Ground Support Worldwide - 18

COVER STORY

they make a difference.
"Our only asset is people," Kulzer says. "If it
was a machine, you would maintain it. People
are no different."
Throughout his career, Kulzer has strived to
keep his team happy and working at capacity.
Between Christmas parties, fun awards, contests, appreciation dinners and fishing trips,
he has sought ways to make his employees
feel valued.
"He likes to share his knowledge and experience. He doesn't withhold that," ELS executive
vice president Gary Zarycki says.
"He's the best team-builder I've ever met,"
he continues. "He takes an active interest in the
folks who work for him. He's interested in, not
only their professional development, but also
their personal development."
Zarycki points out that the time and attention Kulzer gives to his people and projects has
led to a lot of success.
"When he goes to visit a site, he's there for
the whole week. He's investing his time to build
a team, and that team supports him 100 percent," he says. "They're probably the most loyal
bunch you'd ever meet because he's done right
by them along the way."

Career Reflections
"I have been extremely blessed through my
career. It's been filled with excitement, adventure and, at times, some terror," Kulzer says.
He recalls the early portion of his career
when he was still getting established. He
attended a meeting of the SAE GSE group in

Photos courtesy of Dewey Kulzer

ment" in the industry, leadership fell by the
way side.
"The belief became that a good manager
could manage anything; it was all about the
numbers," he says. "We lost the concept of
leadership. People don't want managers, they
want leaders. They want someone that they
can believe in and follow.
"Your people are the ones that make it happen. When you forget about managing your
people and start leading them - realizing that
they are what will make the success happen then anything is possible."
Kulzer says if someone provides sincere
leadership, honesty and integrity, then management becomes easy.
"It has taken me a large part of my career
to move on from being a good manager to, I
hope, a good leader," Kulzer says. "My people
deserved good leadership, and I hope I have
provided that."
"I have learned that I must manage myself
before I would ever effectively lead and manage
others," Kulzer says.
Effectively leading others begins with efficient operations. To guarantee that, Kulzer says
to be mindful of the parameters of the project.
"The key is realizing that your budget needs
to be your business plan and something that
you utilize every month - not just once a year,"
Kulzer says. "Combined with a focused staff,
the rest is easy."
He explains the staff needs to be part of the
plan, the action and the results because people
want to believe they have a purpose and know

18 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

MAY 2019

Orlando, listening to the "old-timers of the
industry" share stories about drawing outlines
in chalk on the manufacturer's shop floor to
show what was required of container loaders
for the first wide-body aircraft.
"I asked my wife just after that meeting if she
thought I would ever be one of them," Kuzler
remembers. "Twenty-five years later, at another
meeting, again in MCO, she reminded me of the
question I had once posed to her and pointed
out that I now was drawing out new machines
on the white board at the manufacturers.'"
"He understands the industry probably better than anyone I've ever met," Zarycki says,
adding Kulzer really understands total cost of
ownership (TCO). "It's more about 'Hey, you
understand the industry. What do we need to
do to improve?'"
There have been challenges along the way,
however.
GSE can be considered a necessary evil, Kulzer notes. So, getting the resources to do his
job could lead to a lot of follow-up questions.
He says finance departments would argue for
repairs or less expensive solutions.
Getting recognition for his people was often
a challenge too.
"Often, the people directly involved with
the aircraft were recognized, but they forget
the people back at the shop that gave them the
tools to do it," Kulzer says. "They forget that
there had to be someone out there at 3 a.m. to
get the ice off, get the equipment running and
get the deicers ready. I believe that was probably
the largest frustration and challenge."

Ground Support Worldwide

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