Established: 1977

Location: 3628 University Ave. South; Fairbanks, AK 99709

Telephone: 907-474-0100; 1-800-477-0126

Website: www.aircomavionics.com

E-mail: aircom@mosquitonet.com

Focus of the services: Aircom is a provider of the sales and service of small-airplane and avionics electronics. Available items include: portable intercom equipment, GPS devices, instrument panels and custom-made sheet-metal panels, said president and shop manager Steve Heidimen.

"We're trying to become one-stop shopping," he said. "There's no reason to go anywhere else."

Heidimen added that his company focuses most heavily on servicing the items they sell.

History of the company: Heidimen and his original partner met during the 1970s while working at an avionics shop in Fairbanks. In 1977, they founded Aircom Avionics, Heidimen said, because: "We were thinking 'we can do this better than they are doing it.'"

The pair managed the shop together for more than a decade, until Heidimen bought-out his partner's interest in 1989. The next year, Aircom moved into its current facility.

The company takes care of the Air Taxis that fly in and out of Fairbanks, Heidimen said, as well as privately owned planes from throughout the area. He also counts residents of other parts of the state, as well as of the Lower 48, among his client-base.

"You never know what you're going to work on," he said.

Now in his 26th year in business, Heidimen said he's faced competition from shops throughout Alaska, as well as less-traditional competitors such as mail-order. He noted that his shop's longevity is due, in part, to the company's management philosophy.

"I've never given anybody a reason to go anywhere else," he said. "We give the same discounts that people can get elsewhere, and the fact that I've been here since '77 means I'm going to be here next year."

Heidimen also credited his staff of eight with his customer's loyalty.

"I've had a lot of good luck and a lot of good health and a lot of good people working for me," he said. "When you're a business this small, it really does become like a family."

Major accomplishment: Aircom's reputation and history are its greatest assets, Heidimen said.

"We've kept 'em flying all these years," he said. "All these aircraft fly, every day, for all these years and they continue to."

Major players: Steve Heidimen, Aircom Avionics president and shop manager, enlisted in the Air Force in 1966. He qualified for electronics repair and began his career as an avionics technician.

--Regan Foster