Ground Support Worldwide - 16

COVER STORY

anything about equipment. I had worked my
way through high school as an auto mechanic,"
Kulzer recalls. "I said I did and was immediately sent to Cleveland to fix their problems
with a deicer. Then I was sent to the next problem station and the next. I never returned to
the MSP station and was suddenly the manager
of GSE."
The new position required a relocation to
Fort Wayne, Ind., where he built a GSE department from a group consisting of just himself
to a core team of nine over the next four years.
He connected with people he knew at Eastern
Airlines and eventually met with their manager
of GSE in MIA, Jack Wyle. Wyle gave Kulzer
two weeks of his time, showing how a GSE
department should be structured.
"Over the next two years, I must have spent
six weeks with him and his department, learning the ropes," Kulzer says.
Kulzer joined Aircal in 1985 as GSE supervisor at Mineta International Airport (SJC) in
San Jose, Calif. He was in charge of Aircal's
GSE at SJC and all stations to the north.
"I opened [Anchorage International Airport]
ANC for them in 1987 - little realizing how
large a part of my life Alaska would later be,"
Kulzer says.
When American Airlines acquired Aircal
in 1988, Kulzer was relocated to the airline's
headquarters at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
(DFW) to serve as a GSE analyst. He later
became a GSE engineer before being promoted
to manager of GSE for American's worldwide
operation in 1990.
In 2000, Kulzer opened a specialty department for American Airlines called "GSE Technical Support" to develop electric and other
alternative fuel GSE aimed at supporting environmentally sensitive locations like California.
"Shorty after Sept. 11, 2001, my complete
small group was part of the 20,000 employees
laid off by AA," Kulzer says, reflecting on a
difficult time for the aviation industry.
He spent the next year performing consulting work for the Environmental Protection Association (EPA) and Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) before joining Elite Line
Services (ELS) in October 2002.
"I've had a wife who's foolish enough to
follow me," Kulzer says with a smile. "And it's
been an endless adventure. And I've been very
fortunate because the adventures have been so
unique."

16 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

ELS
Kulzer began his tenure at Daifuku Elite Line
Services as the site manager for Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport (SEA), overseeing the airport's terminal expansion program, known as
STEP. A year later, he was promoted to East
regional manager.
In August of 2004, ELS accepted a contract
with Alaska Airlines to build a GSE department, as well as maintain and manage the airline's GSE maintenance across all its stations.
"I was promoted to project director and
agreed to relocate to ANC to build the program
for 21 locations in Alaska, SEA, PDX, all of
their lower 48 sites and Mexico," Kulzer recalls.
For the first four years of the five-year contract, Kulzer acted as Alaska's GSE manager,
reporting to an Alaska Airlines' director.
"In 2006, GSE maintenance support for
USAir at [Ronald Regan Washington National
Airport] DCA was added to my division, followed by maintenance support for baggage/
jetbridge at the international terminal at [San
Francisco International Airport] SFO, and GSE
maintenance support for [Northwest Airlines]
NWA in SEA in 2008. I was then promoted to
regional director.
"In 2010, at the end of the five years, I relocated back to Texas, managing the operations
from there."
In 2014, Kulzer began GSE support for
Dayton International Airport (DAY). What's
more, Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) for
Delta Airlines was added along with RaleighDurham International Airport (RDU) for
American Airlines.
Finally, in 2016, he moved into the role of
senior operations director for GSE at Elite Line
Services.
"This is where I will be finishing out my
career," Kulzer says.

Projects and Milestones
While relocating his family frequently came
with challenges, Kulzer found himself working
on intriguing projects.
While with American Airlines, Kulzer
opened a station at London Heathrow Airport
(LHR) and also converted the Eastern Airlines
stations in the Caribbean and South America
to American Airlines.
"When AA purchased the London routes
from TWA, I was the only GSE person sent to
LHR to make it happen," Kulzer recalls. "I had

MAY 2019

to learn to think like the British mechanics. I
had to get them to believe in me."
He was able to overcome cultural challenges
and got his British counterparts to buy-in to
the plan. And he convinced their families to
go along with it too.
"It was just learning. It was the first time I
had been in an international situation, learning
how to win an international team," Kulzer says.
The GSE expert was a part of large-scale
projects domestically as well.
Kulzer was instrumental in developing an
eGSE program for American Airlines that
won the American Lung Association's Breath
of Life Award. It was also recognized by the
Department of Energy for alternative fuel
development.
Kulzer is most proud of the work he has
done on behalf of ELS for Alaska Airlines.
"How often do you get the opportunity to
take your experience and build a complete GSE
program for a major carrier? I had that with
Alaska Airlines," Kulzer says. "The partnership

FROM THE ARCHIVES
October 2007

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