Airport Business

APR 2017

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/813534

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 33 of 43

CONSTRUCTION MATTERS 34 airportbusiness April 2017 design. Really having a passion for aviation and being involved with the Severson's, who owned aircraft, it was a match made in heaven." A DIFFERENT EYE FOR BUILDING With their background in aviation, Jimmy Severson said they work with clients to make sure they're building not just for their needs, but for the future. When working on a han- gar for Helicopter Transport Services at the Aurora State Airport in Aurora, Ore., he said they not only looked at the current needs of the company buty how they planned to expand in future needs to make sure there was door width and height available to accommodate bigger aircraft. "Concrete slab thickness is another example," Jimmy Severson said. "Just through experience, we know that certain aircraft have point loads that need a certain concrete thickness, so we make sure it's set up for their 10-year plan rather than just what they're currently running. "Replacing a concrete slab is harder to change out than a door." "What really got me to come back to Centrex was that working at Boeing was an awesome career, but as a designer, you see a lot of designs come across your desk that you send out to the fab shops, but you never get to see the whole lifecycle process," Leasure said. "I wanted to be involved in that complete lifecycle process, from that initial concept of an idea in that owner's head, to the completion of the project and even the maintenance of the project." With the background in aviation Leasure said they have, it gives him a level of respect when coming to meet with clients about projects. "When you understand the aircraft, small and big, and just the level of attention and detail those machines have, the owners of those machines typically want that same level of attention to detail," he said. Centrex worked on the new Signature Aviation facility at Portland International Airport (PDX). Leasure said the company's facility is right next to where Icelandair overnights its aircraft and employees of Centrex are so passionate about the industry they will even walk the ramp to check for FOD. "Being a family business, it raised a lot of eyebrows at first because people said it wouldn't work," Leasure said. "It's one of those things that when we were getting going early on my brothers in law and my father-in-law, we all came together early on and looked at each other and said that if we can't at the end of the day go to each other's house and have dinner, then it's something not worth doing." Tom Severson said he always had a mechan- ical background growing up and initially started college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. in the hopes of becoming an aerospace engineer. Despite the love for aviation, he said he decided to change to a business administration major when he thought about a future career. "I like to rub shoulders and talk with a lot of people," he said. "I had this dark vision of working on missile telemetry systems in a concrete vault underground. Even though I could get trained to do something else, I decided to go with some- thing a little more broad." Tom Severson said while in California he also worked with a roommate to develop a soft- ware system similar to Mint. However, when his dad started to toy with the idea of retire- ment, he knew he wanted to try and take over the business. His dad agreed to give him a three-year window to prove himself and during that time approached Jimmy about coming to work with the company. "That three years quickly turned into five years, then six, then seven and we kept rolling," Tom Severson said. Coming into the business right when the Great Recession hit, Tom Severson said the trio got to "fall flat on our face," right out of the gate, but their dad continued to support them through the economic downturn, assuring them as long as they kept their heads down and focused on work, they would pull through. "The way we know the industry, we're around it and the whole company is so deep in aviation that there's a passion for aviation and for what it has done for mankind, what it continues to do and it lights a fire that gives us depth when talking with clients," Tom Severson said. Tom Severson said Centrex strives for employees who work hard, but are not involved in the typical construction culture in order to make them more focused and to show their appreci- ation for what they do. When they do company retreats, often times the employees will ride with one of the Severson's on a small aircraft. Some have never been in an airplane before but have gotten the same passion for aviation. "They're not sitting in the back of a 757," he said. "They're sitting up front in a Pilatus or Centurion." Ryan Flood

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Airport Business - APR 2017