ATS World Wide is beginning construction on the prototype for a new innovative system to move aircraft around airports. Representatives from the Department of Commerce and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission and local elected officials were on hand for the groundbreaking.
ATS World Wide, in conjunction with Oklahoma State University, will install the prototype at the Ardmore Municipal Airport allowing companies to view the system in an operational setting.
“ATS is a revolutionary system that takes the aircraft from the runway to the gate and back to the runway without using the aircraft jet engines. It improves safety, saves fuel, increases engine life, reduces harmful emissions, and lowers noise around airports,” Stan Malicki, ATS President.
ATS was the brainchild of Stan Malicki, a Polish businessman who at the age of 17 went over the Berlin Wall in 1977 to escape communism. Mr Malicki’s best friend was a 747 pilot that was always complaining about wasting so much fuel during taxi. He gave that task to his former aerospace engineers and they conceived what is now ATS. Stan patented the idea and came to the U.S. to make the ATS dream come true. Over the past three years, Oklahoma State University has completed the engineering design and development work which has resulted in the prototype at Ardmore.
The introduction of the new towing system will address many of the issues plaguing commercial aircraft operations at airports including a reduction in fuel consumption, decrease in harmful emissions, decrease in noise and reduction in aircraft collisions.
The aerospace sector is the second largest industry concentration in Oklahoma, and the selection of the Ardmore Municipal Airport for the prototype is another opportunity to continue that growth. The partnership between Oklahoma State University, ATS World Wide and Ardmore will allow the company to showcase the product in real airport conditions. The presence of other aerospace assets at the airport further enhances this opportunity.
“Ardmore is pleased to welcome ATS World Wide to the Ardmore Airpark and looks forward to partnering with them to showcase this innovative technology. Companies such as ATS World Wide provide additional opportunities for Oklahoma to be recognized in the aerospace sector,” states Mita Bates, President of the Ardmore Development Authority.
