TCOM is Soaring to New Heights
When you think of a large balloon that’s tethered to the ground, likely you first think of those giant character balloons moving through the streets in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
Those balloons certainly bring a smile to our faces and get us in the holiday spirit.
But, you may not know that there are other large, tethered balloons that exist that serve a very different purpose.
These balloons save lives.
They’re made here in North Carolina.
“These are very sophisticated balloons where they are produced to fly for a long period of time,” said Frank Feher, manufacturing manager at TCOM, L.P.
TCOM is the aerospace and defense company that produces the balloons.
The company’s manufacturing and testing center is in Elizabeth City.
“Ninety-five percent of our business is military-based,” said Feher. “We are a surveillance platform – cameras, radars, and sensors. We elevate those sensors to wherever the customer needs.”
The balloons are called Aerostats.
They look almost like a blimp.
But, unlike a blimp, the aerostat system is tethered to the ground.
It can reach heights up to 16,000 feet and can remain in the air up to a month.
It’s ideal for customers looking for aerial surveillance.
“Customers have stated that when the Aerostat is in the air, combat goes down because people see that the elevated sensors are there,” said Feher. “You’re being watched. So, it adds a lot of value to the war fighter.”
The Aerostats are used all over the world with deployments across all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense.
“Wherever there’s conflict, there’s a need for some of these platforms,” said Feher.
The Aerostats are the main product line for TCOM, but the company also produces airships and communication towers.
The company is a global leader in lighter-than-air (LTA) platforms.
“Just knowing what the product does and how it saves lives, it means a lot knowing that it came from this small town here in Elizabeth City,” said Jimmy McDougald, a plot cut operator at TCOM.
McDougald has been with the company for nearly 20 years.
“For many years, I was in field operations and we traveled all over the world,” he said. “That was really fun because you get to see different things.”
McDougald said staying with TCOM for almost two full decades has been an easy decision.
“The people here treat you good,” he said. “From management on down, they take care of you, bend over backwards sometimes for you.”
Allison Urove, a flex manufacturing production engineer with TCOM, said, “It honestly feels like a family.”
“I feel like I’m on a first-name basis with a lot of people and I just really enjoy the small feel and the family feel of TCOM,” she added.
There are about 165 employees at the Elizabeth City manufacturing center.
“Being able to see everybody grow, just them as operators and me as an engineer in this role, has been really cool,” said Urove.
TCOM employees work nine-hour shifts, which enables them to all take every other Friday off.
“This is our off Friday week, so we call it a TCOM Friday,” said Urove. “It’s a very nice to have a three-day weekend every other week.”
Feher said it is important to give TCOM’s employees that flexibility.
“A three-day weekend every other week is really nice and attractive,” he said.
That feeling of family only adds to the pride that employees take in their work.
“It was very surreal the first time I saw one of the Aerostats I had personally worked on in the hangar fully inflated,” said Urove.
TCOM is housed on a 225-acre site, the former Weeksville Naval Air Station.
Its hangar offers more than 300,000 square feet of production, lab, and test space.
“I don’t see a direct replacement today for what we provide,” said Feher. “There’s no drone in the world right now that can stay up for 30 days in one position like we provide.”
NC Chamber staff got the opportunity to tour the Elizabeth City facility in July.
“The state chamber has helped us get connected with other companies,” said Feher. “Whether it’s machine shop capabilities or vendors in general, having someone at your back door is a lot more convenient than across the country.”
As for the future, Feher said the company has a strong foothold.
“I think we’ll be here quite a while with this technology that we have,” he said.