I mean I will sharewith you that.
I think it was fantastic.
There were a lot of folks thathad experience.
I know Justin was one of themand there was a lot of us who
had done it for the first time.
But it's always the camaraderieis always great at these events
and sort of some of the afterhours, you know antics, sort of
(48:53):
networking, but also just tosort of see people experience
that snowmobiling for the firsttime, I will throw myself on the
sword that I just, you know I'ma person who's adventurous and
it's like I'm going to be onthis thing, especially if it's
rented.
I'm going to find out what itcould do, and so I may or may
(49:29):
not have rolled it over, but itwas a good time, it was well
protected, soft snow and rolledit right back up and got back on
it, but I don't think I was theonly one that did that.
But I guess if I'm going totell a story, I should be
self-deprecating versus pointingat somebody else.
Like many of these events,networking is an important part
of this business.
Some people use the termboondoggle and I'm sure maybe
there's a flavor of that, butthere's so much important
business that takes place inthese events.
You get to sit down and havesome deep conversation and
you've created a relaxedatmosphere.
You get to learn about people'sfamilies and what's happening
(49:51):
in their life outside of work.
I think that just makes theindustry stronger and I think
that also contributes to whatyou were describing is people
don't really leave the industry.
You know, and I think that's acontributor as well because you
actually the relationships thatyou build are real and you get
to know people.
You get to know about theirfamily and you get to know about
their business and you becomeinvested and I think that's
(50:15):
unique and it's something thatI've really appreciated being
part of.
Matt Weitzel (50:18):
Yeah, I think that's another common thing that
comes up on our on our podcastis the GSE community and and we
really do have a fantasticcommunity and, yeah, I just love
it, which is the reason Istarted this podcast.
I wanted to talk to people andand people really enjoy
listening because they like tohear their buddies talk right,
Because everybody knowseverybody and everybody's
friends.
Do we have any good storiesover on the side of the table
(50:41):
here?
Arly Würtzen (50:42):
Well, I was sitting here thinking and then
KB threw me for a loop.
Matt Weitzel (50:46):
Oh he did.
Yeah, oh, you mean him fallingoff the snowmobile?
Arly Würtzen (50:49):
No, it's like people have a life outside work.
Matt Weitzel (50:53):
What's that all about?
Ken Brown (50:54):
Yeah, wait what I've been telling you about this,
this thing.
Arly Würtzen (51:02):
I didn't know.
Yeah, well, I can tell you, wego to many, many different
airports.
When we go out and trainoperators, and when we go to an
airport, we're not badged.
We don't have a CIDR badge, sowe need an escort and I think
95% of the times we've been toan airport, we have been left by
(51:23):
our escort and been sittingalone unescorted, trying to hide
from-.
Ken Brown (51:29):
It's amazing how often that happens, he doesn't
mean in a secured area, just incase.
Oh no, no, no no, that's neverhappened.
Matt Weitzel (51:36):
No, I get it.
Arly Würtzen (51:37):
I was in an airport with Mike and it was
cold, raining, windy, and we wasput in a van by our escort.
So we were sitting in a van andthen we look around and he's
gone.
And then we sit there and wait.
That's the only thing you cando, you can't go anywhere.
And then, I think 30 minutes in, we see these two security
(52:01):
guards come walking up to thevan and we're like this is it?
Justin Brennan (52:04):
We're getting 40 .
We've got to find a new job now.
Arly Würtzen (52:08):
And then they walk up to the van and they look at
us and say hey, get out, we needthe van.
And then they drove off.
Matt Weitzel (52:17):
That's a pretty good one.
Justin Brennan (52:17):
So now you don't have a van to hide in?
Arly Würtzen (52:19):
Yeah no, but luckily it's caught your eye
eventually.
Matt Weitzel (52:24):
Eventually.
Well, so you guys, are yougoing to be at the GHI Americas
in Orlando, florida?
Justin Brennan (52:31):
Yeah, you'll see KB and myself and Mike and
Julie will make an appearance atthe.
Matt Weitzel (52:38):
GHR Americas.
You got to bring Julie.
Justin Brennan (52:41):
I mean, a lot of people talk to her on the phone
and this is the chance to meether.
Matt Weitzel (52:46):
This is the kind of content that we needed today,
I know.
Justin Brennan (52:48):
You know what I mean so yeah, come to Orlando.
Matt Weitzel (52:51):
see, Julie, you've been waiting.
Ken Brown (52:53):
If you really want to know who runs Power Store
Americas, come meet Julie.
Matt Weitzel (52:56):
Yep.
Ken Brown (52:57):
The power behind the throne.
Justin Brennan (52:59):
Get a selfie and , you know, be ready to go.
Matt Weitzel (53:02):
I love it.
And then you're going to beobviously at the GSE Expo in
Vegas, where you will have avery cool outside booth
Absolutely To show off all yournew products.
Ken Brown (53:14):
We'll have what some refer to as a fully pimped out
roller track.
Wow, that'll have the assisteddocking and the tail loader on
it as well, man.
Matt Weitzel (53:24):
And then you think Mr Ocon will come to Vegas.
Ken Brown (53:29):
I have to check that with his parole officer.
Matt Weitzel (53:31):
Okay, Because, I mean, if we're talking about GSE
industry legends, you got tothrow Ocon in the mix.
There are a few of them runningaround this factory there really
is yeah, it's a little reunionhere that I've been having today
, having worked at Tug for 10years and then walking in this
door and realizing that peoplethat I spend a better part of my
(53:55):
life with are all here, and sothat was a very cool surprise
that I just did not know wasgoing to happen today.
I knew Nikki was here andeverybody loves Nikki and she's
like Julie right, everybody kindof knows her name and they
don't really get to see her thatoften, but I think she was in
Vegas, maybe two years ago shewas, so I got to see her then
too.
But anyways, this has been justa fantastic experience.
(54:18):
So what haven't I covered?
What haven't we got out therein the industry that you need
people to know about?
Did we do enough on theassisted docking, do you think?
Justin Brennan (54:28):
You know, I think we did.
Really, we're kind of four coreproducts here at PowerStow.
We're very adamant about makingthose products right and making
a great experience for numberone, the operator on the ramp
and number two, the guyresponsible for keeping that GSE
(54:49):
up and running.
Those are very, very importantpeople to everybody here at
PowerStow and it's really kindof what drives everything that
we do.
Ken Brown (55:08):
Yeah, and it seems like I mean it's a family
atmosphere here.
Probably be remiss if I didn'tadd to your comment about Bill.
I had a little fun at hisexpense there, but I could tell
you that he impresses me everyday, that he sees things that
others can't see, and just hiswealth of experience, but also
his ability to see something andsolution it, and really I have
(55:30):
an idea.
Here's what we could do, here'show we can make that better,
and it shows itself allthroughout our facility here and
how we function.
Geez, we could really usesomething that would help us
test this and Bill can make that.
He doesn't need a drawing.
He can see it in his mind's eyeand he will build it, and it's
just incredible to have a talentlike that amongst many talented
(55:51):
people.
So I kind of wanted to sharethat.
You've heard the name Mike acouple of times here.
He's one of our colleagues, notrepresented.
We talked a little bit aboutBen Reeves already, and Mike is
part of the sales team here andbeen with PowerStove seven or
eight years, but has been in theindustry a very long time,
formerly with Flightline, andprobably somebody that most of
(56:11):
the listeners would also know.
But I just want to give him alittle shout out too.
He's a valued member of theteam, does really good work with
us.
But to answer your questionabout you know what else we
could cover?
I think I would.
You know, I'd encourage peopleto, especially if you're less
familiar with our products ormaybe you're really familiar
with our flagship product, butyou're curious about some of
these other products.
You know.
(56:35):
Check out our website.
We're improving that all thetime.
We're including some videolinks.
I know probably a lot of yourlisteners are like me.
They're very visual and it's onething to talk about a product,
but when you can see it inaction, it can really help
answer a lot of questions.
So we encourage people to checkout our product online and if
they have questions or they wanta demo, whether they want to
take a trip out here, and we'llhost them in our facility and do
(56:56):
a tour, something like we didfor you, or we'll meet them on
the road somewhere.
And we've got a lot of greatcustomers and great customer
relationships and they've alwaysbeen, you know, really willing
to allow us to bring other folksto come, you know, show our
product and educate people onwhat we can do, what we can't do
.
And then, lastly, I would justadd that, you know, similar to
the earlier part of ourconversation, we're very
(57:19):
interested in being the solution.
So if there's pain points outthere, if there's opportunities
where people think PowerStromight be able to solve that for
them, we'd love to engage inthat conversation, put our eyes
on it, and we have a verytalented research and
development team that's alwayslooking for the next thing and
maybe some things we're notgoing to be the perfect match
for, but we would love to putourselves in a position to help
(57:41):
people solve their pain points.
Matt Weitzel (57:43):
Well, this has been an absolute pleasure.
I've had such a good time heretoday seeing everybody and
getting to spend time with youall and seeing the facility and
seeing the product.
And I agree with you that Iwent on today while I was on the
flight and watched all thevideos on your YouTube channel.
It really helps out to kind ofvisualize how it's all working.
It's even different than seeingit at a trade show, you know,
(58:05):
at a mock thing.
I mean.
When you can see it in reallife application, it's very,
very cool.
So I'm with you.
I think everybody should go toYouTube, check out those videos
that you all have, go to yourwebsite and learn more about the
product.
But yeah, I mean that's all Ihave for today.
I really appreciate you alljoining me on the podcast and
thank you so much.
Ken Brown (58:24):
And that's been an honor to be invited.
Appreciate you taking time.
Come spend some time with us.
Let us talk about our company.
Matt Weitzel (58:29):
Awesome.
All right, this has been Matt,justin, ken and Arlie for the
GSE Podcast.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the GSE Podcast.
We hope you found itinformative and engaging.
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it with your
(58:50):
colleagues and peers in theground support equipment
community.
Your support is invaluable tous.
We'd appreciate it if you couldtake a moment to rate and
review our podcast.
Your feedback not onlyencourages us, but also helps
expand our reach within the GSEcommunity.
Keep an eye out for moreepisodes as we continue to
explore the dynamic world ofground operations, bringing you
(59:10):
the latest trends, insights andstories from the industry.
Thank you for listening to theGSE Podcast.
Until we meet again, staygrounded and keep pushing
forward.
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