Mike Manclark dropped out of Chapman University in the 1980s to pursue a twist on the emerging detailing business: planes.
Manclark “borrowed” a janitor’s bucket and bought a broken-down truck for $400 and started what likely was one of the nation’s few detailing businesses focusing on planes, not cars.
By the early 1990s, Manclark expanded his business, Santa Ana-based Leading Edge Aviation Services, to include plane painting.
Among the company’s work: flashy paint jobs designed to serve as marketing for airlines.
Leading Edge says it has 60% of the market for painting planes and competes with smaller players. The company employs about 600 people, including seven at its headquarters next to John Wayne Airport.
Yearly sales are about $25 million, according to Manclark.
Now Manclark said he sees an opening for more business as airlines struggle with fuel prices, other costs and competition.
“In order for (airlines) to survive in this new environment,with oil prices and also the very competitive discount carriers,these folks are outsourcing everything,” Manclark said.
Last year, Manclark started four services for commercial airlines:
Fuel system services and overhaul, cutting the need for airlines to keep a mechanic ready at all hours.
Contract labor. Leading Edge has mechanics on call as needed by airlines.
Composite and sheet metal upgrades for planes.
Modification center support. At these centers, big service companies may need help with lighter projects such as fuel system work.
With the added services, Manclark said he hopes to double sales within two years.
But maintaining planes is more complex than cleaning and painting them. He’s hired executives with maintenance experience, Manclark said.
“I’ve always been driven by a challenge,” he said. “I’m a psycho that way.”
Airlines can’t control fuel prices, market demand or competition, so they’re looking to outsourcing as one of the few available tools to cut costs, said Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.
“The economic equation still favors outsourcing,” he said. “It’s a bigger piece. And the likelihood is it will continue to be a bigger piece until U.S. carriers restructure their costs.”
Back in the early 1990s, UAL Corp.’s United Airlines called on painting contractors to compete for a fleet upgrade. This was one of the first times a major U.S. airline had outsourced painting, according to Manclark.
Other airlines followed, bringing more work to Leading Edge.
Then came 2001. Leading Edge’s sales fell to $9 million that year, from $15 million in 2000. They fell another notch to $8 million in 2002.
To stay afloat, Leading Edge sought to land more business with the Defense Department. The company laid off workers, Manclark said.
2003 marked a turnaround, with a big jump to $18 million in sales, he said.
Leading Edge has about 1 million square feet of space at sites around the country and the world, including a recent opening in Malaysia and another office slated to open soon in London.
Leading Edge’s painting business is a starting point for other work, Manclark said.
“I don’t have to go searching, it’s right here,” he said. “If we can get through the door and talk to them, then we’re going to get the work.”
This year, Manclark said he expects sales of $30 million, up 20% from last year.
He’s funding Leading Edge’s expansion with profits as he always has, he said. If the company reaches $50 million in yearly sales, Manclark said he wants to step back a bit and put other people’s money to work.
Plans could include bringing in an outside investor or an initial public offering, he said.
“In three years, there will be some kind of event,” Manclark said.
