Episode 1 - "Brad Compton School of Business": Inside Textron GSE with Brad Compton

All right. Welcome to the inaugural podcast. I have with me, Brad Compton, Vice President of Global Sales for texture on GSC. Is that right? Yeah, Global's key. Thanks, Matt. Is this called an episode that these things called episodes? The off this is this is an episode. It's kind of like, Okay, think about a sitcom. Perfect, right? They have episodes. I don't know if we're gonna have seasons, but we definitely have episodes. Do we have a name? We have a name for the podcast. You ready for it? I'm ready. The GSC podcast. That's epic. Yeah, I'm ready, man. Thank you. It's awesome to be the little call the number one guest, because you're the first guest on the podcast, which is super exciting. That's great. Thanks for coming down. Brad traveled the hallway from Atlanta, just to come down here to Orlando to record this podcast. And this is going to be great. Man. I really appreciate you joining me. And I think we should start out with a story from Brad Compton. So now listen, I'm gonna tease this. And I think that do you know the answer already? Or do you have one that you want to know? Because I want the listener to keep keep listening. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to tell you something that I'm going to say later on in the podcast, right. So my story is going to be the catchup story. Oh, boy. Yeah, I remember that one. Okay, so they don't get to hear it unless they stay tuned. So I remember that one. It's a great story, right? One of the best. So do you have a story like that? Man, I should have done my homework. So yeah, I've gotten many stories. And I think now what's one that's like, peih. Gee, that you can tell. That's a funny story. That's true. Because if you start with when I was in Vegas, that's not going to end well. It's not going to end well. Yeah. So so folks that may be listening to this, and folks that that know, all throughout the industry, there's many stories, and it's such a great community, we have so much fun from supplier to customer. And again, I'll use the word globally, as we travel everywhere. Golly, there's so many stories I can I can talk through. I you know, I'm a sales guy. And I think one story that comes to mind, it was probably 98. So I'm still pretty green. And I'm working to close a deal. Not a large customer. But I always say that, you know, any new customers great to put on the list. Right? And so it's called mayor. No, that's a great story, though. I've done a lot to that one later. No, this is what signature flight support, okay. And I got to know Andy Reyes, and he is a he's a great guy. And I just saw him at a conference in Amsterdam. It was good to catch up with him. I don't think you'd mind me telling the story. But, man, I just thought of this. We were walking through our factory in Kennesaw Georgia, small factory, but we put out a lot of equipment. And we were negotiating he needed some Ma's will bring up a Mexican. Yeah. And he was buying quite a few of amaze for me, you know, sell a couple was fantastic. And we were trying I was working hard to get this deal done before he left so I could go back to TIG Backstrom siliq. Look, look this. We walked past the break room. And there's a ping pong table. And he said, I'll play ping pong. If you beat me, I'll give you the PIO. So that was that was good. I'll have to say that I lost the order. So pretty tame story. But I've gotten many of them. I think you should classify stories in their own little area, and then projects probably in a different area. But many, many stories met so many good friends in this industry. Again, from a supplier standpoint and customer standpoint, I think we all just group administrations now. Yeah, for sure. It's a great industry. And I have a lot more stories in my back pocket. Just not sure how deep you want to go at this point. Yeah. So do you think that so as AMD premier ping pong player, or I would say you're just that and I was I was probably a little nervous. I tell you, I probably was nervous. But yeah. And he was a great dude. And I think at the end of the day, we got that order. Yeah, I mean, hold on a second. So the question is, do you let the customer win? Because he told you if you want that, you'd get the PIO. I slipped in at the same time. You're like, Well, I mean, he's high customer. You want to make him feel good. You figure you're gonna get the PIO anyway. If you make him feel good, right, so I wanted to pick up. You did want to beat him? Yes. So yeah, that was Yeah. Ping pong. That's where it all started. There was a ping pong table in the breaker McKenna saw there was yeah, they put it in there. That's interesting. I don't think Yeah, I think it was gone by the time that I was probably there's it's probably the corner put up a little bit. But yeah, yeah. So it breaks down. He saw people playing he looked over me said I'll you know, I'll play I'll play for the PIO. I So this is this is fantastic. Can I ask you a question though? Well, yeah, people know what the endurance is? Of course they do. Yes. That's the most important question of the days. And was that the endurance? Was that your brainchild? Or was that Marco? No, they would let me name it on. Did you try to name and I didn't know they were not gonna let me do it. Can I tell you a story? Yeah, they let me help name the M Z, which was a huge success. Oh, really? Oh, just it was just it was beyond it. Actually. Success is like, I mean, what depends on how you define success, right? Yeah, I think people don't. I mean, we've been out of the space for a little while, but we're excited to get back in it. But we've we've been involved in electric tractors for so long. I think the M, Z was number six. Yes. Did you start with the M three? Was that the first probably when you jumped into it, but Oh, was there one before the M three? No, you're right. The M three. Yeah, I was not there with in three. I mean, I'm just I just know my tongue history. So we started doing electric bag tugs. Mid 90s. When I came on the scene, there was a battery in the front, which was an industrial vehicle. Then they had the battery in the back, which was the in three, yeah, the M three. So we're now into the eighth generation. Textron does a phenomenal job with with the product, the innovation, and they continue to do that. And so now yeah, we're now we're into the endurance we got, we got good names. The Endurance launched. So yeah, that's great. So you, you named the the MC I would have? Yeah. So Matt was actually I can talk to speak in third person. That was the project manager for the MC. Yeah, working with Brian Yoder on that thing. It was, yeah, quite the quiet, I think. But now I think the endurance is a is a much better electric vehicle than the MC was, yeah, we took our time doing it, which is the right thing to do. And you want to talk about stories and projects, I've done many, many mistakes too. And in sometimes you you got to move at the pace of the customer. That's kind of what I continue to lean on is, you know, make sure you're running as fast as they are and helping them out. But you got to slow down a little bit when they asked for, for product. And especially when you're launching a new product, you got to make sure you take your time and launch it correctly. I think a lot of suppliers manufacturers have made that mistake. And so Textron has been disciplined, and we're doing all the right things, and we've launched it, and it's gonna do good. Thanks. We're excited about it. So you all being owned by Textron specialized vehicles. Right. Yeah. And EasyGO is a part of that was was that kind of like an easy goal was obviously I think almost everyone knows that they have electric golf carts. Correct. Right. That's kind of their their deal. Was that a help from an engineering standpoint? Yeah. Yeah. So you know, it's the people. It's the product, and it's the process, and Textron nailed that, I mean, if you talk about Textron, from Cessna, Beechcraft, the helicopters at Bell, there's so many good things going on from how they innovate product. And that cascades right down into where we grew up into, which is TSP, like you said, texture, especially vehicles. So we gain a lot of resources from the golf segment, the Cushman segment, the Jake segment, which is Jacobson lon wars, you see it these large golf courses. So yeah, I mean, so but now it's all about lithium. And so lithium is, is the go to for golf. And lithium is now the go to for us. I think lithium is now the go to for GSC, which is it's taken off so fast. I think you've talked to others in the industry, that's that no one's gonna say we're going all electric. And so yeah, to have the resources at Textron is phenomenal. And they do a great job at launching product, they know how to do it. They know how to hire the right people to do it. So I'm excited because we've done it the wrong way. I've done it the right way. And this is another great way to do it. Yeah, it's gonna be a huge help, you know, leverage, like their engineering staff that's already been doing this for years. Right? Electric This is not anything new to them. So that's, that's really great. So the belt loader, the 660, which is you know, how we're saying there was probably a made every airport in America. There's definitely a 660 running around at every major airport. Yeah. In the US. So is that electric as well? I know you have a 660 or you've you know, in the past had six six yeas, it was first dc, right? And then we went to an AC man, you're talking like an engineer? Yeah. Yeah. So where are we at now? It's like on the endurance style is so the belt loaders a little bit easier, but the belt loader man that that thing is a phenomenal product and it just keeps chugging along. Everyone I've worked with it at Target now Textron GSC that that that is still an unbiased is one of the best belt loaders out there. It holds its value. Yeah, it's probably the easiest product to go electric. And it was back when we went electric. And now it's an easy transformation into lithium. Yeah, there's a lot of lithium bad He's out there. There's a lot of people out there peddling lithium batteries. So we will work with the customer on what works best for their operation. But it's got to be careful in how many different variations there are. Yeah, we're going all in lithium, we still offer the lead acid. But yeah, that battery has been sorry that Bella has transformed into probably over 50%, if not more of our belt loaders that we build now down a manufacturing line or electric relay versus internal combustion. Oh, wow. I don't know, short, charging dress. We Yeah, you got to do the charts, especially when you're global, when they're listening to charts and graphs are out because our bar pie chart is gone crazy for electric motors. The users aren't afraid to ride them anymore, that maintenance guys aren't afraid to work on them anymore. So it's really picked up. So I have a question for you. Is the GT 35 sticking around like as far as the name because I know you've kind of gone to an Alpha series, you've chained to the of the alpha for alpha three, alpha one, alpha one, right? So and I know that GT 35 is kind of, you know, I would consider it kind of like the MA The 660. Right, it is a staple of the industry. This as far as that name goes. So is that something that you all are going to keep is GT 35? Or is the GT 35 going to be replaced by an Alpha series push back. So the we had to refresh? So we had Textron acquired tug in 2014. Okay, fantastic. Yeah, breath of fresh air, coming out of a couple bad years. Again, the resources, the people big commitments. And then we worked quickly to continue to grow GSC within Textron and the acquisition of Douglas came around. Douglas is a very well known brand, based in the UK, Cheltenham, England. And we had conflicting product. And so when the tir engines in the compliance caught up to these products, we had to come up with a refresh. So we decided to go global. And we refresh both product lines, Douglas in the GTS into an alpha. So long story short, when we get to the GT 35, that's our offering for a diesel package now, and we Okay, alpha one, alpha is lithium, and gas. And we believe truly that the industry is going to convert, I would call it 99.9% into lithium, okay, across the board. Once that happens, we will sunset the GT 35. So phenomenal product still sells very well. And we build maybe, you know, a dozen a month right now, along with the Alpha. But we feel strong, and we're gonna go forward, knowing that the industry is gonna go fully electric. So we're gonna go into the Alpha product. Okay. But, like the Alpha four, which is your equivalent to like a GT 110 was is the just think of it as a new model car. So you go from the GT 110 into the Alpha four, so that unlike the GT 35, like, I can get that into diesel still. You care for the GT? 35? Yes, no, I'm saying the Alpha four. Yes, sorry. Yeah, you can get the alpha for diesel. Right. And it's, it's, it's a specified for the globe. So okay, you could go across the world, see, see certified, it's ready to go. Okay. And then towbarless? Correct. So the Douglas brand still is very, very strong. Okay. And I'm gonna go back a little bit, because we, again, we're doing the right thing by being tactical and what we launch and when we launch it. So we came into the agreement that we got to make sure we have the Douglass conventional push backs in the tug conventional push backs kind of married together, and we gave birth to the alpha, we're going to do the same for the towbarless. Douglas is an extremely well known brand, globally, very well known in Europe, we have to refresh that brand. We during COVID had to consolidate as well, and this is again, Textron believed in us, they backed us during the very difficult times of COVID. And I think when would you go through hard times i COVID. That's the best time to innovate, and come up with new products. And I'll classify the new factories that consolidation of factories as innovation from a Textron standpoint. So long story short, that is on the roadmap is to electrify the Douglas brand refresh that brand, that's going to happen probably very soon. Wow. But again, I don't want the customers to think we've run away from that we we we service, we, we supply parts, we take care of those products and we have stock at Douglas brand as we speak. So the Douglas frame will live on. That's probably when I should have said that is that's awesome news is live on. Yeah, it's a great product. Very good group. That is the hurt Douglas and we have a factory that that Textron has that's in the UK, it's in Ipswich. It's part of Jacobsen. That's where we house our parts. That's where we collaborate on the Douglas brand. We also shifted parts over the North America. So yes, we're not running away from that it lives on. And we look forward to what's coming next. That's great. So let's, let's transition into Premiere. Because before I left, I'd say, I don't know. But a year before I left, I think Textron GSC acquired premiere. And at that, at that time, they were they're up in Wisconsin. Yes. Now, is, I think they've all transition now. Right? So you're not you're not building anything in Wisconsin any longer this is all been moved to your new location. Is that correct? So I mean, we all talk about the COVID. But man, it was so abrupt, and it was just such a stop globally, right. I mean, we've had other events that slowed us down and stopped us, but some weren't. So we're specific to a territory. But this was global. And the whole industry, just as you know, and as our listeners know, just just abruptly stopped. So we made we came together. So this is the time to consolidate. And again, Textron believed in this industry believed in and what GSC can do, and it was the time to consolidate. So in Kennesaw, Georgia, we had two factories, we consolidated those into the new one in Cartersville. And then we close down Marinette, Wisconsin, brought that to Cartersville. It's never easy, but we did it, it was the right thing to do is the right time to do it. So now we manufacture that product in Cartersville. Georgia. Okay, so as as you mentioned by Douglas premiere still lives on it's it's doing well, for so what was the biggest change between like, your kinosol facility in the new Cartersville? Facility? Like what were you able to do to like, make it so that way you could handle all you know, bringing from here down and stuff like that, and then to to make it so there was efficiencies in building the units? Can you produce more out of that Cartersville facility than you're able to out of the kinosol facility heads, it's all about output, tell about capacity, the flow lines, which are familiar with a console, we did the flow lines. Yeah. And it's about momentum, you gotta get those full lines going. And, you know, I do say internally to my folks a lot is, you know, maybe it's time for a bigger boat. And we got a bigger boat. And again, 100% Shout out to Textron, for doing that and tsp for believing us and it now it's the light switch turned on, man, it's it's 100 miles an hour right now. And we're, we're pumping them out. It's a lot of work. I mean, it's it's a, I think GSE I think the secret sauce would be forecasting. And I think the secret sauce is making sure you give production teams, quality teams, the ice, ISC teams enough time to get organized, and get those units on line and get them flowing. And once they get all the consistency, they can start pumping them out. And I think from a tug from a Textron standpoint, that's what we do best. We can pump out a lot of fire. Yeah, for sure. And a small amount of time now, you know, we work with the customers closely, we want to make sure we get the right product for for their operation. And sometimes the more options you throw into engineering kind of slows it down. But we understand that and the factory has set us up to succeed. And so we're excited about next year too, as we work through all these supply chain bumps in 2023. There we go, man. Well, I think we are going to take a break and hear from the sponsor of this podcast and we will be back. This episode of the GSC podcast is brought to you by Exede ground support equipment leasing your trusted partner for GSE solutions. We specialize in tailored operating leases for ground handlers and airlines, offering top notch equipment and flexible terms to suit your needs. Partner with the industry leaders like Textron GSC we're committed to bringing you new equipment offerings that keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently. Choose exceed for competitive rates and exceptional customer service. Visit exceed gsc.com today, and soar to new heights with exceed ground support equipment leasing. Alright, we're back. That was a spectacular commercial break. And I've got some more questions for Brad Compton. Hey, Matt, thanks for having me. This is this is fun, and I think it's great. This is great for the industry and I thanks Exede for doing this is a great idea. No problem. I've, you know, I kind of felt like we're in a unique position to the point where, you know, we work with all the manufacturers. And obviously, you're a riser manufacturer. So there is actually in you, but you are my number one choice. Okay. Right. To have other podcasts. That's the reason you're the first episode. And thanks for helping me kick this thing off. How are we doing on the language? We know so far? I think we're good. I don't know. Okay. I don't remember dropping any expletives. So I think we're good. So I guess my first question for you just kind of getting back on track here is, you've been in the industry for a long time. You know, before this, you're selling copiers. Oh, great. That's a story I should have brought up. Yes. And yes, but you're not selling copiers anymore? No, right. You're selling. You're selling endurance tractors? I mean, you got you got a whole whole lineup here. Right. I got kicked out of a lot of buildings. And, and so when did you start like 1990? Something I mentioned Nick Baxter. I thought Arthur mentioned the interview. It was 9095 95. Yes, yes. So it's in the bloodline My dad worked for FMC and Orlando. Okay, so I grew up in Calif now for those who don't know, which I would imagine almost everybody who's listening to this would know, but let's go ahead and miss you and fill them in. Right? Maybe they don't know. Who's FMC. FMC is now called JBT. Okay, and kudos for them. That's not easy to change then midstream. Right. Good guys. Good company. I remember when they used to make fire trucks. Yeah, well, yeah, I was in high school when they did make fire trucks. There you go. I just wish I held on to all this business card. My dad laid on the counter table after those late nights. Yeah. So So we picked up from California and we moved to Orlando, which is where we are now. In 82. Synchronicity was killing it on the charts, which probably could be a good juicy band. I think the police would be a good juicy man. Yeah, for sure. The place staying? I don't know. We feel too soft. Okay. So yeah, well, then we move to Orlando. Yeah, so what dad was was doing sales and FMC, which is now JBT. And from there, I went to college at Georgia Southern had no idea about Southern Georgia whatsoever, but had a blast at Georgia Southern. A good five years really, really excelled there in my fifth year like Van Wilder. Yeah, yeah. So we did good. So everyone packs up. He moved to Atlanta trying to find a gig. And I was peddling copiers. I was Xerox. No. Oh, your Xerox GameShark. Oh, sharp, sharp. Yeah. Yeah. I thought if I could hold on to this for a year, you can do anything, right. My dad's introduced me to a couple guys a little bit older than me, man. I was green, had breakfast with those guys. And then I got introduced to tug. interviewed with Nick Baxter. And thank God, he saw something nice. So yeah, 28 years later, I'm still peddling tractors. But there you go. No. I think really, if we go back to target, and I've been so fortunate, so lucky that I've worked with really good leaders, even to this day. And that I've been fortunate because I think at all you take on the personality of your leader, you take on the personality of if it's a CEO, or GM, and I've been lucky. So from tog, to all the changes that tractor has gone through, I talked about tug, to now fortunate to have good leadership now and in the direction of Textron. So yeah, it's been a wild ride lot ups and downs. It's been a long time. Yeah, I think that having good leadership is very valuable. I was lucky enough to have a good leader in you for such a long time. And yeah, I really appreciate your leadership. And I've continued to have such great leadership even going into Exede. So I guess my question is, you know, you have been in industry for a really long time, how's the industry changed? The industry has changed in I think it was, it's been the same for so long in the early years for my career. And that's just the buying cycles, and you can start understanding. It's repeat business, as you know, right. And it's relationship based. And I think salespeople in different industries will say it's unique to them, or it's, it's all about their relationships. But I truly think and, again, I've been in this industry for a while I haven't seen the other side of the fence, it is really about relationships. But that only goes so far, because you've got to be able to make sure that second sale is going to happen. And the only way to do that is to make sure you take care of the customer and their operation. But how has the industry changed? I think if you look at today versus 1995. There's so many different ways to support that industry. And I think exceeds is doing a phenomenal job in that and it's the forecasting, forecasting, forecasting and the improvements in forecasting is still got a long way to go just because of the industry. I think it within the airlines within the cargo within the ground handily. Forecasting is hard and we have to undo Stan that I work with our customers to be able to get through that forecasting, because there's so many different angles with that, and I think is changing in the fact there's different approaches to purchasing equipment, acquiring equipment, handling the operation, working towards that better ramp. And again, I think exceeds strategy around that, from a grant handler standpoint, and now in the cargo and maybe into the airlines is to help with that forecasting, because it's a rough patch, if we can't manufacture because our lead times are lower based on supply, or based on sheer volume, we're not gonna be able to help that grant handler if they need equipment in four weeks. Yeah, that's kind of where Exede comes in, right? Where we equipment and we have it ready to go on site for when they need it. Yeah, again, I'll go back to forecasting. And it's not so much our customers fault, because they these airlines show up, it's all about marketing for them to if an airline opens a gate, or a cargo company decides to go into an airport, or ground handler puts out a bid for a certain airport. I think the last thing sometimes they think about is below the link. They got everything set, you know, they could sell a ticket, they could take a ticket, they got the marketing, they got the everything's set up on the ticketing and the gate. And they're like, oh, wait a minute, we need some assets below the way. So I think below the wing is kind of a different world. I think axes understands that and working with us. It's a great partnership. So I think, I don't know if I've answered the question, but changing the dynamics of how you purchase from a you know, they look at the maintenance, they look at the purchaser, purchase your customer, PIO, we manufacture it, we send it they pay us, hopefully within 30 days, if not sooner, yeah. And then now it's a different approach. You can go into turnkey at a station where you where you you pay by the hour, or you pay by the turn, you group your pool, you pull the equipment. I think that's coming along with all this electrification talk, I think there's a lot of opportunity for for things to happen to where the future is really bright in terms of how they approach GSC Yeah, so you know, I remember when I started, I remember telling people that they call up for an MA or, or 660. They would say, what's your lead time, like? And I'd say, oh, six, eight weeks? All right, beautiful. Remember those days? Oh, yeah. Okay. So, you know, back then we could handle when a when a handler recall. And they'd say, hey, we have a start up and six, eight weeks, because we're able to give those lead times. Yeah, those lead times don't exist anymore. Right? Not now. No, no, there were like, six, eight months, sometimes you get lucky. But right now, again, it's it's that supply chain, it's just, it's how I changed completely, there is a complete different animal now. And that's into your point. That's where Exede comes in. Because, you know, we do order ahead, and we have inventory at our location, and we can we can lease and rent that equipment out to those ground handlers. So it kind of bridges that gap. And that way, you don't have to have that that crystal ball right on, on what you're gonna get. What what bid you're gonna get, and you know, you have to have that equipment for that. So I think that that's, I think it's a great point. So what do you see about the, you know, future trends in the industry? We talked earlier about electrification, I think in that's happened, and then that's going to continue to happen. But like I said, just a little while ago, I think the pooling, you know, getting those assets together and being able to, again, I said earlier, work as fast as your customer, having it available at the time they need it is key, but you know, future trend, without electric? So I think, where do you see charging going? So I know that a lot of different, you know, there's manufacturers kind of like see this differently, right? I think that you'll have a different approach, like what what is what is Textron GSEs approach to? What kind of batteries and charging capabilities that your your lecture equipment? Yes, that's a great question. I think I think Electric has been around for a while. And it's been around since since I started different way of doing it. I think now the future of the ramp is going to entail the larger vehicles. So we mentioned JBT, you got container loaders, you've got catering trucks, you've got trucks themselves, all of those are going to be high capacity, type charging systems. And that is is our road ahead is high capacity. And so that's why we've worked with GM to introduce the endurance, which is our seventh, sorry, eighth generation electric tractor. So we know the ramp is going to get there. We know it may not be there right now, but we know it's gonna get there pretty fast. So infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure is always going to be talked about. It holds people up a little bit on their operations. You got to work closely with the airport. Not to make sure it's set in time it right to when the vehicles come in. But I think that's the future of the ramp is a high couple acity type charging system with a vehicle that is sup that and we already there for opportunity charging. So I don't think with what we see and what with with we are innovating and we are producing that you're going to have any type of downtime in terms of that question of how long does it take me to charge this up? It's not eight hours anymore. You can do this during smoke break, you can get it done, if you have the right chargers within 15 to 20 minutes. That's incredible. So that's the technology. That's where you think it's heading. And yeah, I think the I think the airlines and the ground handlers cargo are going to have to it seems like they're going to have to move in that direction. I think you know, that's where cars are right now. Is that correct? Yes, LA, that they're using the high capacity chargers? Alright, so what is the what's the most challenging part of your job? I'll say forecasting, again, forecast forecasting, but I'll take this to limitless. Let's just talk about sales one on one. Let me let me talk about oh, wow, it's all I know. Yeah, the Brad cones is sales. And I've learned from the best, we already talked about a few of them. And it's repetition. And it's listening to people's listen to your customers. I really think the hardest part for me is or to talk through the hardest part is, is the keeping a sense of balance. And there's only 168 hours in a week, and how you time manage that from a personal standpoint, and a professional standpoint, as can either hold you back or let you continue on. So just think about like how many you think about how many hours are on a day. From a sales standpoint, that phone never stops? Yeah. You're raising the family or you're you're trying to get through your daily routine, you're trying to take care of your customers, I think it all comes down to balance. It takes its time management. And then while it's forecasting for you, you got to forecast. So it's and again, it's all about people, right? And it's the people in the factory that are relying on these, these these salespeople, and I'll talk for the folks that compete with is it for you? Yo, you gotta feed that that baby out there at that's your factory. And those guys, those those guys out there are proud of what they bill? Yeah, and I think that means the world to me to be able to just keep letting these guys be proud of what they build and ship product worldwide. Yeah, I think forecasting, you know, with the part shortages and lead times that we're up against right now. Right, which is like unprecedented right? is even more important than it ever was, right? Yeah, no, I mean, having the right. Yeah, your inventory is huge. Yeah. And that's a challenge that always will be a challenge. I mean, again, we're in an industry where each operation is different. Air Canada operates completely different than British Airways that operates completely different than Southwest, and or UPS, or Swissport. So they're all going to have their, what we call optioned product. And we all know that. So you got to be able to make sure that you work again, as fast as them understand their business, and be proud of what you're putting out. And it's got to be on time. It's got to be on quality. And again, we're not perfect. We all know we've been late, we hold off quality, but it's how you react to that. Do you ever envision a day where every airline has the same spec? We're getting closer? I don't know if it'll happen in my lifetime. It's gonna be a challenge. Yeah, I've been in a room where Kailyn was in a room with Northwest in they were arguing over a beacon light on an air start. And that made me think, Wow, this is this is a challenge. We understand why, but I think we're getting closer. And I think we're closer than we ever have been. So yeah, it's gonna get there. But again, these planes are different. These operations are different. And I think a lot in there too. It's safety. It's a very safety conscious, we've got to make sure we support each operation, each customer in terms of safety. It's like a beehive out there. And these are moving products. So we got to be we got to be supportive of what we can do to innovate from a safety standpoint. I say that because if you come to a standard spec, some airlines need to make sure that they have what they need to operate their turn. with safety in mind. It is safety is not a competition. It's it needs to happen. I think that most people would be very surprised to find out that there's maybe what 250 To 500 options on a 660 Our 6660 option book is pretty thick. That's $1,000 There's over 1000 Yeah, okay. Yeah. And so, but I mean, it's not for Textron GSE. I'm sure that's for everyone and then to get this as an industry conversation. You know, my competition deals with the two and but you have to be careful, because you've got to make sure it's documented. You got to make sure it operates correctly. Because again, it's it's safety, because speed is important in our industry on the ramp. But again, safety probably is trumping that, for sure. But you're right. There's a lot of options on the belt Hunter, there's a lot of there's a lot of options on every piece of equipment. And it's just, I guess, you know, my first job almost out of college was in ground support equipment with to me, I just figured everyone knew how many options were available on any given piece of equipment. Right, right. But then when you leave that manufacturer, you go out into the real world, right? They don't understand that there's, there's a book the size of the Bible, right, full of options for each individual piece of equipment, right. And we took that for granted, right? We just figured everybody knew. But everybody has their own spec. And it's always a little bit different. So I was just curious on whether you thought that in the you answered that very well, I thought that you think we're getting closer to that. And that would be an interesting day in GSC. If we ever got even to airlines to agree to a spec, they're talking and I think it's it's going to happen within a territory first. But again, I'll bring up the word global. I mean, Southeast Asia is completely different ballgame than in North America. completely different ballgame than the Middle East. Because it's it's it's what their ramp is used to is what the rep needs. So you have to adapt. But yeah, there's a lot of options. And they'll continue to bring up options as we evolve into different products. Yeah. Well, is there. Is there anything else that you wanted to discuss on this podcast today, Brett? No, I mean, I think I think you nailed it. I think I do want to talk more about the music I did to make sure I have the right music that I play lenses. Yeah, yes. As the first one. I'm kind of into, you know, honestly, I'm kind of into the 70s rock right now. That might that that might have been. That's it. That's I really do like, the GSC in a nutshell would be probably a kick off with Tom Petty and then enroll into it, right? Hotham? Tom Petty? Yeah, for sure. Tom Petty is probably one of my favorite. That's this is this is fantastic. I could talk forever. I mean, I've got multiple stories, as do these people I grew up with in the industry. Well, I got some good news for you. And that is, we'll have you back on the podcast. Okay. Right. Episode Two, not episode two. You're not gonna, you're not gonna get your only guest. We could maybe do a brad competent part two. Okay. Right. But it's definitely not gonna be the second sequel. The sequel? Ooh, I like that. So we'll have you back once you've kind of crafted some really good stories. I'm going to come back I realized that I didn't, I didn't have time. Did not have time to tell the catch up story. But I'm sure it'll come in time. Right. He's gonna come and dance. Yes. And just another little tidbit for you. For the listener. Right. Brad Compton was actually there for the catch up story. And so what I think we should do, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna make a decision right now. We're gonna hold the catch up story. Until the next time you get this is your story is my story. You own it. I own the story. So are the rules like if someone says you can never the guests right? There's this other manufacturers out there? He told me there is we're gonna have other people there to actually is it fair for them to tell competent stories? That's not legal, right? They can't talk about? Well, we're gonna find out because we have another one coming on fairly soon. And it's going to be funny, because the next two guests that we're going to have on know you very well, and it worked with you at one point, that's not fair, because they could take it to the next level. I'm the first one. I don't know the boundaries. No, you don't know the boundaries were looser, and they just can bring up stories that either that are probably listening to this right now. And they're already coming up with stories. Well, I just Hey, Matt, thank you. I just, I'm in a spot now where I want to give a shout out to Textron and Textron GSE. I talked about leadership and and I've been thankful for the people that I've worked for and with and we're in a good spot. I mean, I'll shoot man and be honest with you, you know, this COVID was no fun. And that was corrupted, challenging, and we're back and we're almost, I think, read the 2019 levels. So we're in a good spot. We're excited about who we're working with. We're excited about what's coming up with working with our customers and within the industry. We've got a busy year. We're gonna have a lot of conferences. We got ghci multiple spots, GH high America's. We've GSA. So we've got some NB double A's. It's getting crazy out there. And I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention a couple people Ah, let's do it, Willie. Oh my lord. Yeah, my wing man. Yeah, yes. I wouldn't be here without Willie. Oh my gosh, we're so lucky to have him. Yeah, he's a great one. I worked with him for a couple years. tests. Test ESA. Oh, yes. Yes. Are you talking about surrounding yourself with with great people? I mean, yes, I have them on my team is is top notch. They're fantastic. I would have Justin he wasn't there when? You know, I was not around when he came in. But I've met him a couple times. Very impressed by that guy. Yeah. Huge shout. Yes. You guys phenomenal and what a great understanding of business and sales and sales management. So yeah, I think we feed off each other. We feed off of each other fantastically. I've learned a lot from Justin. So yeah, he internally I called the Dream Team. We do have a great group. It's all team over there. I don't know if you're gonna shout out to the others. But well, the last one, and we can't miss this one. Mark DeMaria of the mark Tabor. Yeah, he's, oh, my gosh, she's enrolled in that place together for you all. You mentioned Brian Europe it was so Oh, well, I know we've already mentioned that's a reason I so. Don't get me wrong, Brian Yoder, but we've already talked about him so much. So I thought Mark DeMaria is the next guy out of so many jams. That sounded funny. Right lifesavers? Yeah. And then Billy asked Amelie ash co he's a legend. Billy ash and mark you you want to be able to clone those type of guys? Yep. But I mean, I can't forget to talk with my team. I've got Patrick Dennison. Oh, oh, Patrick's fantastic. I'm sorry, I yeah, I missed dimension pleasure. And so we're going down this path. I'm I forgive somebody, but we've got fruit, right. They're just killing it with de icing. Was it if we didn't mention you? This is like an Oscar speech. Right. We're just coming to coming off. It's. Yeah, it's a dream team. I mean, I am so lucky that I have these guys. And I've got again, great leadership. Matt. Chaffin is phenomenal. As you mentioned, Stefan verrecchia. I learned a lot from him. Boy, challenging times. But he because we had some challenging just times within the industry and what we're up against and God he I learned a lot from him. And Dick Baxter and others. So yeah, so a lot of legends in there. So I am extremely lucky. And I wouldn't be here without those folks. It's kind of like an ostrich gem on its head is like an ostrich, like leave people out. So you just want to say thank you. Yeah, thanks. Right. Yeah. But anyway, I just want to appreciate so just so the listeners know, Brad flew down here. I think maybe I mentioned that. But Brad flew down here to Orlando, we're sitting at the kitchen table. And so thank you so much for coming down here and prioritizing this podcast, and thanks for being the first guest. And you know, Exede very much appreciates the partnership that we have with Textron GSE. And so, I have very, very good friends that are with your team and exceed. Yeah, and if anybody has stories to tell, it's probably rich Tibesti now, so Yeah, that guy, as well. Yes. Yes. And I've learned a lot from him. A lot of good times, but every good time. We've learned something together. And yeah, he's he's, he's phenomenal. So you got a fantastic T. Oh, we do. We should have a dodgeball tournament and see who would come out ahead because now I like it. Now. I will. I will tell you something. I have been talking to one of the organizers at the GSC Expo dodgeball, okay. Well, hold on. There might be some kind of competition coming to the GSE Expo drinking the ball. I don't know. So I'm just leaving that out there is we've been having discussions. And don't make it too athletic. I mean, we're kind of plus 50. Believe me, that was the number one thing I said is we can't make this to athletic, you know, as a brand, right? We can't, you know, yeah, no, I'm just kidding. But it's great. I know, I miss somebody. But man, I've worked with phenomenal people here. I love this industry. I love working and seeing everybody at these conferences everyone would deal with and colleagues and include my competitors to some really good people out there. So Matt, fantastic. Thank you. Hey, thanks a lot, Brad. Thanks for coming down. Yes, thank you. All right. Thanks a lot. All right. Until next time, this is Matt for the GSC podcast.