Jun. 25—GRAND FORKS — A new unmanned aircraft systems manufacturer seeking to tailor its aircraft to customers' preferences has launched in Grand Forks.
The company — which will be headquartered in the city-owned HIVE building downtown — is the product of one of the industry's largest networking events.
Chief Financial Officer Ned Tabat and CEO Mike Furmanski formed Meadowlark Aircraft Company after meeting at last year's UAS summit, hosted at the Alerus Center.
Tabat said his experience in developing avionics — the electronic systems used on aircraft — pairs naturally with Furmanski's capacity for aircraft design. He said combining his talents with Furmanski's will help fill a void in the UAS sector: the ability to customize aircraft.
"Many of the operating companies I've talked to are looking for an aircraft that doesn't yet exist," Tabat said. "The customers want an aircraft that is capable of certain performance, and when they go to the marketplace, they have to subjugate their requirements to what is available. Part of our vision is to build a manufacturing system flexible enough to customize the aircraft to the needs and mission of the customer."
Tabat also said Grand Forks' status as a hub for UAS innovation drew them to establish headquarters at the HIVE.
"Grand Forks is one of the premier hubs for UAS in the United States," Tabat said. "There is a strong confluence of academia, the Department of Defense and industry growth. It's nice to have others that are active in this area to communicate with. We hope to bring others to Grand Forks as well. We're actively recruiting subsystem manufacturers to join us."
The potential to manufacture unmanned aircraft in Grand Forks excites Tabat.
"So far, there hasn't been much by way of aircraft manufacturing here," he said. "That's the gap we're looking to fill — to build the aircraft here, and then try to incorporate as many components and subsystems as we can. Either by developing them organically — which for some we have — and also through partnerships with other manufacturers."
Keith Lund, CEO of the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation, said the creation of Meadowlark is a testament to the ability of the annual UAS summit to attract developers to Grand Forks.
"This is just a great example of how that showcase leveraged the attraction of a new company to Grand Forks," he said. "We're really proud of the fact that a new company has joined our UAS ecosystem."
Bill Adams, UAS development officer at the EDC, said the region's UAS sector is keen to welcome Meadowlark. He said several industry professionals ranging from academia to the private sector scheduled meetings with Meadowlark to learn more about the company.
"One of the things that really helped seal the deal was our interconnected people giving up their time, whether they were competitors or within the industry ecosystem," Adams said.
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