Local Company Expands By Buying Out National Chain

These things usually work the other way around, but local Greenville Jet Center has purchased TAC Air's Greenville, SC FBO located at the Greenville Downtown Airport (KGMU).

(L-R) Libba Huguenin, Jay Brown, Hank Brown

"About once a year, for many years, I'd get a phone call from a TAC Air representative," said Hank Brown, Owner of Greenville Jet Center. "The call would start with the normal business pleasantries and always end with something like 'Would you consider selling your FBO to us? I'd always tell them that Greenville was home to my family and that I wasn't interested in selling."

But Brown said he also always turned the tables on the national chain, saying if they were interested in selling, he was interested in buying, and last April, his persistence paid off. "I got this year's call which started off the same way, but ended much differently," he said. "This year they said that they'd think about it and would get back with me. When they did call me back, they were ready to sell and after many months of work, we are excited to announce that Greenville Jet Center now owns the FBO located at KGMU's main tower."

"I have known Hank Brown for over 25 years. He is the single most knowledgeable aviation resource that I am aware of, consistently delivers first class service and has many loyal customers. It's great to watch a successful local company expand," said KGMU Airport Director Joseph Frasher.

Brown said Greenville Jet Center has invested some $2.8 million in the facility in its 22 years of operation. "Our ground lease now covers 17 hangars and a lot of office space, which now makes us the single largest general aviation FBO in the state of SC with 226,000 square feet of hangar and office space," according to Brown.

Ramp At Greenville Downtown Airport, File Photo

Brown said he started working part time as a fuel tech at KGMU in 1959, just as he was entering 10th grade at Greenville High School. "I flew my first solo flight out of KGMU when I was 16 years old. After I graduated from high school I had planned to get one year's experience working as a pilot before heading off to Clemson. But I never left KGMU." Instead, Brown spent 26 years as a corporate pilot and then started an FBO. He said the FBO at the tower has changed ownership a few times, and that he had tried, unsuccessfully, to buy it in the past.

All former TAC Air employees have become Greenville Jet Center employees. Brown said two part-time workers left to continue school and two new employees were hired to cover the positions they left open.

"I have been at KGMU for 52 years and plan on being here another 52,"  Brown said. "But when I do retire, my son, Jay Brown is extremely qualified to run this business. He is our company's Vice President, he grew up around aviation, has a pilot's license and has worked at Greenville Jet Center since 1993."

FMI: www.greenvillejetcenter.com