March 7, 2019
As the president and CEO of OFS, a furniture company based in Huntingburg, IN, Hank Menke can attest firsthand to the positive economic impact of business aviation.
“OFS was founded and has continued to call Huntingburg, a town of just over 6,000 people, home for over 80 years. We are one of the region’s largest employers, with a workforce of over 1,800 people. Although it is often overlooked, the reason these and other manufacturing companies like mine are able to stay in this area is because of the resource of general aviation and our network of local public airports,” Menke wrote in an op-ed piece published in The Dubois County Herald.
“The Huntingburg Regional Airport has also been crucial for our business when we host potential customers from all over the country…and world,” he wrote. “We attract business managers from Fortune 500 companies in the insurance, banking, education, hospitality, and healthcare industries.”
Not only does the use of general aviation provide jobs and economic benefits to Huntingburg, IN, it also helps OFS employees do more – and more efficiently.
“Operating out of the Huntingburg Regional Airport, corporate aircraft are used by our dealers attending sales meetings, reviewing blueprints with our engineers and company principles visiting our locations around the country” wrote Menke. “Having the airport nearby allows us to communicate efficiently, take on multiple projects at once, and meet customer needs to the best of our ability.
“Without the airport, our business would have a fraction of the activity we currently have, and the community of Huntingburg would not host business leaders from across the country. This exposure also opens up Huntingburg to the rest of the country, as many of the visitors coming into Huntingburg Regional Airport spend their time and money at local restaurants, hotels and attractions,” said Menke.
“As a family owned business for four generations, our business has experienced so many changes since our founding in 1937, but our reliance on general aviation to reach those goals has stayed the same.”