Page 11 - Volume 10 Number 9

Finding business aviation
Schupan & Sons is headquartered in Kalamazoo, a city in southwest Michigan with limited commercial airline service. The company has several facilities right in Kalamazoo, but also operates 13 locations across four states including major sites in cities like Elkhart, Indiana; Dayton, Ohio; and Toledo, Ohio. That means site visits often required driving around the Great Lakes or flying commercially with multiple stops or both, more often than not.
“The company is located in a
market that doesn’t have a lot of
airline options. Driving 45 minutes
or an hour to Grand Rapids presents
a few more options, but it still doesn’t
open up the world to you like the King Air does,” pilot Lance Kelsey said.
Visiting a customer in Madison, Wisconsin, from Kalamazoo, for example, would be a six-hour drive around the lake instead of a 35-minute flight in the King Air.
In 2012, a friend and business associate based in Kalamazoo asked Schupan to partner with him on ownership of a 1985 King Air C90A. They formed TCB (Taking Care of Business) Air LLC to jointly own the aircraft that would be operated independently by both companies. In 2014, the other owner sold his business and no longer needed the King Air, so Schupan bought full ownership of the aircraft.
“I really like this airplane, it’s become a great tool,” Schupan said. “The first time we took it to see employees at my Dayton plant, my Toledo plant and then came home the same day with time to still get some work done, I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing. I should’ve done this a long time ago.’”
Employees at all levels of the company have access to the King Air, and it’s most often used to visit company facilities, meet with customers or to bring customers to Schupan’s facilities.
“It’s allowed us to give more service to our customers,” Schupan said. “It’s impacted our employees, helping
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KING AIR MAGAZINE • 9
“Even if we were to outgrow this air­ plane, I don’t see us leaving the King Air family because of the overall useful load and usefulness of the airplane.”
− Pilot Lance Kelsey