photoThe Inaugural Meggitt/S-TEC
Dealer Advisory Council Meeting


Ryan Cash
Marketing Intern

The Meggitt/S-TEC Dealer Advisory Council was formed to gain beneficial dealer input we can use in the management of our business. The information used will enhance the overall dealer/manufacturer distribution relationship. The first meeting of the Meggitt/ S-TEC Dealer Advisory Council, held at the AEA in Dallas, was very successful. We are excited about the new opportunities and insight the council affords. The information collected from our meeting will have a significant impact on our response to dealer/customer demands. We would like to say thank you to all of our council members who participated.

Each dealer who has agreed to serve on the advisory council was randomly selected for either one, two or three year council term. Our next meeting will be held at our S-TEC facility in Mineral Wells, TX sometime in early to mid October. If you have any questions or concerns you would like addressed at our next meeting in October, please contact one of the following council members.

One Year Term:
Two Year Term:
Three Year Term:

Fred Atwood

Woodlands Aviation
(800) 442-1333
freda@woodlandaviation.com



Steve Vold

Aerotronics, Inc.
(406) 259-5006
aerotronics@imt.net



Pat Ahr

Ahr Avionics
(210) 377-3195
ahravionics@worldnet.att.net



Rick Milburn
JA Air Center
(630) 584-3200
jaair@aol.com



Ken Malone
Mayday Avionics, Inc.
(616) 957-4920
kenrmalone@worldnet.att.net



Rick Garcia
Gulf Coast Avionics
(863) 709-9714
rg122260@aol.com



Robert Carpenter
Carpenter Avionics, Inc.
(800) 300-0352
bobcarpenter@msn.com



Bob Ferguson
Autopilots Central
(918) 836-6418
bobferguson@autopilotscentral.com



Jim Lauer
IFR Avionics, Inc.
(818) 782-4810
ifrpres@aol.com


The first topic of our inaugural meeting tackled Meggitt/S-TEC company products. The leading question of discussion addressed the current number of autopilot models in our product line. Some council members were in favor of the current product line, while others said they would like a larger product line. Discussion then led into radio stack autopilots and suggestions of having additional autopilots for the radio stack.

Meggitt/ S-TEC product support was the next item presented to the council. We were pleased to receive commendation by the council for S-TEC customer support services. Customer service has always been an essential part of S-TEC and as Meggitt/S-TEC, preserving customer support excellence is a top priority. Right now, we are still in the preliminary stages of establishing MAGIC customer support. We will continue to provide superior customer service and look for ways in which we can improve our support. However, in order to maintain our excellent customer service, we will need your help by keeping our customer service personnel updated on challenges you encounter.

The final element of discussion was communications. Several dealer council members reported using our newsletters as training sessions for technicians as well as sales tools for the customers. We are happy to know that you are enjoying our newsletters. In the future we will be working harder to increase the amount of technical content within the newsletter, and to increase our coverage of MAGIC as more STC's are approved.

We then discussed trade shows where we represent you, the S-TEC dealer. Our efforts are designed to send prospects to your door. In pricing situations with customers we only give the suggested retail price plus the estimated installation time. When customers ask us to refer them to a dealer we tell them that we cannot recommend a specific dealer. We provide them with a copy of our dealer directory and suggest they talk with three or four dealers in their area.

In closing, every dealer on the council commented that technical training was something they would like to see. Fortunately, the advisory council will provide the necessary environment to develop a solution.



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