"Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award" to Honor Aircraft Towing Systems World Wide LLC on March 12

Edmond, OK, March 03, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Aircraft Towing Systems World Wide LLC (ATS) has transformed from an inventor’s dream into an exciting ongoing creative venture with Oklahoma State University’s New Product Development Center (NPDC).

The NPDC ATS team’s innovative research, development and design for ATS’ revolutionary aircraft transportation system is resulting in the construction of a prototype to move aircraft to and from airport taxiways and gates without the use of a jet’s main engines.

Led by OSU’s NPDC Director Robert Taylor, Ph.D., the center began working on ATS in November 2016 and is developing a prototype testing system. The OSU team also nominated ATS for a special honor and it will be recognized with an Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s “Business Partnership Excellence Award” at 11 a.m. on March 12 at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK.

The award is designed to highlight successful partnerships and to further cultivate the higher learning environment through the Oklahoma State Regent’s Economic Development Grants. Taylor said he is grateful to the state regents for supporting OSU’s business partnerships.

“The unique ATS concept originated with Polish businessman and entrepreneur, Stan Malicki, along with the help of his hand-picked international engineers,” Taylor said.

He said Malicki likes Oklahoma’s pro-business environment and friendly workforce and is now the company’s president. Incorporated in Oklahoma in 2016, ATS is an Oklahoma and internationally based company. ATS CEO/Vice President Vince Howie is a partial owner of the company and meets weekly with the NPDC ATS team.

“When we started in 2016, we had a package and pretty much a blank slate before we created a team out of converged departments, professors and mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and computer engineering undergraduate and graduate students, including five Ph.Ds.,” Taylor said. “ATS provides our students with real world experience and that’s what our center is wrapped around – the commercialization of new product development and contributing to economic development in Oklahoma.”

ATS held a groundbreaking celebration at the Ardmore Industrial Airpark in November 2019 and installation of the underground channel for ATS’ electric-powered railway system should be complete by this summer.

“I suspect there are small bits and pieces we’ll need to adjust, which is common when you introduce a prototype and test the system, but we’re excited,” Taylor said. “Some of ATS’ benefits will be a reduction of fuel emissions, heightened efficiency and an increase in safety because ATS will be run by ground control, so there should few if any aircraft ground accidents. Pilots can land on a runway, move onto the taxiway and align the aircraft’s nose wheel into an ATS pull car.

“Once the nose wheel is secured, the pilot can turn off the main engines and ATS safely moves the aircraft using its channel system to the appropriate gate. The reverse process is used for takeoffs. Pilots will then turn on their engines, drive off the pull car and move into position to takeoff.”

Howie, former director of aerospace and defense for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, said the OSU NPDC team is doing great work that may revolutionize the way airports run in the future.

“ATS is fully automated, powered by an electric motor and moves aircraft autonomously using a rail system located in a channel just below the surface of an airport’s taxiways and gates,” Howie said. “ATS will negate the need for tug-and-cart equipment and associated personnel. We foresee increased operational efficiencies, including increasing the speed of airport-gate turnover, as well as environmental and safety benefits.”

He said ATS has the potential to provide solutions to the challenges of wasted aircraft fuel because fuel will be saved when the main engine is shutoff.

“We believe ATS will reduce harmful fuel emissions, decrease noise around airports and potentially extend jet-engine life, all while reducing aircraft collisions,” Howie said. “This will create an overall safer and more efficient takeoff and landing system.”

He said ATS has been pleased with the OSU NPDC team’s performance.

“The kind of work they do has really been outstanding, so we’re really thrilled,” Howie said. “It has been a marvelous relationship. People are excited to see the prototype operational.

“We believe there’s a super bright future for this opportunity, not just for OSU, but because we believe it is the next phase of automation for airports worldwide.”

For more information about ATS and 300 DPI photos, click https://www.aircrafttowingsystems.com or contact Kevan Goff-Parker
Director of Corporate Communications, ATS World Wide LLC
405.514.3972

Cutline for Photo: Aircraft Towing Systems World Wide LLC CEO/Vice President Vince Howie stands before a Boeing 727 at Ardmore Industrial Airpark in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The plane will be used to test and demonstrate how ATS moves aircraft autonomously using a rail system located in a channel just below the surface of select portions of an airport’s taxiways and gates.