The CEO told the Dayton Daily News last year she moved her family to Dayton from New York so that its headquarters would be in the “birthplace of aviation.”
“We are carrying out the legacy the Wright Brothers began here in 1903,” she said in July 2022.
In an interview Thursday, Flippo said Dayton remains home for her business and her family. She said the headquarters office needed to be closer to Silicon Valley and venture capitalists — deep-pocketed investors nearly any tech-oriented start-up will need to establish itself.
“We still have our office in Dayton,” Flippo said. “We just made our headquarters in Denver, so we have another office there. We also opened an office in Madrid. We’re starting to do a lot more international work.”
Drone Express got its start locally in the Firefly building downtown.
“Dayton will always be our home,” she added. “We just needed another presence.”
Recently, the company said it raised $9.9 million from investors, and it is embarking on a fresh fundraising round. “This milestone marks a crucial step in expanding our operations and driving innovation in the growing retail logistics sector,” the company said in an email.
The new round is primarily for existing investors — entities such as Winsupply, a Moraine-based construction and residential products wholesaler.
Drone Express says it is also preparing to unveil a major partnership in coming weeks. Flippo declined to identify the partner but said an announcement was not far off.
Credit: FILE
Credit: FILE
“It’s a huge international project,” Flippo said. “It’s in the Middle East.”
Aviation regulations are different outside the U.S., but that gives Drone Express a certain freedom. “We’re going to be able to really demonstrate what the drone can do and really grow. It’s a huge company. It’s a big deal. We beat out all the other drone companies for it.”
Locally, Drone Express began testing drone-flown deliveries from the Kroger Marketplace in Centerville in 2021. Those flights were controlled by licensed Drone Express pilots from an on-site trailer with off-site monitoring.
Flippo also said Thursday the business moved its Monroe manufacturing operation to downtown Dayton. There are about 20 people overall in the company, with about nine people in Dayton.
Meanwhile, as in any developing market, regulatory hurdles remain. The Drone Express team is working towards a Part 135 certification through the Federal Aviation Administration, positioning it to conduct flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
Flippo said the hope is to have that by year’s end.
And Drone Express is also pursuing an “airworthiness certificate.” The company has had to rebuild its drone repeatedly under the FAA’s watchful eye for several years.
Through it all, Flippo is confident that drones have a clear place in retail logistics. Americans can’t keep adding delivery cars and trucks to the roads, she said.
“Everyone wants the drones,” she said. “They know it’s coming.”
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