Tim Unruh
May 2022
An old school go-getter has won national attention for his customer service in the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul industry.
Swift, detailed, and accurate work is a must at 1 Vision Aviation that has mushroomed to global prominence, thanks to the approach, attitude, and staff of owner and CEO Jimmy Sponder.
“It’s quality work done in a timely fashion, getting the airplane back in the sky before anyone else,” he said. “We understand airplanes don’t make money sitting on the ground.”
The growing firm, based in Sioux City, Iowa, that opened a successful expansion in Salina in September 2019 — was listed in March among aviation’s top 10 MRO companies in the United States, by the Aerospace & Defense Review, a national trade magazine.
The distinction has instilled pride in the growing business that endures despite challenging times.
“We’re still very busy. We just flew in six more planes (in mid-April) and we’ve taken on corporate jets,” said Mandy Merritt, 1 Vision’s director of quality assurance.
Salina operations are centered in a 130,000-square-foot hangar nicknamed “Big Bertha” where up to six Boeing 737s can be brought inside for repairs and other simultaneous services.
The growing staff also services regional and corporate jets in Salina and general aviation aircraft in Sioux City.
Up to a couple of dozen jets typically ring Big Bertha where they are stored or await service. Some jets were flown to north-central Kansas from France, Ukraine, Mexico and Australia.
“1 Vision Aviation is the partner of choice for airlines that offers qualified and trained technicians to perform aircraft maintenance, service checks, heavy checks, modifications, sheet metal work, refurbishment, fiberglass repair, and more,” according to the magazine story.
It opens by recounting a memorable experience for the company in 2017 when an American Airlines flight hit a deer during takeoff in Charlotte, N.C. A technical team from 1 Vision responded quickly “and got the aircraft in service within two days, which was incredible given the damage it had undergone,” the story reads.
Being “one of the fastest on the scene,” Sponder said, is what sets his crew apart.
The stubborn company founder figures out unique ways to solve problems, such as buying an eight-bedroom home in Salina when 1 Vision expanded there. Those digs, where Sponder and his wife, Robyne, also live, eased a housing shortage for up to 14 of his initial 35 workers. All, by the way, are considered family.
While Salina and Saline County leaders worked to add workforce housing to the burgeoning economy, Sponder himself considered a foray into real estate that would lead to a number of employers filling worker voids.
That 1 Vision Aviation roster has grown to 250 covering two shifts, with a goal of four times that many workers.
Hiring skilled airframe and power plant mechanics has presented challenges, and some of his workers have opted for flight school and are pursuing careers as commercial pilots.
To improve his chances to hire more, Sponder’s company includes an apprenticeship program. Three in April have completed necessary on-the-job training, achieved approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to test for certification, and passed. A total of 20 have gotten licensed so far. Six more are in the process.
“The FAA has to approve them to test. They look at training records to see if they’re able,” Merritt said. “(1 Vision workers) are always ready to move up in the company.”
A 1 Vision employee since 2019, Jabier Martinez completed his airframe and power plant certification April 8.
He collected on-the-job training cards with every project and have them signed by a certified A&P. After 18 months in the program, with credit for his experience in the U.S. Army, Martinez passed his test and is working today as 1 Vision’s avionics manager in Salina. It came with a “big raise and a sense of pride. Jim was willing to trust me to do my job professionally. He puts a lot of trust in his guys.”
A long association with Sponder and Vice President of Operations Kevin Boyer, enticed Doug Gann, former sheet metal worker for Boeing and Cessna and operations manager at Gulf stream, to seek employment at 1 Vision. He also entered the apprenticeship program 18 months ago.
“Having my A&P opens up a lot of doors. I want to move up and become a project manager,” Gann said. “During the last seven or eight jobs I’ve had, I was always looking for something better. I’m not looking any more.”
Having his A&P certification is empowering, he said.
“When you see that airplane take off after a heavy check, you realize you had something to do with that,” Gann said.
He’s definitely a proponent of the 1 Vision apprenticeship.
“People with not a lot of experience can come and get their license,” Gann said.
After learning that it’s common for A&P mechanics to take early retirement and move to Florida, Sponder stayed true to his mantra and hatched a plan for 1 Vision to soon open an MRO division in the warm and sunny beach state.
“We are getting a lot of calls from people wanting to work in Florida,” Sponder said.
But there’s a catch that he believes will help grow the staff elsewhere.
“To get to Florida, you’ve gotta pay your dues and prove yourself in Salina or Sioux City,” he said. “Upper managers who want to go, have to train their replacement.”
Part of 1 Vision’s way is to keep growing and avoid stagnation.
“It’s Jim’s ownership style,” Merritt said. “When the business gets to where he wants it to be, he moves on and grows it even more.”
Sponder hasn’t changed in his 31-year career.
“I keep lighting fires,” he said. “When they do get lit, we stoke ‘em like an after-burner and push it forward.”
