Executive Suite: Robert Sopp, Garden City

AAR Corp. operates its Aircraft Component Services division out of Garden City, where it trains people to repair the F16 fighter plane, repairs aircraft components, and is expanding to manufacture parts for Boeing, GE and the U.S. military.

Executive vice president Robert Sopp, 57, responsible for new business development, program execution, and strategy at AAR's New York and Amsterdam facilities, is keeping a close eye on the U.S. military defense budget.

The Long Islander's career started as a teenager, when his shop teacher at Sewanhaka High School directed him to the airline parts manufacturing company Arkwin, based in Westbury, where he was hired on the spot. He went on to earn a master's degree in engineering and, among other things, developed a way to purify oil for the hydraulic components for NASA's Space Shuttle orbiter program. Now his oil purification programs are easing wear and tear on commercial and military aircraft components worldwide.

Sopp says he's sorry to see high schools dismiss shop programs, but he's eager to see them partner with industry to give students technical training, and lower the unemployment rate.

What skills are you looking for in potential employees?
We have opportunities for technical people. We hire a lot of veterans because they have that extra [technical] training from the armed forces. Sometimes we hire good automotive technicians who didn't go to college but have some kind of on-the-job training in the automotive field at dealerships or as an independent automotive dealer. We take those skills and convert them into an aircraft component technician and teach them what they need to know here.

What classes should be offered for people to get into fields like yours?
Companies like ours have to invest a lot in training. I think that high school principals should be getting aligned with industry so that they are offering programs that are more in line with what employers want. They should not only cater to college-bound students but also to students that end their education at high school.

What are the trends in your industry?
On the military-government side, we usually see a surge of maintenance within 18 months after they return from war. That is when they are fixing everything, getting everything in shape, and getting everything mission-ready. If they are not spending money on new platforms and maintaining older platforms instead, that could help a company like AAR as well.

Out of all of your projects, what gives you the most satisfaction?
The space shuttle program. My company really took a chance on letting me do that at that time . . . I have a plaque in my office of a flag that was on the first launch.

Corporate snapshot

Name. Robert Sopp, executive vice president, AAR Aircraft Component Services, a division of AAR Corp. in Garden City

What it does. "We offer a full array of component repair, overhaul, exchange and replacement options tailored to individual customer requirements and designed to improve efficiency and reduce overall cost. Our expert technicians test, repair, overhaul and perform scheduled maintenance checks on high-value components, including avionics, instruments, pneumatics, hydraulics, electronics, fuel controls and electrical accessories."

Employees. 7,000 worldwide with AAR Corp.; 205 on Long Island

Revenues. About $1.8 billion for AAR Corp.