Taking New Machining Work, Employee Health Services, and Connectivity Round out the News from Vero Beach

Piper’s AirVenture conference didn’t have much meat on the bone for enthusiasts, but may provide a small window into where the company’s compass is pointing.

Overall, the company was proud of its recent successes, coming off a record-making run of sales in 2022 to the tune of 230 aircraft. This year, the firm is on track to finish off with 270 in all. Piper dealers can barely hold on to stock, being sold out with names on the list for pretty much everything the company makes. Sure, Piper reps may see a couple M-350s, or 500s, or 600s in the system, but odds are dealers are eagerly eyeing each one to scoop them up for a client. That’s just the start, given Piper’s trainer aircraft sales. For interested buyers, they’re looking at backlogs through 2025, ‘26, and even ‘27. While price increases are unfortunate, they are what they are, and reading between the lines, Piper doesn’t see things cooling down any time soon.

Despite the successes, the company is planning ahead for a market that isn’t so charged, building up the Piper Industrial Manufacturing Company (PIMCO) in order to monetize their shop’s downtime. The decision is a sensible one, at least, where Piper will be able to put some of its considerable industrial assets to use building structures for interested clients looking to enjoy the same equipment that pumps out so many aircraft every year.

The only real news for the aviator lies in a free update to the M-series aircraft that will integrate the full spectrum of their Planesync product – and even that will probably only be ‘free’ while the company subsidizes the cellular connectivity required for remote access. For M-class owners and operators, it’s a nice little piece of whiz-bang tech, allowing remote data collection on the state of the aircraft when an LTE or Wifi connection is available. Check the oil, the fuel, or the flight plan from the comfort of home, should you want to slick up your preflight process and save some time on the ground.

Finally, the last little peek into Piper’s crystal ball shows how difficult retention is for the manufacturer: Soon, the company will offer employees and qualified family members access to a health clinic to take care of most run-of-the-mill medical requirements. Preventive care, chronic conditions, and the like can be addressed by an onsite Nurse Practitioner and Medical Assistant. While the benefit may seem like a relatively small one to those accustomed to regular health insurance and consistent medical care, it could be seen as a way to attract and retain the young, inexperienced, future talent Piper needs to build up in-house.

Aside from that, things will be business as usual for Piper, operating at a higher pitch than historic, delivering anywhere from 70 to 80 M-class aircraft and 180 to 200 trainer class. That picture is blessedly sustainable for Piper, at least. Sure, they could have sold more aircraft throughout the recent GA bull run, but they see the somewhat tough supply chain as a “governor” of sorts, keeping things running at a somewhat modest peak production rate that remains attainable and sustainable.

FMI: www.piper.com