Rotormate

At that time, Masling was Australia's McDonnell Douglas and Schweitzer distributor. After a few years, the owner (Tony Masling) combined his two companies Masling Rotor Wing & Masling Industries.Masling Industries was the Australian component overhaul and repair station for; Engines – Rolls Royce, Fuel Systems – Honeywell (A250 & P&W) Electrical – APC, Unison, Lear Siglier Hydraulic – Stratopower & Woodward. Although I did not appreciate it at the time, the experience I gained at Maslings has served me extremely well over the years. At the time of my departure, I had progressed through the ranks to the overall manager of their stores and supply department.Tragically, in December 1992 (2 days after my 21st birthday) Tony Masling was killed in a helicopter accident. This was a sad time for many industry and community people. I felt a great loyalty towards Tony as he had never been scared to promote me at such a young age. After his death, I decided it was time to spread my wings and leave my hometown.Masling Industries continues to thrive and is running strong today. Please visit their site (www.masling.com.au).I moved to Goroka, Papua New Guinea, and began work for Pacific Helicopters as their Supply and Logistics Controller. Pacific Helicopters had a large and diverse fleet of aircraft. Bell 206, 206L, 212, MD500ER, AS350, SA315, SA330 & MI17 (about 50 then). This was a great challenge, and I learned many things. Trust me, when you look after the spare parts for a fleet like this, you learn the true meaning of “A.O.G” and “just get it done” quickly. You also tend to spend most of your evenings at the Goroka Aero Club trying to de-stress.After two years, I’d had enough of PNG and moved back to Australia to work as a salesman for a small parts company called Rotor Components. This was another challenging position, and I learned many things, but the travel bug persisted, and it was soon time to move on again.April 1996 – Santa Barbara, California.I had to come to America to see what I could learn about the industry. By comparison, Australia only had a handful of helicopters, so my next step was obvious if I wanted to learn more about helicopters and parts sales. I landed a job with Intertrans Helicopters as a parts salesman. The good folks at Intertrans seemed confused about my arrival because they had forgotten to provide me with a desk, computer, or phone. After a few hours of negotiations, they gave me 30 days to see what I could do. It all worked out, but tough way to start in a new country.January 1998 – Dallas, Texas.Action Aircraft was a great move, and I enjoyed working for them immensely. I learned many things about the A250 engine and how an overhaul shop worked. Although I was hired to complement the engine overhaul business with helicopter parts sales, I spent a fair bit of time in their overhaul shop helping with disassembly and cleaning. Action Aircraft was a great company to work for, but I needed a change.April 2001 – Still in DallasPrecision Heliparts had offered me a position at their main office in Atlanta, but I was feeling pretty settled here in Dallas, so I asked if I could open a satellite office for them here…..they agreed. And so PHP – Dallas opened. Precision Heliparts taught me a great deal about component exchange and effective marketing. They have a great product and were great to their employees.January 2004 – RotormateWith almost no money and not a single penny to my name, I decided it was time to do things my way and open my own company. I guess I had always had a burning desire to do things “my way” which is why I never seemed happy working for people. It took me a while, but I finally realized that the only way to give my word to a customer or vendor (and back it up) was if I was writing the checks.Thanks for reading to the bottom. I know this is a little long-winded but 35 years into a page and a half is not all that much, really. I hope by now that you feel a little more at ease with who you are dealing with.This is a small industry, and I am sure we both know the same people (somewhere). If you need a reference, please let me know, and I would be happy to put you in touch with a mutual friend.Questions or comments, email me paul@rotormate.com