Arnold Sue is the CEO and co-owner of ASAK Solutions, LLC., a Ground Handling Company at JFK Airport. Arnold has worked at JFK Airport since 2007 for some of the largest Ground Handling companies. Arnold was born and raised in Queens, New York, where he attended Aviation High School, earning his FAA Aircraft Maintenance license. Arnold is also a member of the New York Air National Guard, where he holds the rank of a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer.
1. What was the driving force behind leaving a 13-year career to start your own ground services company?
Quality. Working for numerous ground handlers in my career has taught me the importance of Quality on many levels. Quality of life at work for the employees and management staff has a direct impact on the quality of service being provided to the customer. Starting as a ramp agent and progressing through the various positions in the industry has allowed me to experience the lack of quality in the industry. I have long believed that if you look good, you feel great, you perform excellent. ASAK will strive to provide a superior quality of life for our staff and premier quality service for our customers.
2Tell us about your journey from military life to civilian life, and
how your military background helps at the airport.
My journey in both the airport and the military started within days of each other. Immediately preceding my 18th birthday, I enlisted in the U.S. Airforce and secured my first job in the airport as a Ramp Agent. My fascination with the aviation industry really began while attending Aviation High School, where I earned my Aviation Maintenance Certifications. The early discipline from this rigorous curriculum led me to the Air National Guard. In the Air Force, you live by your core values, Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do. This directly affected and positively impacted my civilian life. Excelling through the ranks into a Senior NCO position has molded me to be in the position I am in today. These core values will help me navigate ASAK through the competitive industry. Our slogan says it all – “One Objective. Yours.”
3 What are you doing to meet all of the needs and expectations of both your new staff and clients?
Alminko Kojic (Vice President and Co-owner) and I have known each other for many years before working in JFK. Throughout our journey, helping our past employers grow their companies has taught us how to presently manage and run ASAK. The plethora of knowledge gained while personally traveling across the country planning station start-ups, organizing safety audits, and partaking in customer-based training seminars has helped us understand what we need to offer the industry. Most of our staff have known us from our past jobs or have come to ASAK with airport experience. ASAK believes in providing our staff with all the necessary tools to succeed and maintaining a high level of employee morale, as it has a direct effect on workplace productivity. Communication with our clients is the most integral part of our successful relationships. Clients often deliver positive criticism about the amount of communication that we, as ASAK, foster. The needs of our customers are always met because we provide clients with realistic expectations and factual and real-time feedback. As always, Alminko and I can be contacted directly at any time.
4 How have ASAK Solutions positioned itself to support and even compete with the bigger companies that operate at JFK Airport?
ASAK has been able to compete thus far with the other ground handlers through efficiency. Being owner-operated, Alminko and I have been out working in the field with our staff since day one despite the danger the pandemic has posed. We took the early warning signs combined with keeping our employees’ health as a top priority into consideration and prepared for the worse. Providing PPE and surpassing the local requirements is what kept ASAK in full operation, while other ground handlers had shortfalls. However, we personally made phone calls to fellow operators to offer ASAK’s assistance. We were able to pitch in and grow our local relationships stronger. There should be a common goal within the airport community, no matter what company, to receive/depart aircraft, and ASAK will contribute to accomplishing that goal by any means.
5 Being new to entrepreneurship, what interested you about the process of starting a business, and what are you most proud of?
The most impressive part of this all is seeing it all come together. Designing logos to create a brand, utilizing unique equipment colors to stand out, innovative fabrication of equipment, acquiring GSE, contracts, procurement, and creating organizational departments were some of the most exciting processes thus far. The thought of just two longtime friends, who once worked together as just Ramp Agents, can combine our strengths, finances, and wealth of experience to focus on now what is our OWN story. This is what ASAK Solutions is all about, inspiration and dedication.
