The next time you see a commercial jet aircraft winging overhead, say to yourself, “Something manufactured in Prescott is guiding that plane along.”
There is a very good chance you are accurate.
The same thing is likely true when you see a law enforcement vehicle, or any first responder vehicle, or almost any military vehicle.
It is a virtual guarantee – any genuinely sophisticated wireless, radio, audio, video or data communications systems, including GPS and satellite technology equipment that are used in commercial, security or defense industries—all have roots in Prescott.
And those “roots” stretch from the 65,000-square-foot multi-story, environmentally and climatically controlled building on the east edge of the Prescott Municipal Airport – Cobham Aerospace Communications. It is the leading supplier of Flexcomm multi-band, airborne FM/AM radio communications systems.
The Cobham plant in Prescott is a multi-million dollar player in one of the world’s leading aerospace industries. It helps produce a substantial portion of the $3 billion annual revenue Cobham generates among its 13 plants and 12,000 employees on five continents. The company has customers and partners in more than 100 countries. Its home office is in England.
Products produced in Prescott are shipped to every major nation.
According to General Manager John Payne, the top executive at the Prescott facility, the Prescott plant is acknowledged as “…one of the biggest aerospace communications manufacturers in the world. But it’s curious we are not recognized as a household name in the region. I suppose that’s because our products are not bought in common retail stores or shops.”
Payne, who worked for Rolls Royce prior to becoming an executive with Cobham, has a B.S. in engineering and an M.S. in manufacturing engineering.
A native of Britain, he says about 180 highly trained, exceptionally skilled and well-paid employees work on site. Another 20 employees work at remote sites or at a Seattle location.
The highly educated workforce includes many on staff with master’s and doctoral degrees in research or years of technical training and experience. Payne says the company takes pride in the fact that Cobham employees are active participants in community cultural, civic and social activities.
“Our employees live in the Prescott area, send their kids to the local schools and colleges, and are actively involved in civic and service organizations. At the same time, Cobham is a major supporter of community and civic charities, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and certainly, in local education.”
One mutually productive relationship is that with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Payne notes that Cobham annually contributes several scholarships to ERAU students. In turn, ERAU sends qualified interns to Cobham. He also says that about 10 percent of the employees at Cobham are ERAU graduates.
ERAU Chancellor Frank Ayers, Ph.D., says Cobham Aerospace is the kind of company that is good for Prescott. “It’s a great partner with Embry-Riddle. Our students learn so much through scholarships and internships with Cobham. Some of our graduates are fortunate to be employed there right out of college. These are the kinds of jobs we need to bring to the community to strengthen the economy and to help support the airport. We’re fortunate to have Cobham in Prescott.”
Cobham also donates scholarships to Northern Arizona University and its engineering program, where the company often recruits qualified employees.
(Suggestion: put this paragraph in a box and insert it prominently in the body somewhere)
Cocktail Trivia
- Every U.S. astronaut since John Glenn
has breathed through a Cobham regulator.
- More than 250 components and subsystems
for the International Space Station have come from Cobham.
What Does Cobham Manufacture and for Whom?
Departments at Cobham include administration, engineering, human resources, operations, service and support, and sales and marketing.
Payne says that a small executive team of about 10 people directs and coordinates the various manufacturing processes at Cobham.
In Prescott, Cobham engineers and highly skilled technical personnel design and manufacture a complete and complex list of electronic equipment, including:
- Navigation/communication (NAV/COM) radios for commercial aircraft;
- Tactical communication products for first responders, law enforcement, government agencies, para-military and military, both domestic and international;
- Audio distribution systems;
- Airborne servers for in-flight entertainment, maintenance monitoring, file-serving, and “office in the sky” functions; and
- Other electronic products for corporate aviation, the military, commuter airlines and helicopter markets.
Cobham executive John Markham grew up in Prescott. He served in the Army as an Airborne Ranger. He later earned an electrical engineering degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Markham has been at the Prescott facility when it was known as Wulfsberg Electronics in the 1990s, prior to its being purchased by Cobham. He has been with Cobham since 2002 and has had various administrative and executive titles such as software engineer, project manager, vice president of engineering, and director of programs.
Currently, he is a fellow engineer, a senior level consulting expert within the organization who provides functional, technical and process leadership to the company.
The Prescott plant manufactures wind turbine slip ring connectors that are shipped worldwide, according yo Markham. These are designed to seal out even the harshest elements. The concept for the wind turbine application evolved from aerospace technology developed for helicopters.
The result is that Cobham in Prescott is now a front line manufacturer of products for dozens of national and international buyers. Among them are the Forest Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, NASA, ARNG, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Airbus helicopters/Euro copters – Germany, France, U.S. and others; Bell, McDonnell Douglass, Cessna, Bombardier, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Embraer, Rockwell Collins, Honeywell, Sikorsky – and these are but a few, Markham emphasizes.
By category, 54 percent of Cobham products go to commercial market; 25 percent to U.S. military and government, and 20 percent to non-U.S. military and government. Payne and Markham say that Cobham is in a vigorous growth mode.
Payne explains the Prescott facility has a detailed five-year plan intent on developing the next generation of electronic communications technology, including telerobotics.
“We’re putting 6.5 percent of our revenue back into research and development, and we anticipate initiating some major projects by March of 2016,” he said. “We at Cobham advocate a strong ‘live, work, play” culture in our community. Cobham and its employees are in Prescott for the long haul.” QCBN
Cobham PLC is an international aerospace company based in Wimborne Minster, Dorset England. It was founded in 1934 by Sir Alan Cobham who became famous as a pioneer of long distance aviation. Since those early days, when the company focused on improving aircraft fueling procedures, Cobham has evolved into three technological divisions: Mission Systems, Defense Systems, and Aerospace and Surveillance.
By Ray Newton
Quad Cities Business News
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