Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson visits Thrush Aircraft

ALBANY — Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson and university first lady Val Peterson are spending a good portion of their summer in south Georgia, visiting Tech alumni, state Regents, business leaders, lawmakers and other friends of the institute.

Each year for the past eight summers, the Petersons dedicate time during the season to visit a different area of the state to meet with stakeholders. Through the past eight tours, the Petersons have traversed the entire state, covering more than 6,000 cumulative miles.

“This visit is part of our state tour,” Peterson said Wednesday as he visited Albany’s Thrush Aircraft plant. “I was raised in Texas and didn’t know much about Georgia when I got here. So we decided to start touring around the state to learn a little bit about Georgia and see what Georgia Tech could do to help the people of the state. We were so well-received, we decided to keep doing it. We started in Atlanta, and when we finish we’ll have visited 12 cities.”

Asked if he was surprised to find a world-class agriculture aircraft manufacturer in the heart of Southwest Georgia, Peterson grinned.

“Seven or eight years ago, I would have said ‘yes’ to that question, but we’ve been doing this every summer and I have ceased being surprised; it’s almost expected now,” he said. “Most people who are unfamiliar with the area wouldn’t think so. But you only have two manufacturers of crop dusters in the country (the other is Air Tractor of Plano, Texas), and one of them is here in town.

“I think that would surprise a lot of folks, but I’m prepared to be surprised now. I visited Optima Chemical in Douglas and a number of other companies, and it is great to see these companies succeed.”

Peterson said his mission at Thrush is simple: help the manufacturers streamline all aspects of design and function of the aircraft.

“It’s a great opportunity to see what we can do to help the state’s companies be successful,” he said. “Everybody knows the University of Georgia has ag experiment stations. They’ve got county agents whose purpose is to help farmers and ranchers. At Georgia Tech, we have 27 locations around the state staffed with people who work for us. Their purpose is to help the people of Georgia who have businesses involving manufacturing processes, companies like this.

“We’ve got classes and courses on Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, business plan development, just a whole host of things that we do. For a company like Thrush, we can help them find a person with a particular expertise.”

While Peterson said he was impressed with Thrush’s manufacturing process, he was more happy to see something else.

“I was most pleased with the fact they have four Georgia Tech engineering interns here,” he said.

Accord to Thrush’s website, the business is one of the ag industry’s greatest success stories, not to mention well-kept secrets. In June 2003 businessman Payne Hughes purchased the assets of the then-defunct Ayres Corporation. Under Hughes’ leadership, the company’s staff, capabilities and product line were revamped. Finally, the massive production facility re-emerged as Thrush Aircraft Inc.

Today, Thrush boasts a well-rounded management team with a wealth of experience in all areas of manufacturing. The company’s veteran labor force has aerial agriculture experience dating back to the mid-1960s, including all aspects of design, tooling production, planning, product manufacturing, product support and customer service.