PARIS, France — Alabamians Brad Caban, president of Aero-mark aerospace manufacturing and maintenance, and Brent Trotter, chief engineer at the company’s Fairhope division called Amro, arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport Sunday with their Paris Air Show display in tow. It fit into a small black box about the size of bowling ball.
Caban and Trotter came to Paris to show off their 500 watt micro turbo alternator, the world’s smallest gas turbine driven generator system. Aero-mark is working to generate solid orders for the new product, which will likely be assembled and tested at Amro in Fairhope.
The tiny machine is designed as a micro propulsion system for cruise missiles or small unmanned aerial vehicles, and Caban said the Paris Air Show is the ideal event not only to generate potential client interest but also to help the company determine its top target companies for the product.
“We’ve had an opportunity to demonstrate this to a lot of potential customers but also to survey the field of airframes that are potentially available,” Caban said. “Our engine technology is scalable to customer requirements, and the air show gives us the chance to have conversations about what customers need.”
In addition to showing off its tiny turbine at the air show, Aero-mark traveled today to Toulouse to meet with Airbus at its French manufacturing plant there. Aero-mark provides commercial aviation repair services in addition to component manufacturing. The company’s Fairhope facility is currently focused on military aircraft system parts, but Amro is willing and able to expand its services if the opportunity arises.
“We will be there poised and ready to support those guys when needed,” Caban said.
He said while the company had not secured specific orders for its alternator at the air show, they saw tremendous interest and started conversations that are likely to lead to orders down the road.
“We come to the show because it gives us the opportunity to get in front of executives who you would never see in your normal course of business,” Caban said. “You build relationships with the decision makers. That’s why we’re here.”
