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Jan
19
2015
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Posted 9 years 309 days ago ago by Admin
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As I drive down a long straight road through an industrial park looking for Dallas Avionics, I almost miss it. The sizable building does not even have an outside sign. Fortunately, their warehouse door was propped open and I happened to see the building number painted on the inside of the door. I would later come to see this as symbolic of the company’s values: outside window dressing is not too important; it’s what’s on the inside that truly counts.
After introductions and handshakes are exchanged, we make our way to the company conference room. I’m excited to get the scheduled interviews going and learn more about this family-owned business. The man managing the day-to-day operations is Scott Davis, the son of Dallas Avionics founder and patriarch Johnny Davis, who passed in 1998.
Johnny Davis graduated high school in 1955. He then worked his way through college by earning money in aircraft parts inventory and sales. Through college and up to 1973, he worked for several aviation companies, including Air Associates, Van Dusen Air, Omni Air, and M. Hutton. He paid his dues, learning the ins and outs of the business, as well as amassing a powerful network of people, a network that would pay off big in later years.
With rugged looks and a big personality, one thing is clear about Scott Davis; he talks quieter than he appears, and he clearly knows his business. Even more interesting is the circle of people around him at our meeting. First is his 74-year-old mother, Donna Davis, who has been in the business since its 1973 founding year. She takes pride in the fact that she still comes to work every day. Next is Scott’s older sister, Sally. Scott and Sally have been working at Dallas Avionics since they were nine and 13 respectively. Mrs. Davis fondly recalls how the two siblings would build company catalogues for 25 cents apiece back in the day. She laughingly explains that the siblings must have been quick business studies as the brother and sister soon realized that building catalogues was hard work, so they shrewdly negotiated doubling their wages to 50 cents.
Last but not least, I meet Bob Baker, one of the company’s first employees who has been with Dallas Avionics almost since its beginning. At 80-plus years young, Baker has the distinction of being the guy who hired himself. The story goes that Johnny Davis knew Baker very well. When Baker walked through the door, the elder Davis asked him what he was doing there. Baker replied, “I am coming to work here.” Davis told him to pick a desk—at that time there was only one desk in the room. Startup humor aside, long-time employees are a recurring theme at Dallas Avionics. With the average employee having over 20 years with the organization, experienced personnel are definitely a Dallas Avionics strength.
In the mid ‘80s, Scott Davis asked his father if he could take a stab at breaking into the growing civil helicopter market. The son saw a need for better radios in forest service rotorcraft applications. With permission granted, Scott asked a friend to help him design a new radio head for that sector. His concept became a hit that has proven to be fortuitous for the company.
If you have ever seen Dallas Avionics at Heli-Expo, then you are familiar with their sleek image and high-tech equipment on display. However, I am struck by the contrast between their trade show image and the Dallas Avionics of the real work-a-day world. Davis explains that aside from the glitz of the modern avionics they sell, at its core the avionics business is not glamorous. Using their products is one thing, but selling, installing, repairing, and testing them requires hard, detailed work.
Although Dallas Avionics is a distributor of most things related to avionics and communications, Davis explains that they are far more than that to their customers. They are a solutions provider available 24/7/365. Whether it is an OEM wanting a client’s new helicopter outfitted with the latest suite of communications equipment, an EMS operator who needs a replacement radio “right now,” or a repair station needing test equipment repaired and a loaner sent to them, Dallas Avionics can meet the needs of nearly any customer.
For all their hard work and dedication, it is worth mentioning that Dallas Avionics has been profitable for every one of their 41 years. That’s an aviation success story by any measure. It is inspiring to see this small 32-person company doing big business with some of the largest companies in our industry, expertly selling, installing and supporting some of the most high-tech equipment that goes into an aircraft. Although Dallas Avionics distributes, repairs, and services hundreds of brands, they are exclusive distributors for products like the Technisonic TDFM-9000 series transceivers, the Flightcell DZMx satellite connection, and the Jupiter Avionics WiJAC wireless Bluetooth headset adapter.
Davis says it is his personal goal for his phone number to be top priority on as many directors of maintenance cell phones as possible. When an operator’s aircraft goes out of service because of something related to avionics or communications, he wants Dallas Avionics to be viewed as the “go-to” company, helping operators when they need help the most.
At that moment his mother chimes in and recollects how just a month earlier, Sally and she got into a car with a radio and drove several hours to another Texas town to hand-deliver a replacement radio to an EMS base operated by Metro Aviation. Why go to such extraordinary lengths? Her answer is two-fold: it’s what Dallas Avionics customers have come to expect … and she admits there’s some really good shopping in that town! Yes, it seems that every member of the Davis family knows how to spot and take advantage of an opportunity.
