By Lisa Gordon | October 16, 2017 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 24 seconds.
Visitors to Gulfstream’s G500 aircraft at the NBAA 2017 static display last week were dazzled by MSB Design’s new up-lit crystal glassware holder in the galley of the new business jet.
MSB–with offices in Montreal, Savannah, Ga., and Wichita, Kan.–designed the new stowage system as a standard line-fit option on the Gulfstream G500 and G600. Constructed of aerospace-grade polycarbonate material and plated components, the new racks also feature built-in low voltage LED up-lighting.
Shannon Gill, director of business development at MSB, said the glassracks were not the only thing the company was showcasing at NBAA 2017.
In an effort to make their custom-crafted adjustable tables even more useful in a business jet, MSB spearheaded a project that has resulted in the integration of wireless charging units into their tabletops.
When an electronic device is placed on a marked position–it could be something as unobtrusive as a certain knot in the lacquered wood–it begins to charge.
While the technology previously existed in homes, Gill said to her knowledge it’s the first application in business jets.
“Basically, you have to have a marker to indicate where the charger is,” she explained. “So we would embed that in the tabletop or the side ledge, for example. We took our expertise in the U.K. office in [parent company] Sogeclair and let them investigate the certification of this technology. So the idea of putting it into our tables was our project. We started on that discussion months ago, and we are really excited about it.”
To facilitate onboard group meetings while conserving tabletop space, MSB has also incorporated a lightweight Rosen Aviation monitor into the end of their tabletops. This product was also on display at NBAA.
Gill said MSB is focusing on incorporating other technologies into their existing products to make them even more useful and functional.
“We’re making use of any little pockets of space by incorporating mechanisms to use that space, [in a place] that otherwise may not be accessible,” she said.
The company works with OEMs such as Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream.
With 300 production and engineering staff, the Montreal location focuses on supporting Canadian and European customers. The new Savannah office, with nine people, is starting off by producing china crystal inserts for U.S. customers, and assembling tables and other mechanisms. A small engineering office has also opened in Wichita, Kan.
On Sept. 1, MSB welcomed Javier Fernandez as its new vice-president of North American business. He oversees the four companies which make up the MSB Group in North America: Montreal-based MSB Ressources Globales, the engineering contract company which provides specialist workers and long-term contract packages for the aerospace industry; MSB Design, the customized precision engineering business; and the U.S. subsidiaries, including MSB Aerospace in Savannah, and MSB Global Resources in Wichita, which also supplies contracted engineers.
