Local Companies Attend National MRO Conference | Posted 03/23/2007

Staff members from Tinker Business & Industrial Park and TBIP affiliates Acorn Growth Companies, Acorn Growth Equities and Indian Territory Associates (ITA), recently attended the 10th Annual Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) Conference and Exhibition, April 19-21, in Lake Grapevine, Texas.

The annual conference, considered to be one of the top MRO events in the nation, featured a variety of informational sessions encompassing all aspects of military and commercial MRO, TBIP Managing General Partner Warren Thomas said. The event was sponsored by Aviation Week Magazine and the Air Transportation Association.

Conference attendees obtained a detailed overview and forecast of the global military MRO market, the impact on the aging U.S. military aviation fleet on the market, what the implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology will mean to MRO, rotorcraft maintenance, and the effect of Air Force changes to MRO on the warfighter.

Former OC/ALC Vice-Commander, Gen. Lorne Reno, was one of the conference presenters. General Reno has recently been announced as the new deputy director of the Defense Logistics Agency. The public/private partnership between the OC/ALC and TBIP tenant Pratt & Whitney was also highlighted during one of Military MRO sessions. Several TBIP tenant companies were sponsors, exhibitors and participants in the conference and expo.

Commercial MRO sessions covered topics such as the relationship of cost to quality, process improvement, and the latest trends in asset management and utilization.

"TBIP has always been much more than a business park," Thomas said. "We work hard to provide our tenant companies with solid value-added services which go straight to their bottom line in terms of growing business at Tinker and the OC/ALC. To that end, this conference provided our staff with tremendous information and education, which will better enable us to serve our customers."

Those attending, in addition to Thomas, included TBIP Property and Leasing Manager Janelle Stafford, ITA Education Coordinator Kate Joyce, Acorn Growth Companies President Jeff Davis, and Acorn Growth Equities President Rick Nagle.

The home of more than 30 top tier defense companies such as Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, SAIC, General Electric, Rolls-Royce and others, TBIP is a sector specific business park serving aviation/aerospace, communications and environmental sciences. Tinker Business & Industrial Park is located at 29th and Sooner Road, across from Tinker Air Force Base and the OC/ALC.

Acorn Growth Companies is an enterprise development firm that accelerates the growth and evolution of small, niche-specific companies. Acorn's three-pronged incubation strategy includes a sense of place, best of breed support and capital infusion.

Acorn Growth Equities is an acquisitions firm positioned to acquire, operate, and maximize mission-critical systems and services companies across a focused array of industry, with a heavy emphasis on aerospace.

ITA is a Small Business Administration Certified HUB Zone company specializing in the provision of services to the government and private sector in the following areas: technical services, education and training, and consulting. ITA's mission is to provide innovative training solutions and fundamental services to the private sector and government agencies in support of successful human capital retention, growth and development.