History of US Cargo Systems
US Cargo Systems has been in business since the 1940’s under prior ownership and company names, developing a legacy of innovation.
Brooks & Perkins, Inc. (B&P) was founded in 1948 by two entrepreneurs in Michigan. B&P primarily specialized in the fabrication of magnesium parts.
B&P became an industry leader in the production of specialized magnesium parts, supplying mill rolled raw material as well as formed and fabricated components. After World War II, B&P supplied the major magnesium components for the B-36, B-47, and B-52 aircrafts.
The Department of Defense partnered with B&P to develop an aerial delivery system for Military Transport Aircraft. Out of this effort came the first mass produced cargo planes able to unload during flight. B&P innovators developed the rails and lock release mechanisms as well as a standard aerial delivery pallet design (463L) still used throughout the world today.
The Department of Energy also partnered with B&P to develop a nuclear shielding product allowing nuclear fuel rods to be stored together without reacting. The product which emerged and was patented by B&P was Boral. Fuel storage casks were developed using hydro formed and welded tubes containing Boral.
In the 1960’s B&P turned their focus to the development of aircraft systems. Working with the US Government, B&P introduced equipment and associated standards for Military Logistics Transport and Aerial Delivery Systems.
The launch platform for this technology was the C-130.
In conjunction with the Air Force, B&P developed the next generation cargo system for the C-130. The ‘DASH 4A’ system was designed to allow all modes of delivery, and reconfiguration took only ten minutes, compared to four hours for previous systems.
In 1974, B&P purchased Brownline Air Cargo Equipment operations from Tridair Industries. Similar to B&P, Brownline began in the 1940’s making straps, nets, fittings, and pallets before expanding into Aircraft Cargo Systems, obtaining FAA certifications for various aircraft platforms.
AAR Corporation purchased Brooks & Perkins on August 11, 1981. The division name evolved overtime before finally becoming ‘AAR Cargo Systems’. New product development concentrated primarily on commercial cargo systems.
Three market segments successfully targeted were: Passenger to Freighter Conversions, Package Carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.), and OEMs (Boeing, Airbus, McDonnell Douglas).
1984 – AAR Expands Company Presence in the Aircraft Industry
A significant number of full air cargo systems were granted FAA-approved STCs or approval under OEM TCs as a result of this effort. AAR Cargo Systems became the house supplier for McDonnell Douglas MD-11’s with every freighter coming off the production line in Long Beach having an AAR designed and built cargo system.
In 2004, AAR Cargo Systems was selected to develop the cargo handling system for the C-2 aircraft, the Japanese Defense Agency’s next-generation military aircraft.
In 2005, AAR Cargo Systems was awarded the cargo handling and aerial delivery system for the Airbus A400M.
AAR Corporation acquired Telair International, a German-based cargo handling system manufacturer, in 2011. Much larger than the US Cargo System division, Telair had significant share in the OEM Main Deck and Lower Deck commercial cargo market, their primary customers being Boeing and Airbus.
In March of 2015, AAR bundled AAR Cargo Systems and Telair International together as the ‘Telair Cargo Group’ and sold them to TransDigm Group Inc. TransDigm kept these two as independent companies but utilized the ‘Telair’ name within both. Thus, the emergence of ‘Telair US LLC’ who does business as ‘US Cargo Systems’.