Putting the ‘E’ in GSE

Editor’s Note

Putting the 'E' in GSE

By Michelle Garetson

November 2002

As we all know, the 'E' in GSE stands for Equipment. Although in the past year, airline buys have dried up considerably, suggesting that the 'E' now stands for Empty order books.

However, equipment, parts and components, as well as services for equipment are still in demand and being purchased. This year's GSE International Expo in Las Vegas was a testament to that last statement. Exhibitors were thrilled with the number of serious buyers for their products and many wrote orders at the show.

'E' also stood for Exciting as the mergers and acquisition activity culminated at the show with the announcement of ITW GSE Group's adding J&B Aviation Services, Inc. of Fairfield, California to its stable of solid, aviation ground support companies. Effective November 1, 2002, J&B will be officially known as J&B Aviation Services, a member of the ITW GSE Group. A much anticipated announcement from Taylor-Dunn did not materialize on the show floor, but we expect to hear something soon after all of the "t's" are crossed and the "i's" dotted.

But, a good showing by over 200 exhibiting companies and nearly 3,000 attendees over three days makes for a great lead-in to the GSE Today Product Showcase 2002. This issue features over 200 products and services available to the aviation ground support market.
We hope you enjoy this issue packed with GSE goods and services and will use it as a reference guide for future purchases.

One last 'E' would be our Electronic resource, the GSE On-line Buyers Guide at www.gsetoday.com. A representative from American Airlines told me at the Expo that he uses this source quite often and has had good result through several visits.

We appreciate all of the companies who responded to our editorial solicitation to feature their products and services to provide the content for this issue.

Thanks for reading.

Michelle Garetson

Editor’s contact information: editor@gsetoday.com or call 920-563-1622