‘World-class design’: United Companies Air Center hosts grand opening in Evansville
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United Companies Air Center is celebrating the grand opening of its new general aviation terminal with an open house in Evansville today. The event at 6101 Flightline Dr. will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with welcoming remarks at 5:15 p.m.
UCAC, formerly known as Tri-State Aero, is the fixed-base operator at Evansville Regional Airport, providing FBO, avionics, charter and maintenance services. President Doug Petit described the new facility as “thoughtfully designed.”
“First, it’s new. It’s hard to beat new. But second, it’s a world-class design. You’d have to go far afield to find something that’s better,” Petit said. “If it’s your first time through here, people stand and look in awe, and they’re like, ‘Wow, how long has this place been here?’”
Since the new terminal opened in January, Ron Romain, executive chairman of Evansville-based United Cos., has enjoyed reactions and comments from patrons passing through the facility.
“There’s only probably been 10% of the business community that’s seen it. I’m anxious for other folks that we’re inviting to come in and see it and maybe stir up some interest for charter,” Romain said.
Evansville Regional Airport Executive Director Nate Hahn believes UCAC’s new facility will enhance the airport’s role as the community’s front door.
“We’ve invested heavily in creating a world-class experience for our commercial passengers—from the terminal to new covered parking to every touchpoint along the way. Now, with the opening of our new general aviation terminal, we’ve been able to bring that same vision and standard of excellence to all aspects of EVV, and we’re very proud of that,” Hahn said.
About the FBO
In 1963, Tom Speer and Edlon (Buz) Brasel launched Tri-State Aero in Mt. Vernon before moving the FBO to Evansville in 1965.
“United Companies and Tri-State Aero started about the same time. So they’re both 60 years old with long-standing, deep roots in the community,” said Petit.
Romain, who acquired his private pilot’s license in the late 1970s, has always had an interest in aviation, and United Companies has frequented the terminal over the years.
“As our business grew and evolved, Tri-State Aero was an important part of that because we acquired a company plane and then started working out of that FBO for loading and unloading and taking people to and from,” Romain said.
When the FBO’s owner, John Zeidler, decided to sell, United Companies seized the chance to acquire the aviation company in 2022.
“We saw the opportunity to bring the new general aviation terminal into existence. There were plans for that. They weren’t quite being brought to fruition. Our opportunity to purchase it and allow that to happen was important to us,” said Petit.
“We were a customer there for a long time, and we were in and out of the facility a lot,” added Romain. “It was never impressive. It was dated. It’d been renovated once or twice over that 60-year period, but it still wasn’t up to the standards.”
A contemporary terminal
When Romain saw the design for UCAC’s new general aviation terminal, he believed the contemporary style would make a statement to people flying in and out of Evansville.
“We did not think the previous front door was as nice, and [the new design] made the presentation that we wanted as business leaders and community leaders,” Petit said.
The facility has 100,000 sq. ft. of hangar space and features a pilot lounge, passenger lounge and conference room. There’s also free Wifi and refreshments along with a variety of services.
“Not everybody is flying around in a corporate aircraft. There are a lot of individuals who have smaller, privately owned airplanes, and they need to get them worked on,” Romain said. “They need to get their aircraft serviced and have a good, dependable, quality shop to go to.”
Petit said there was some hesitation in changing the name to UCAC because of Tri-State Aero’s long-standing reputation. However, he felt United Companies’ connection to the region was just as strong, if not stronger.
“We thought we could take a step up, and [the UCAC name] fits certainly within our corporate strategy to brand all of our companies under one umbrella,” said Petit.
Moving forward
Though UCAC has highly trained and certified technicians, Romain would like to add a few more skilled workers to the payroll.
“If we could find three or four more technicians, we’d hire them in a minute. We’ve got a volume of work. It’s like most companies, though, right now, you’re still struggling to find good people. And it’s not easy to find a certified aviation technician or an avionics technician,” said Romain.
Romain said the integrity of the staff was another factor in the decision to acquire the aviation company in the first place.
“The people are what you’re after [in an acquisition] if they’re good people and the culture and it being a good fit for us and for them. And one thing I always noticed about Tri State Aero was the quality of the people,” Romain said. “They take a lot of pride in the fact that they service all the commercial flights that come in and out of Evansville.”
Returning charter service to UCAC after a multi-year absence is also a priority to increase access to general aviation in the region. With one operation already up and running, Romain has plans for the FBO to start its own charter service.
“People need to get someplace for either a connecting flight or a one-day meeting, so within that thousand-mile radius of Evansville, we felt like there’s a reason we should have a charter,” said Romain. “Who knows, maybe one of these days we’ll be selling airplanes and doing even more than we are now. And fractional ownership is another area of the aviation business that we’ve looked at. There’s a wide variety of things in general aviation that you can do.”