Evolution of an Enterprise, Chapter 5: Downtown Rising

Shortly after getting off the ground in December with airplane-detailing jobs at Springfield-Branson National Airport, Binh Uebinger and Josh Somers of Voyager Industries started working to expand their service footprint.

They’ve talked with airport officials in Branson, Joplin, Bolivar, Monett, Lebanon, St. Louis and northern Arkansas. Voyager Industries’ first expansion, however, was to Springfield Flying Service, more commonly known as Springfield Downtown Airport, at 2546 E. Division St.

The airport, owned by Harry Cooper Supply Co., houses about 50 airplanes, according to Downtown Airport Vice President and General Manager Bill Johnmeyer. Nearly a third of those planes are corporate-owned, Johnmeyer said. Harry Cooper Supply, BKD LLP and O’Reilly Automotive have aircraft stationed at the airport, according to Uebinger and Somers.

“It’s another core group of aircraft owners,” Somers said, noting that there is a greater percentage of small recreational aircraft at the Downtown Airport, compared to Springfield-Branson National Airport.

The duo’s only job at the new venue so far has been a $900 interior and exterior detail completed in early February on a Piper Cheyenne twin-engine turboprop owned by entrepreneur Jeff Wasson. Wasson founded travel Web site www.gusto.com and co-founded TravelNow.com, which was purchased for $47.4 million in 2001 by Hotels.com, a subsidiary of Expedia Inc.

Wasson hired Uebinger and Somers to clean his 25-year-old airplane before Wasson sold it.

“I wanted to clean it up to get the best price I could,” Wasson said. “I had already found a buyer, but we hadn’t settled on a price. … Those boys just did a great job.”

Somers said they were able to parlay their work on the Piper Cheyenne into additional business. Pilot Doug Anderson observed their work on that airplane, and he hired Uebinger and Somers to clean two of the three propeller airplanes that he manages at Springfield-Branson National Airport. One of the airplanes they cleaned is owned by Diversified Plastics Corp., and the other is owned by real estate developer Rick Gregg, Anderson said.

“There are some very real benefits of working there,” Somers said about how Downtown Airport’s open layout adds visibility to their work. “You’re working in a hangar (and) everybody who’s there runs into you. It’s not like we’re isolated in Prime’s hangar cleaning their plane.”

Uebinger said he’s hoping Voyager Industries will be hired to clean O’Reilly’s aircraft at Downtown Airport, and Johnmeyer has offered to facilitate that connection.

Voyager Industries’ contract with Springfield-Branson National Airport dictates Voyager must pay the airport 10 percent of revenues or $200 a month, whichever is greater. To show their appreciation for Johnmeyer’s help, Uebinger and Somers said they’d likely share 10 percent with Downtown Airport, too, though no contract is in place.

Johnmeyer said he’s willing to connect Voyager Industries with pilots because it’s an added service for his customers.

“It’s helping both sides,” Johnmeyer said. “The planes need to be cleaned, and they do a good job.”