Company generates $8 million in revenue yearly
After Leonard Dean’s employer closed his aircraft maintenance shop, Dean opened his own aviation services business in 1983 at Meridian’s Key Field. Ever since then, Dean Aircraft Service has been on a steady growth path.
The company provides aircraft maintenance and repair and conducts inspections on planes, all with the goal of keeping costs and downtime low. It also has a shop to repair and install avionic equipment to make sure it is operating properly.
Dean Aircraft Service quickly outgrew its rented space and eventually Dean moved the operation to the company’s own new facility at the airport. The customer base continued to grow and, in 2009, the Meridian Airport Authority bought the business from Dean.
Two years later, a new 33,000-square-foot facility was ready to accommodate the demand for its services. As sales boomed and employment grew, a 31,000-square-foot addition was built in 2022, doubling hangar space.
Tom Williams, longtime airport manager, said Meridian Regional Airport, owned by Meridian Airport Authority, has always operated efficiently but after 9/11, when airlines pulled back on service everywhere, The Authority officials acted to address the loss of business.
“It became clear our airline revenue was a dwindling source of revenue and that we needed to diversify our revenue in order to survive.” he said. “In 2004 we bought the FBO Meridian Aviation to provide fair pricing to our customers and to improve facilities and service.”
The FBO purchase was a boon for the airport, tripling revenue “in short order,” said Williams.
Then, when Leonard Dean decided he was ready to close his business, the airport decided to buy it as well, adding another revenue producing asset to its holdings.
Dean was “an established business with a great reputation among corporate aircraft owners of jets and turboprops and a good line of business,” Williams said. “If Dean closed, 11 mechanics would be out of a job and there would be no aircraft maintenance. We were able to purchase the assets of DAS and keep those employees.”
“The Airport Authority owns Dean Aircraft Service yet we operate it as a separate entity,” said Williams. “In the 15 years that we have owned it, it has quadrupled sales, from $2 million to $8 million a year. And sales are growing.” Today there are 30 employees.
Dean specializes in work on Beechcraft King Air and Cessna Citation aircraft, two of the most popular in the air. Customers come to DAS from Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida. “We have one aircraft from Montana that comes in every two years,” said Williams.
Tom Meek, DAS director of maintenance, has been with the company for 36 years. When Meek joined founder Leonard Dean and one other employee at the young business, he brought with him aircraft maintenance experience gained while serving in the Navy, the Air Force and the Air National Guard.
Meek can often be found on the floor of the giant hangar, overseeing work on aircraft and training employees. He said the workplace is known for its safe, supportive work environment. “It’s more like a community,” he said. “In a community, individuals will look out for each other. You don’t go it alone. “
Aircraft are required to have routine maintenance and periodic inspections, some of which take three weeks, and no item is too small to receive the workers’ full attention. Meek said he regularly tells his crew, “Be safe, do things safely. If anything doesn’t seem right with you, let somebody know.” As a result, he said, “We have a very good safety record and we want to keep it that way.”
Meek said besides providing qualified maintenance and repair, DAS emphasizes a level of customer service not usually found in similar operations. He said the team leader on each job stays in direct communication with the pilot who brings a plane to Meridian. The team leader provides updates on the work being done and is available for any questions or followups. “At the end of the day it’s all about building good relationships with our customers,” he said.
Meek said that it speaks well for the operation that former employees have referred job seekers to DAS, adding, “It’s a privilege to come and work here.”