Greene County air hose manufactors supplying Dallas airport

Twist Inc.

Founded: Early 1970s

Focus: Metal fabricating and finishing

Employees: 250-260

Locations: Seven plants in Xenia and Jamestown, some 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space

JAMESTOWN — After more than a decade of work, two Greene County inventors — an airline pilot and a former sheet-metal worker — have hit pay dirt. They expect more good things to come.

JBT AeroTech, of Ogden, Utah, has ordered 45 Boom Air Hose Management System units to be produced by Jamestown and Xenia manufacturer Twist Inc. American Airlines will use the units at 45 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminals, nearly half of that airport’s terminals, said Don Maynard, Twist project manager.

It’s the first big order for the hose system, the invention of Harry “Boomer” Bombardi, 55, a Delta airline pilot, and Dan Lyons, 66, a retired Sugarcreek Twp. resident. The contract is worth $2.2 million and will enable Twist to recall six to 12 laid-off workers, Maynard said.

With that many of the units being deployed at one of the nation’s busiest airports, Twist expects more orders to come in. Twist is getting invitations to bid on projects in Panama, Libya and Savannah, Ga.

“This will be a huge stage,” Maynard said.

The “Boom-Air” hose system sends conditioned air — cool or warm, depending on the season — to airplanes parked at terminals. What’s more, the system has a metal housing that extends, contracts and protects the 135-foot hose, extending its life span. The return on investment for the units is nine months, Twist said.

Bombardi and Lyons have worked on the system since the summer of 1999. After an early deal to make the units fell through after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the two took the idea to Twist. At the time, the pair didn’t even have a working prototype, they said.

“They worked strictly off the drawings,” Lyons said of Twist.

Delta gave Bombardi permission to market the product. When American Airlines specified the units into its budgets in recent years, they knew they were “close,” Bombardi said.

Twist believes the Dallas-Fort Worth order will lead to more.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.