U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym visited the Warsaw Municipal Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 23, as part of his “Make It, Grow It, Move It” tour of his 2nd Congressional District. Talking in the lounge inside Silveus Insurance’s hangar at the airport are from left: OrthoWorx President and CEO Bob Vitoux, Warsaw Municipal Airport Manager Nick King, Yakym and State Rep. Craig Snow. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Warsaw needs to “have a viable airport that … our industries can utilize (as well as) our individuals.”

OrthoWorx President and CEO Bob Vitoux made that comment during a conversation with U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym on a visit to Warsaw Municipal Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Yakym stopped at the airport as part of his “Make It, Grow It, Move It” tour throughout his 2nd Congressional District during the August recess from Congress.

Also present for the visit were State Rep. Craig Snow and Warsaw Municipal Airport Manager Nick King.

Vitoux and Yakym, who hopes to get his own pilot’s license soon and who serves as vice chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation, part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, asked King about airport projects.

King noted an airport power line lowering project, which airport leaders had first discussed completing back in 1986 shortly before he was born, had been delayed recently due to materials coming in.

“We were hoping to have that project done this summer, but because of using American steel, (which) it’s a federal project, that pushed (it back),” said King. “The towers had to be custom-built because they are different heights, and they don’t stock those heights in at their warehouses, so just getting the steel was about a 13-month project.”

Yakym asked if the Federal Aviation Administration was holding up the project any longer. King said he didn’t believe any more studies were required by the entity to complete the project.

King also talked about runway renovation at the airport, for which several million came in from the state.

He mentioned a new FAA rule, 163, had actually caused some issues with the project.

“(The rule) is basically the FAA is now saying any project that happens at the airport whether I pay for it with my money or if the state pays for it, even if (there are) no federal dollars involved in it, they have a say-so as to how we do the project,” said King.

“We were concerned because if we had to (follow) 163, with the FAA, I mean you’re talking anywhere from 12-15% in additional engineering and study fees in that project, and so we had not budgeted for (the extra costs),” said King.

He thanked Indiana Department of Transportation Aviation Manager Marty Blake and Aviation Planner Marcus Dial for their help in letting the federal government know “this is a state project (and) we are meeting or exceeding (its) standards.”

“We just got that confirmation (not long ago) that we didn’t have to do the 163,” said King. “But it’s those types of things where they’re just adding additional studies, additional time … to check the boxes back and forth.”

Vitoux reiterated to Yakym how much a good airport was needed for economic health locally. King vouched for that, mentioning planes had just come in for “one of (Zimmer Biomet’s) quarterly meetings.”

Business Retention

Talk continued in the orthopedic realm, with Yakym asking Vitoux about the industry.

Vitoux referenced the leadership change at ZB this week, with Bryan Hanson stepping down as president and CEO and ZB COO Ivan Tornos moving into his place.

“Our insight track would say, we’re not going to miss a beat with some of the momentum that’s been building,” said Vitoux.

Vitoux said he considered the industry “strong,” but cited a concern with DePuy Synthes that “the investment might be taking place more heavily in the Florida corridors versus here.”

“And … this in our minds is the epicenter,” he said.

“We’ve got the best workforce in the world when it comes to … being able to staff orthopedic companies,” said Yakym.

Leaders discussed the shift of people considering communities when hunting for a job instead of merely the job itself.

“Yesterday’s generation said, ‘I need a job,’ and they would move some place and take a job (and say) ‘Oh by the way, I need a place to live,'” said Yakym. “Today’s generation is very different. They think about it differently in terms of, ‘I need a place to live, where’s a great place to live? And oh, by the way, I need a job too.'”

Vitoux said OrthoWorx is “thinking of” an ad campaign mentioning strengths of the area. He cited the lakes and The Village at Winona being positives.

Related, Vitoux thanked government leaders for bringing the $30 million from the state to OrthoWorx for orthopedic retention.

“And I think that the $30 million has gotten people’s attention … but it’s seed money,” said Vitoux. “Our goal is to multiply (it).”

FAA Reauthorization

Yakym also mentioned the House’s passing of the FAA Reauthorization bill, which includes “a focus on general aviation, recognizing the reality that a lot of our airports around the country are general aviation airports. They’re municipal airports, they’re not these large O’Hares or Atlantas.”

“Our communities depend on these regional airports,” he said. “We’ve increased the amount of (Airport Improvement Program) funding … (but (we’re) also … making sure that we’re able to drive more … dollars to our municipal airports.”

Yakym also said the House’s FAA Reauthorization bill has given “more say into how (airports’) AIP money is used … because we think that local control over where dollars are spent and then local influence is much better than the federal government dictating to you how, where and when you can do your job.”

The Senate now needs to work on its own version of the reauthorization.

“There’s a lot of arguing on their committee to put that through, so they have not yet passed the FAA Reauthorization Act. I’m hopeful that they’ll do that soon,” said Yakym.