Last week the ground support equipment community united once again for an impressive industry show: GSE Expo Europe 2024.
This year taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, the Airside team spoke with a number of exhibitors – from GPU and de-icing vehicle manufacturers to equipment lessors and powertrain converters – to get the latest insights into industry trends and news.
Airside caught up with faces familiar and new at the expo. Here is what some of the exhibitors had to tell us.
Aurrigo – Tenille Houston, vice president of public relations and communications
Tell Airside about Aurrigo. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Aurrigo is a provider of smart airside solutions and what that means is we are offering electric, autonomous baggage and cargo tractors that drive themselves. Our vehicles are the most manoeuvrable on the market and they have robotic arms to be able to move a ULD automatically in loading and unloading from the baggage hall all the way to the other end.
Autonomy is obviously still a scary thing, so we also provide our AutoSim software which is a digital twin planning tool so customers can see, before they actually implement autonomous GSE into their operations, what that looks like with digital twins created specifically for their airport.
This enables us to really break down any barrier or scepticism surrounding autonomous vehicles on the apron and demonstrate that use case before implementing autonomy.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
GSE Expo is a great show, it is a nuts and bolts event. Everything, every vehicle is here ranging from belt loaders to hi-loaders down to the lights needed to light up a runway.
We feel that GSE Expo is a great show to get people that are really looking at not only what’s out there but also what that new and future technology for airside operations is. Those players that are looking at new baggage tractors that are diesel, maybe even electric, they’re realising that there’s more to it now than just taking that step with electrification – they can go autonomous too.
A lot of players are currently experiencing staffing challenges right now as well as industrial action ever since Covid. Our autonomous vehicles are helping to reduce the reliance on manpower but also reduce the strain on existing manpower today.
Autonomous operations, such as with baggage or cargo loading, can really help to create a safer apron in this sense too.
The GSE Expo Europe 2024 floorplan
Aviramp – Graham Corfield, CEO
Tell Airside about Aviramp. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Aviramp is a manufacturer of portable, remote stand passenger boarding ramps and jet bridges – avoiding any steps – so that any PRMs [persons of reduced mobility] can board with all other passengers with dignity.
This cuts out the use of ambulifts, ensuring less vehicle movements around the aircraft stand – which is important for safety – and it also makes aircraft turnarounds far more efficient.
Our ramps also provide the advantage of terminal-based jet bridges on remote stands.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We have arranged meetings with a number of existing and prospective customers and there are also those who haven’t heard of us yet – so GSE Expo is an important opportunity to spread the word about Aviramp and what we do.
To date, we’ve got 700 units at airports globally, we have forged relationships with industry players and I believe that touch and feel of the equipment is far more beneficial than pictures and videos.
Global Ground Support – Melissa Shriver, vice president of business operations
Tell Airside about Global Ground Support. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Global Ground Support was founded in 1997 to predominantly manufacture aircraft de-icers for commercial customers, then defence in 1999. We’ve had the US Air Force contract for aircraft de-icers since then and we have other domestic and international armed forces that we support.
We have a full suite of de-icers, including both the traditional 2200 gallon vehicle for large aircraft and the 1200 for regional operations. We also have our military-grade vehicles, the GL1800 Class A and GL2875 Class B de-icers.
Global Ground Support also has a portfolio of GSE products for cabin service, our hi-lift line and catering units. With regard to our hi-lifts, we support the US Navy with specialised vehicles.
We work with a lot of third parties and some airlines, but we’re really seeing a trend towards third-party customers [such as ground handlers].
Our belief is that sustainability is here to stay in the aviation industry, and our glycol recovery vehicle [GRV] – which we built before but ceased – we have revisited and revamped these and there is increasing interest from our customers to introduce them into operations.
Our GRVs are available in two sizes: 800 and 2000, which relates to glycol capacity.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We’re exhibiting this year because we’re a part of the ground support equipment community, and have been for a long time. As always, our primary goal is to connect with existing customers face-to-face, hear how things are going and learn how we can improve our products and services.
We also want to get a feeling of what lies ahead for our customers and how we can adjust our offerings to continue to provide solutions for them. When we connect with our customers, we also bounce off new ideas with them and discuss new projects or plans that we’re looking at, such as the new glycol transfer vehicle which will come off the line later this year.
Also important to us is training. We’re really investing a lot in the service lines that we have as well – so it’s about the products and also ongoing support for our customers. We’re here to continue to build Global’s brand.
AirRail and Yutong announced an extension in their apron bus partnership at the event
HiSERV – Wolfgang Fasching, head of sales
Tell Airside about HiSERV. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
HiSERV is a GSE rental company that leases out equipment and provides maintenance services. What makes us unique is the fact that our fleet is very young and modern.
We used to be the new kids on the block several years back having been established in 2017. We have started to procure mainly electric equipment, which is important for customers who need to meet sustainability goals.
HiSERV does, of course, offer diesel machines, but it is a necessity for us to provide sustainable equipment given the ongoing electric transition of equipment on the apron. We have also started to develop new workshops, such as in Germany, Portugal and Norway, and these are our main focus today in order to broaden our network and increase our footprint.
Today, we only operate in Europe. We have no ambition to go beyond Europe unless we are presented an opportunity we can jump into – and even in Europe at the moment there are certain regions where we are particularly strong such as in Germany and Austria, as well as Switzerland, Scandinavia and as a matter of fact also Portugal.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
First, the concept of the exhibition booths here is the so-called open market, the meeting place concept, where we want people to come to us, receive good hospitality – good food and drink – in order to settle down and exchange views.
We want people to think that if they’re looking to meet a new and interesting company with interesting people they would want to come to see HiSERV. We also want to push our reputation as being innovative and close to the customer.
At an exhibition like this, we also want to strengthen our customer contacts because here you can meet everyone that you’re already doing business with and new people. Finally, with the recent developments within our organisation, as we were recently acquired by CVC DIF, we want to explain what it means to have a new ownership structure.
It’s much easier to do this face-to-face rather than sending out emails.
ITW GSE – Martin Walsted, key account manager
Tell Airside about ITW GSE. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
We are specialists in producing ground power units [GPUs] and pre-conditioned air [PCA] systems for the aviation sector. This is the core of who we are and what we do. ITW GSE’s market offering is all about providing solutions that allow our customers to utilise infrastructure in a smarter, more efficient way.
EcoGate, our smart gate system, is a highly efficient solution centred around the PCA, which acts as a sort of brain, a power hub, for the whole gate system. Our EcoGate solution allows customers to connect their ITW GSE equipment by utilising the available power in a smarter way.
This means a ground power unit can be connected to the PCA while different charging options can be connected to the GPU as well, optimising efficiency by working in a smarter, more intelligent way by integrating all your equipment, instead of viewing all your equipment as individual units.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
The GSE Expo is the perfect opportunity to see the latest GSE innovations that can help the industry deliver a safer, more sustainable and cost-effective ramp operation. Networking with industry partners and customers helps us understand the environmental challenges airports and airlines face, and refines our approach to developing clean, reliable and cost-efficient GSE systems.
Being in Lisbon is not just about demonstrating our latest advancements. It’s about engaging with industry leaders, airport operators and airlines who share our vision for a more efficient, eco-friendly future.
This week we’re displaying our full range of battery-powered GPUs, which can power any aircraft from turboprop to narrow or widebody planes. These ground power units include our 28 VDC JetEx eGPU, 90 kVA eGPU as well as the 180 kVA eGPU, which have been widely integrated at airports, especially across Europe.
ITW GSE’s eGPUs also now have the option of an AC Type 2 inlet that eases charging in the scenario that airports have already installed AC wall chargers including cables.
We are also showcasing our Power Share, that lets you allocate excess power from your 2400 to eGPUs and other AC units without having to upgrade the existing infrastructure. The Power Share is a smart outlet box that can be integrated in a fixed GPU or remotely installed for our Power Coil or PCA.
Walsted poses with ITW GSE’s new DC Charger, which is launching next year
Nordic Dino – Gintautus Sukys, chief technical officer
Tell Airside about Nordic Dino. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Nordic Dino was created more than 40 years ago during the 1980s and we have customers all over the world. Our machines are designed to wash all kinds of aircraft from narrowbodies to widebodies and if you have extra widebodies, say, an Airbus A380, then you would need a bigger machine, which we do also offer.
We offer both wet wash and dry wash options. Our latest machine can switch from one mode to the other by replacing the brushes and detergent.
On show this week is the Nordic Dino WB [widebody] machine. It is suitable for Boeing Dreamliners, B777s, Airbus A330s and A350s and also smaller narrowbody aircraft.
In terms of capabilities, the Nordic Dino WB can reach all areas of an aircraft, be it the top of the aircraft, the belly, under and over the wings and so on.
The biggest advantage to our WB aircraft washer is that it usually takes around 10 hours and about 12 to 15 people to wash an aircraft manually with brushes. With our machine, which is remote control operated by only one person, it takes only about four hours.
We are approved by both Airbus and Boeing and our machines are available in either diesel or electric configurations. For customers who prefer diesel vehicles, HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] is compatible with out aircraft washers.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We are always looking for new markets and new customers, and we are keen to show industry players our machines and their capabilities. We also want potential customers to see and touch our machines as well as be able to ask all the questions they have about Nordic Dino’s products.
Ramper Innovations – Tim Fulton, CEO
Tell Airside about Ramper Innovations. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Ramper Innovations was founded back in 2014. At that point, we had a different product to what visitors at GSE Expo see in front of them today.
I’m from Alaska, where millions of pounds of commercial fish are moved via air cargo. Our old product was designed to safely move these fish boxes.
But over the years, we decided that there had to be a better way to move all commodities and I used my 38 years of experience and product development and I came up with TISABAS – (TI)M (SA)VES (BA)CKS – an affordable, compact, motorised, folding conveyer which is designed to go into the cargo hold of narrowbody aircraft and mechanically move bags, mail and cargo, replacing the current manual method.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We are, of course, looking to expand our footprint by meeting new customers but also looking for distribution partners for the European market. We recently have gone through the process of achieving CE certification for our production model, so we’re ready to start opening things up for the European market with that certification.
That’s why we’re here at the expo this year, to find some new customers and meet distribution partners.
Fulton exhibits the TISABAS folding conveyer
TCR – Tom Bellekens, CEO
Tell Airside about TCR. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
TCR provides general ground support equipment services, which includes a lot of rental and repair and maintenance solutions. We do this at around 200 airports globally and have close to 40,000 assets rented in more than 20 countries. This is what we do.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
First of all, we’re here to meet our customers and catch up on business in general, to meet new customers, and explore new prospects, and to get to know them. We’re also here to explain to our customers what we’ve been up to in the last year since International GSE Expo 2023.
As customers may have seen, we now have three logos in three different colours. And one new area in which we have been developing is airport solutions, which includes equipment pooling, charge as a service, so mobile electric infrastructure, APU-off – these kinds of solutions.
Basically, we came to the conclusion that in order to ‘greenify’ the industry faster and better, airport infrastructure needs to improve. In order to support the industry in its sustainability journey, we also wanted to support customers on that side. This complements our core business, our legacy services, of GSE rental services.
Twist Aero – Kali Smith, vice president of business unit development
Tell Airside about Twist Aero. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
Twist Aero manufactures GPUs, PCAs and our patented Boom Air Hose Management System. We have both bridge mounted and mobile configurations of the PCA and GPU available.
We are based in Ohio and are a company that provides the industry with robust solutions – we’re a robust company. Twist Aero has been in business for 53 years and our customers always come first because our philosophy is that it’s not just about the first sale, it’s about continued support. That’s what we really focus on – taking care of our customers after the sale.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We’re here in Lisbon because we want to connect with existing clients and we’re a fairly established company in the market so we need to continue to show our presence. One goal of ours is to continue to promote our Boom Air Hose Management System over into Europe given that we’re currently a US-based manufacturer.
We also recently launched a new website to improve accessibility to our portfolio of products.
XYZ Dynamics – Alex Pap, CEO
Tell Airside about XYZ Dynamics. Who are you and what solutions do you provide?
We are a Netherlands-based company that is committed to the conversion of fossil-fuelled ground support equipment to battery power. Our motto is ‘from ground support to green support’ and we do this with the development of our own electric drivetrain as a package.
We sell packages, and provide electric conversion, with the advantage of conforming faster to mandatory regulations with regard to zero emissions and we are also cheaper on the CapEx side [compared to buying brand new electric GSE] by about 50 per cent on average.
We started doing this three years ago and are now established with vehicles converted by us at airports across Europe. Last year we converted a number of self-propelled passenger stairs and pushback tractor units for Aviation Services in Italy.
This year we have performed 30 conversions specifically for them and also for other customers in Europe.
Why are you exhibiting at GSE Expo Europe 2024?
We are here at GSE Expo to promote our product and show potential new customers exactly what they’re buying with a powertrain conversion. I think there is an industry perception that a conversion might not entail professional work on a ground support vehicle, but if you see what we do, we’re here to prove that perception wrong.
This is part of the challenge. The engineering work is quite extensive to keep it simple, reliable and easy – and that is what we have come here to demonstrate.
We want to promote the fact that vehicle conversion from diesel to electric is a good, reliable solution for industry players who want to go green and optimise the efficiency and performance of their GSE fleets.
