PEMCO Hosts LEAN Summit for US Airlines, Aerospace and Florida-Based Companies
Aviation maintenance, cargo conversion and engineering company, PEMCO World Air Services (PEMCO), hosted its 2nd
Annual PEMCO LEAN Summit last week at its Tampa International Airport headquarters. The Summit was created for companies from
various sectors to share their Lean journey, including experiences, triumphs, and failures.
“We believe there is value in collaborating with different companies,” shared Ben Macre, PEMCO director of continuous
improvement. “Every organization has something to share in their quest to operational excellence.”
Lean, a term introduced by Toyota in the late 1980s, is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing
system. Though originally applied to manufacturing concepts, “Lean applies in every business and every process. It is not a tactic
or a cost reduction program, but a way of thinking and acting for an entire organization,” according to the Lean Enterprise
Institute, a nonprofit education, publishing, research, and conference organization.
The PEMCO LEAN Summit is not a seminar, or training session, but the beginning of an ongoing opportunity to learn and improve
together. The three-day program consisted of presentations, discussions and team building lead by attendees, with the goal of
creating new ideas to apply towards their own Lean programs.
“I gained new ideas and tips on conducting successful kaizen events,” commented attendee and presenter Dr. Deborah Posner,
associate vice president of the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “The
LEAN Summit was excellent. It was well-organized, with a good variety of topics and perspectives on Lean implementation.”
The Summit included almost 30 Lean champions, coordinators, and implementers from companies in various stages of their Lean
journey, many of which traveled across the US to Tampa, Fla. to attend. Attendees included representatives of several US-based
airlines, Broward College, Infospectrum, LAUNCH Avionics, The Mosaic Company, PSCU, Regent Aerospace, Stellar Industrial Supply,
and University of South Florida professors and students.
PSCU Senior Process Engineer Joshua Patterson stated, “Each Lean story provided a new look and approach to developing and
deploying Lean methodologies in a wide range of cultures and industries.”
Since introducing Lean manufacturing processes into PEMCO’s MRO operations in January of last year, the company has improved key
metrics such as quality, efficiency, safety, and on-time performance.
“Our Lean program has improved our overall operations and I wanted to share our story with partners and colleagues,” said PEMCO
CEO Pastor Lopez. “PEMCO continues to lead the way that Lean is applied to the aviation maintenance industry. We hope the openness
and transparency of the Summit encouraged everyone that attended.”
PEMCO will host its 3rd Annual PEMCO LEAN Summit next year with plans for expansion. If you’d like to learn more or
attend, contact Ben Macre: ben.macre@pemcoair.com.
About PEMCO World Air Services, Inc.
PEMCO World Air Services, an Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services (AMES) company, serves customers from airlines to
private operators. Having developed over 70 STCs and modified over 350 aircraft and with conversion partnerships in China, Costa
Rica and Canada, PEMCO’s cargo conversion program is the global leader in narrow-body passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversions.
PEMCO and AMES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG), offer 340,000 sq. ft. of hangar
space in Tampa, Fla. and 315,000 sq. ft. of hangar space in Wilmington, Ohio, combined to provide a range of services to the
aviation sector including heavy maintenance, line maintenance, cargo conversions, engineering services, material sales and
manufacturing. Combining the maintenance experience as an Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services company with
industry-leading conversion capacity, PEMCO World Air Services is a leading provider of services for Boeing and Airbus fleets. For
more information, please visit PEMCOAIR.com or AIRBORNEMX.com.
Pemco World Air Services
David Gray, 813-322-9600 x 9507
Marketing Manager
david.gray@pemcoair.com
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