WEEKSVILLE — In the 17 years that Jerry Hall has worked for TCOM, he hasn't seen the pace of production that the company is experiencing now.

The senior production engineer said business has been steadily increasing at the Weeksville plant since the company began producing the 17-meter aerostat about three years ago.

Staff photo by Justin Falls (ENLARGE)

COM President and CEO David Barlow talks to employees during a ceremony celebrating completion of the company's 100th 17-meter aerostat, at the TCOM hangar, Wednesday.

"...We have production contracts over several years as opposed to the feast or famine of build one or two and then it's going to go down," Hall said. "Yes, the attitude and mood are up."

And like the airships they produce, that pace is going up too, according to TCOM officials.

On Wednesday, the company celebrated the production of its 100th 17-meter aerostat, a device that, while tethered to the ground, floats aloft as a surveillance or communications platform. The aerostats are currently being used extensively in Iraq for base security by the U.S. Army.

"In TCOM's 36 years, I don't think we've produced 100 of anything except key chains," said the company's president and CEO, David Barlow. "We've always viewed ourselves as a customized builder of specialized products."

But that view changed with the recent U.S. Army contracts for 74-meter aerostats to be used for surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance missions, he said.

"The production rate for the 74-meter systems as they're currently envisioned from the U.S. Army will last us for about the next 10 years. Give us 10 years of good solid business base," Barlow said.

In fact, until now the company hasn't had more than two-year contracts to keep workers busy, which has resulted in recurring layoffs.

"No pun intended," Barlow said pointing to an aerostat, "You see this thing? We have a very up and down business."

The firm's business began to pick up in 2005 and 2006 when the Army first deployed the aerostat systems. Barlow said it was the first time the Department of Defense made significant purchases from TCOM.

"This is the first time in my 18 years' experience where we have a very, what should be, a very stable base," he said.

TCOM employed 47 workers in January of 2007. By the end of this year, that number will more than double to 100.

In addition to the 74 and 17 systems, the company builds 32-meter, 38-meter and 71-meter aerostats, said Jodi Sokol, a director of business development with the company.

While production is quickening, so is the impact on the U.S. military. Barlow said the military is grateful for the technology, as one member of the U.S. Marines expressed to a TCOM employee recently.

"He's got his young daughter with (him) and just relates to (the employee) how in his mind it was that aerostat that allowed him to get home to his daughter," Barlow said.

Barlow also related the effect that aerostats have on civilians in Iraq.

"There are Iraqi moms that only let their kids go out and play when they see the aerostats flying because they know that it's going to be safe," he said.

Sokol said the 17-meter unit has been sold to countries outside the U.S., including the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Jordan and Israel. While it was first developed for commercial use, the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan in 2001 created new uses. The Army has used them even more substantially in Iraq, Sokol said.

Jerry Hall said the additional production demand has attracted former long-time employees as well as new workers. He credits the company's upper management for supporting the employees in difficult times, such as when TCOM's first hangar burned down about 15 years ago. He said they are committed to avoiding layoffs.

TCOM's growing production schedule is also enabling more progressive thinking and innovation.

"Because of the 17-meter (system) we are beginning to think more design for production as opposed to we're only going to build one or a few... It forces us to think, in the vernacular of the day, outside the box," he said. "I am finding that refreshing."

Albemarle Economic Development Commission Director Wayne Harris said the expansion of TCOM is "tremendous" for the area. He said manufacturing companies offer high wages. TCOM's newest batch of employees will average around $46,000 in annual pay, he said

"In addition, the tremendous investment in the plant adds to the county tax base," Harris said.