Aerospace Industry Expanding in Upstate

By Mike Switzer

Published November 21, 2017 at 5:24 AM EST

Our next guest has appeared on our show a few times over the last decade because he continues to make his presence known in our state's aerospace industry, well before Boeing came to South Carolina. He has been busy buying, selling and growing companies since 1997 and his latest move is into the global air cargo industry.

Mike Switzer interviews Steve Townes, CEO and founder of Ranger Aerospace in Greenville, SC, and his newest job title: chair of the board at ACL Airshop.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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