EVERETT — Bucher Aerospace is putting a new face on a tried and true product.
“Bucher has always been known for aerospace,” said Martin Burgisser, Bucher’s chief executive officer. But “during the down times, we always think we should diversify.”
Twenty years ago, Bucher Aerospace got its start in Everett. The Swiss-based company opened up shop down Airport Road from the Boeing Co.’s massive jet factory with plans of building food and beverage carts and galleys for aircraft. The company focused largely on aluminum-based products for single-aisle jets.
But the products that brought Bucher here are no longer the company’s bread-and-butter items. With airlines struggling, business at Bucher has been affected, Burgisser said.
“It’s slow,” he said. “And the (Boeing Machinists) strike doesn’t help.”
Going forward, the company will focus on in-flight entertainment products and seating pods, such as the business-class version it makes for Singapore Airlines’ A380.
“We design and manufacture those here,” Burgisser said.
Most airlines no longer have the cash to invest in new food carts like Bucher’s. Although Burgisser insists the company’s carts still offer the best bang for the buck, he describes the product as more of a long-term investment.
To offer a lower cost product that airlines could afford more readily, Bucher Aerospace would need to source its carts overseas.
“We’re just not going to do it,” Burgisser said.
The cart holds significance for Bucher Aerospace: It was designed in 1979 by the son of the company’s founder. Heinrich Bucher started the company in 1953 in Switzerland, where another Bucher site still operates.
“We just don’t want to drop that cart,” Burgisser said.
In Everett, Bucher will continue making its cart but will market the product to a different consumer: high-end shoppers such as aviation enthusiasts, furniture buffs and wine aficionados. Although still the basic design as Bucher’s original aircraft food cart, the “AL.Cart” won’t be certified for use in airplanes. The new product line provides Bucher Aerospace more stability during a down aerospace cycle.
The durable cart can serve a variety of purposes, Burgisser said. The AL.Carts can be used as wine racks, organizers in offices and homes or as a transporter of food, as originally intended. Burgisser envisions the carts in “high roller” settings like casinos or wine bars.
Or “it’s basically nice furniture,” Burgisser said.
Consumers can design and order their AL.Carts online, picking one of 10 basic colors. Buyers select whether their cart comes with brakes or a top handle. And they pick the cart’s interior: wine racks, trays or drawers.
The basic cart — without brakes, handles or interior compartments — sells for $822. A fully stocked cart, equipped with seven wine racks, sells for $1,455.
Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
Bucher Aerospace Corp.
11400 Airport Road, Everett
Employees: 40
Products: food carts, galleys and in-flight entertainment deployment systems for airplanes; high-end carts for consumers.
Web site: www.bucheraero.com
AL.CARTS site: www.alcarts.com
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