Business View Magazine | December 2018

140 141 meeting m e e t i n g t h e c h a l l e n g e shaping s h a p i n g t h e f u t u r e DOTHAN.COM DOTHAN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 334.792.5138 YOU BRING THE INSPIRATION We help you make it a reality Dothan 1822 MontGoMERY hWY Dothan, aL 36303 334-794-6731 the PPGLogo isa registered trademarkand the PPGPaintsLogo isa trademark ofPPG Industriesohio, Inc.©2018PPG Industries, Inc.allRightsReserved. Find unrivaled products, performance, service and more at PPGPaIntS.CoM . For an architect, it all comes down to details. PPG PaIntS tM offers an unsurpassed selection of products, colors and tools to help bring every bit of your vision to life. PUT YOUR NAME ON SOMETHING We know what it’s like to Dothan 1822 MontGoMERY hWY Dothan, aL 36303 334-794-6731 the PPGLogo isa registere trademarkand the PPGPaintsLogo isa tr demark ofP G Industriesohio, Inc.©2018PPG I ustries, Inc.allRightsRese ved. Find unrivaled products, performance, service and more at PPGPaIntS.CoM . Grow your business with a partner who gets results. PPG PaIntS tM has the product selection, color resources and project expertise you need to achieve success. - not at my request, but at their suggestion. They usually come to us and say, ‘We’d like to partner with you and market this particular venue in this particular medium; this is what we’d like to do and we’ll put up 90 percent of the money and you put up ten percent.’ If it sounds like a good idea to me, we’ll go ahead and do it.” Regarding the Airport’s infrastructure, Morris says that one current project is replacing the general aviation ramp. “We’ve probably already done about 16 or 17 acres of it; I’ve got about an- other 15 acres to go to replace concrete on that ramp. Most of the concrete that we’ve got dates to 1941; it was really well-built then.We’ve done steady maintenance on it, so it’s not a hazard or a danger, it’s just getting to the point where I really need to remove slabs and replace some. And the only way to do that properly is complete replace- ment, not spot repairs, anymore. So, we’re in the process of phasing that in and, normally, every ten years or so, we start paving certain taxiways and start moving around the airfield, repaving surfac- es and constantly updating them. I’ve got three available hangars that we’re in negotiation with, right now. If these deals go through, we’ll be at 100 percent capacity at that point, and then, we’re looking at Greenfield type development.” “We always encourage growth and develop- ment, and CAE would like to grow its training beyond just the existing Army and Air Force contracts they have, and, perhaps, expand and do some other types of aeronautical training here,” Morris adds. “There is some infrastructure I’d like to build to assist CAE with some of its future plans - expanding their ramp and making it larg- er for them to make it easier for them to market. However, I don’t have a funding source for them yet; that’s not an FAA-eligible item, so we’re look- ing at alternative ways to try to get that funded.” Morris believes that aeronautical-related busi- nesses wishing to develop or expand their opera- tions at Dothan benefit from its Alabama location. “Our governor, our state legislature, our economic developers are very aviation-centric,” he avers. “We also have an industrial development training program in the State of Alabama for any potential tenants that wish to locate here and need help in training or developing their workforces. They will come in and set up an industrial training program for your employees for free. Your only obligation is that when they complete the program, you hire the people that qualify to work for you. It’s a pret- DOTHAN REGIONAL AIRPORT ty good deal and the State of Alabama has been pretty successful with automotive and aerospace industries with those types of programs. And we’re well-situated. If your market needs to touch Georgia or Florida, we’re right here in the corner, so you have access to all three states.” “The other thing is, we are an Airport Authority and not a city, so we operate like a business,”Morris adds, in conclusion.“It’s a lot easier to get through the zoning and permitting process with us than with a city or a municipally-owned airport.We’ve got good infrastructure here: an 8,500-foot and 5,000- foot runway, good instrument approaches; we’ve got 24-hour ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting) protection; a control tower; police protection on the airfield; it’s a good, business-friendly environment at the Airport.” PREFERRED VENDORS n Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce www.dothan.com n PPG Paint www.ppgpaints.com