The air caster work of AeroGo, “Innovative Load Moving Solutions,” is worldwide, diverse, and across heavy industry – including aerospace
By Jennifer Ferrero
When heavy industry needs to move large, heavy, or awkward machines, vehicles, and loads, AeroGo is their trusted name. Senior Field Application Engineer Randy Manus, a seasoned professional with 30 years of experience at AeroGo, is a living testament to their precision and expertise. Having worked on diverse projects, from sales to engineering, small to large, worldwide, Manus brings a wealth of experience. He has successfully moved various unusual objects in his career, from submarines to transformers and turbines in the desert to modular homes in the Rocky Mountains, showcasing AeroGo’s precision in every task.
AeroGo’s expertise in the aerospace sector is as vast as the sky. They have successfully maneuvered aircraft into hangars, facilitated the smooth flow of parts through assembly lines, and efficiently transported jet engines during production. Manus aptly describes their experience as “an inch deep and a mile wide,” a testament to their versatility and adaptability.
As a company, they’ve also worked with the most recognized names in the global museum industry in supporting extremely sensitive and rare artifact mobility needs, according to Director of Sales, Roman Scott.
The most exciting project in recent memory was just a few months ago, where the task at hand was moving a fragile, 10-ton object across a moving path that was both under construction and subject to extremely tight floor pressure tolerances, which posed significant challenges. Scott recounts, “They couldn’t crane this thing around the building without tearing the roof off. There was a tremendous challenge. The artifact was rare and sensitive and couldn’t roll across the floor; there were two feet of clearance on an 85-foot ceiling.” However, this is the type of problem that AeroGo excels at solving, showcasing their unique problem-solving abilities.
President/CEO John Massenburg, a former application engineer, brings a wealth of experience to AeroGo. His deep understanding of the aerospace industry, including rockets, satellites, tooling, and platforms, is also a testament to their industry knowledge. “We can put air casters on the platform or move tooling around.” He added that in the space industry, they’ve moved rockets from a horizontal to a vertical position in the factory. He said they’ve conducted this work for Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Orbital ATK. They also do considerable work moving loads for NASA, such as the Hubble telescope and NASA’s crew module.
Manus said that the weight of loads can vary widely, from “6000-ton submarines to 600-pound electrical cabinets in a Boeing 737 spy plane.” He cited that they could maneuver just about anything and that variety is what he enjoys most about the job.
As an engineer, Manus has traveled the world on behalf of the company to conduct the movement of loads. His favorite project location is New Zealand because he can walk the beach in the morning and see snow in the mountains in the afternoon. He has also been to India to conduct work in metal stamping plants and to Memphis, Tennessee, for work at the Caterpillar facilities. Plus, they do ongoing work for Lockheed Martin and most space companies.
The categories for services include:
- Factory automation
- Rigging/Millwright
- Equipment Mobility
The technology is made of air casters and rigging systems in some cases. They come on-site to inspect the location for moving items and consult on properly setting it up for functionality and success. The air caster fills with air and then can be moved over the top of a film of escaping air under the unit. It is virtually levitating.
They are also called air bladders, cushions, pillows, pods, and bearings. They consist of a multi-layer fabric plate and cushion, with an aluminum plate on top. Air fills the air caster bladder and escapes between the caster and the floor, allowing even multi-ton objects to float easily.
In many cases, the question is how to get the air casters under heavy equipment so they can be moved. Scott said, “Most of our heavy equipment uses a ‘slide mount caster’ that can be removed from the vehicles/units while the vehicle is in rest position. This is possible because our vehicles also have landing pads installed on them that are thicker than an un-inflated air caster. This allows the vehicle to sit raised off the ground enough, in a rested position, such that the ground and air caster have clearance.”
Customer applications can include what Scott said is: “a wide basket ranging from automated industrial equipment moves, creating operational efficiencies for modular structure manufacturers, to moving fuselages into workstations.” He reflected that the business was originally started by Boeing engineers who needed a way to move heavy equipment. “They started their own business with AeroGo to solve their problem.”
Scott said they currently have 12 engineers in the company, with 75 employees. He feels that they have the North American market cornered on the type of work they do. Although he mentioned a competitor on the rigging side, it has a different focus. He added that there is competition in Western Europe, which is under four players. He said one of the big things is that AeroGo has decades of experience executing on government contracts. “Nobody in our space has our depth of experience in understanding this language and can perform and execute on a contract requirement.” Plus, they can deliver services to privately-held businesses.
Finding good employees in this realm can be challenging, and AeroGo knows what they want. Scott said, “We’re looking for people with specific expertise, who are growth-minded, who bring innovative ideas for my team, who operate with integrity and collaboration, and who ultimately share core values and integrity.”
In 2023, AeroGo was awarded the “Great Place To Work® Certification™” for the second year in a row, defined as “the most definitive ‘employer-of-choice’ recognition companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience — specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace.”
One of AeroGo’s customers, Ray Rowland, VP of manufacturing with F-E-T Global Tubing, said that he has worked with AeroGo for many years on the movement of items 200,000+ pounds. He was referred to a competitor for a time but was disappointed in their performance.
He said, “Within 30 days, the (competitor product) ‘heavy duty’ casters failed and ripped off the backing plates. They said it was our fault. They sent the failed casters back to the Netherlands and had them rebuilt. They ripped off the backing plates again in less than 30 days. Again, they said it was our fault. Now, they won’t honor their warranty or even answer my phone calls.” Consequently, Rowland came back to AeroGo for service. He added, “In all my experience, I have never had a failure with the AeroGo air casters. The ‘standard’ AeroGo casters hold up MUCH better than the (competitor) ‘heavy duty’ casters. I would caution anyone considering using (the competitor) for their heavy load transport needs. You get what you pay for.”
Another customer, Randy Ussery, facilities/maintenance manager with Georgia Transformer, explained that he had used European-made air cushions in his facility with limited success. When he implemented AeroGo’s air caster solutions, he found they lasted up to four times longer and were of higher quality. He said AeroGo’s pricing is competitive, and ultimately, he saved money and reduced downtime.
As a company, AeroGo’s work is vast across many industries and in every heavy-lifting load situation. They have proven themselves to provide solutions that offer success for their customers. Company employees enjoy the diversity of the work and the challenges it provides. For the aerospace industry they offer quality solutions to the movement of large equipment, assembly lines, and even aircraft. Watch them in the future with more work in satellites, rockets, and space vehicles. The sky’s the limit with AeroGo.
AeroGo Family of Products
- Air Caster Rigging System
- Air Pallet
- Air Planks
- Air Transporter
- Air Cushion Vehicle
- Wheeled Vehicle
- Load Runner
- Roll Handler
- Embedded Air Caster Systems
- Customer Air Caster Systems
Contact Information
AeroGo, Inc.
1170 Andover Park W
Seattle, WA 98188
www.aerogo.com
Phone: (206) 558-0082
