Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News

Doug Carlberg, president and CEO of M2 Global, says while defense contracts have helped save his company sequestration cutbacks during the Obama administration threatened his business.

Doug Carlberg, president and CEO of M2 Global, says while defense contracts have helped save his company sequestration cutbacks during the Obama administration threatened his business.

M2 Global Technologies employees Jerry Perez (left) and Rodney Taylor (right) work on a helicopter part. The company employs 49 people and produces many parts for the Department of Defense.

M2 Global Technologies employees Jerry Perez (left) and Rodney Taylor (right) work on a helicopter part. The company employs 49 people and produces many parts for the Department of Defense.

Some of the parts that M2 Global produces are displayed. The company makes hundreds of precision parts for the state-of-the-art F-35, the F-16, the F-22, the C-130 and other aircraft.

Some of the parts that M2 Global produces are displayed. The company makes hundreds of precision parts for the state-of-the-art F-35, the F-16, the F-22, the C-130 and other aircraft.

StandardAero employees Rick Timchuk (left) and Ernie Valdez (right) inspect a C-130 engine at the companys San Antonio maintenance facility.

StandardAero employees Rick Timchuk (left) and Ernie Valdez (right) inspect a C-130 engine at the companys San Antonio maintenance facility.

StandardAeros San Antonio location is one of dozens of aerospace companies that the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation estimates employ more than 13,000 people in and around the city.

StandardAeros San Antonio location is one of dozens of aerospace companies that the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation estimates employ more than 13,000 people in and around the city.

Scott Gray, president of Elevate Systems, uses 3-D analysis and printing to recreate and improve military parts that are no longer manufactured.

Scott Gray, president of Elevate Systems, uses 3-D analysis and printing to recreate and improve military parts that are no longer manufactured.

Elevate Systems has reversed engineered an impeller, part of the B-52s radar motor, for a replacement at a lower cost. The original is at the bottom.

Elevate Systems has reversed engineered an impeller, part of the B-52s radar motor, for a replacement at a lower cost. The original is at the bottom.

3-D printers at Elevate Systems work building parts. The company contracts out much of its manufacturing, focusing on reverse engineering, designing and testing.

3-D printers at Elevate Systems work building parts. The company contracts out much of its manufacturing, focusing on reverse engineering, designing and testing.

San Antonios aerospace industry bullish on Trump

San Antonios deep military roots and Doug Carlbergs service in the Army made defense contracting a natural transition for the local engineer when his company, which made specialty electronic parts for commercial aircraft, started losing business to China more than a dozen years ago.

M2 Global Technology started making a simple flat, slim wing shim, which makes up the leading edge of an F-16 fighter jets wing. It now makes hundreds of precision parts for the state-of-the-art F-35, along with parts for the F-16, F-22, C-130 and other aircraft.

Carlberg runs one of dozens of aerospace companies that the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation estimates employ more than 13,000 people in and around San Antonio. M2 Global has a 30,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facility, and a staff of 49. Its just one of the 1,300 aerospace and aviation companies that employs more than 135,000 people across Texas, one of the industrys largest workforces in the U.S., according to a 2017 report from Gov. Greg Abbotts office.

San Antonio recently trademarked the moniker Military City, USA and for good reason. Its home to the Armys Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston and JBSA-Camp Bullis, and the Air Forces JBSA-Lackland and JBSA-Randolph.

Since the closing of Kelly AFB under the base realignment and closure process that was completed in 1998, San Antonio has tried to find ways to create new opportunities for the thousands of local residents who had been employed at the sprawling miliary installation.

While some of the facility is still under military control, 1,900 acres were converted into Port San Antonio, which is home to one of Boeing Corp.s largest maintenance facilities responsible for servicing Air Force One. Rene Dominguez, the director of economic development for San Antonio, said that military work is still extremely important for the port while it also tries to expand its commercial workload.

I know that weve been working pretty aggressively, because (aerospace) is one of our target industries, on growing that industry, and weve built a lot of infrastructure around that growth, like workforce training, enhancements to the port, Dominguez said.

President Donald Trumps emphasis on bolstering military spending could help San Antonio because were well positioned to absorb more DOD and military work, Dominguez said.

The companies that stand to benefit include StandardAero, Lockheed Martin and other major defense contractors that maintain large operations at the port providing a draw and ready market for smaller manufacturers such as M2 Global and Elevate Systems.

Keeping Air Force planes in the air is Scott and Maricela Grays job at their four-person company, Elevate Systems. Based on the North Side, the Grays use 3-D design technology to reverse engineer old military airplane parts whose designs and drawings have been lost to time. One of their first pieces was an impeller fan that cools radar equipment on the massive B-52 bomber.

They (the Air Force) have no drawings, they have no data, they have no way to get any of this stuff, Scott Gray said of the fans, which date back to the 1950s.

Elevate Systems was asked to reverse engineer the impeller so that then the Air Force from this point forward could support it organically, Gray said.

Using their designs, Gray said he was able to take a part that would cost $10,000 from the original manufacturer to a $300 3-D-printed impeller that was more efficient.

Weve become known as the guys you go to when you cant buy parts, pieces, components, said Gray, who added that Elevate Systems work includes maintenance for military helicopters.

Their work, and survival, obviously relies heavily on DOD spending.

In June, Lockheed Martin announced it was cutting its San Antonio workforce by half and transferring space, workers and jobs over to StandardAero, including work on F-16 and U-2 spy plane engines. Lockheed cut the work after a smaller contractor protested its contract for engine maintenance work on the KC-10 air refueler.

Years of uncertainty and defense budget cuts under the Obama administration made the business a risky one that contractors hope will change under Trump. Carlberg said his business was at risk of closing. Now under the Trump administration, he and his industry feel the wind at their back.

Were pretty bullish, said Carlberg, a Vietnam-era Army veteran who used to be a maintenance officer and helicopter pilot. If it wasnt for the election, we were very concerned that they would continue to really squeeze the defense budget.

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo

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San Antonio's aerospace industry 'bullish' on Trump - San Antonio ... - mySanAntonio.com