Spotlight on Native American-owned businesses: PCI Aviation
We are continuing our series of profiles of Native American-owned businesses that have worked with the National Center. Today we profile PCI Aviation and its President, Mal McGhee. PCI Aviation and Mr. McGhee have benefited from the connections made with major prime contractors at the Reservation Economic Summit and other National Center events. Learn more about PCI Aviation in our interview below.
Name of Business: PCI Aviation
What kind of business do you do? Founded in June of 2016, PCI Aviation provides high-quality, low-cost aircraft integration and maintenance support services to the federal government and other commercial companies. It is based in Huntsville and Atmore, Alabama, and does a significant amount of work at the Defense facilities in the Huntsville area. PCI’s aircraft technicians perform repairs and modifications to various U.S. military and foreign military helicopters.
Mal McGhee’s Background: I have been President of PCI Aviation since January of 2017. I am a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, where I was a past tribal council member. Prior to joining PCI Aviation, I served as director of marketing for Creek Indian Enterprises and Muskogee Technology. I was also President and CEO of Muskogee Technology, and worked in aviation maintenance for nearly 15 years prior to joining the tribal enterprise.
How the National Center has worked with PCI Aviation: I have attended the Reservation Economic Summit (RES) since 2002, and also attended other training and development events hosted by the National Center. The relationships I made with the National Center’s staff and other attendees have been invaluable. Meeting major prime contractors at the matchmaking events during RES has been a great way to share our capabilities and build partnerships. The National Center’s marketing events held at major prime contractor facilities are a great way to meet buyers and tour operations.
Specifically, at this year’s RES Conference, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics hosted several supplier capabilities briefing opportunities for various tribal companies. PCI Aviation was asked to participate in these sessions. During the session each company took turns explaining what their company does. It was great to hear each company’s story, how it was established, and how they have grown their capabilities. Various representatives from Lockheed Martin listened intently at each briefing, asked questions and discussed capability matching a requirement.
From these sessions at RES, key Lockheed Martin representatives that included various small business liaison officers, program managers, and engineers have since visited PCI Aviation to learn more about our operations and explore ways to work together. These meetings went very well and we are working towards becoming a Star Supplier to a great prime contractor. I hope you stay tuned!
