J.A. Air Center, on Aurora Municipal Airport in Sugar Grove, Ill., opened its doors in 1965. The company was originally based on Joliet Municipal Airport and was known as Joliet Aviation Electronics.“Shortly after start-up the name was changed to Joliet Avionics to reflect the newly emerging avionics industry,” Brad Zeman, the company’s president, told AIN. The company relocated from Joliet to DuPage County Airport (DPA) in 1975 and added engine and airframe maintenance to its growing avionics business. “Back then, and for about 20 years, Joliet Avionics was the number-one King Radio dealer in the world,” he said.
“I joined the company in 1986 as an avionics salesman about the time the company changed its name to J.A. Air Center to reflect its expansion into the FBO business. It quickly became a favorite for corporate fliers traveling to the Chicago area,” he said. “In 1990 I was promoted to vice president of sales and that same year the company sold the FBO fueling rights to the DuPage Airport Authority. At that point J.A. got out of the FBO business and concentrated on a continuously growing maintenance and avionics business,” Zeman said.
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