AirTech: Specializing in Outsourcing
AirTech Scuba Services is a Raleigh, North Carolina, business that specializes in doing equipment service and maintenance for professional dive stores. They have been recognized as an authorized service center by nearly every major manufacturer and, as such, can perform warranty work. AirTech has a two-tiered price structure:
- There are regular retail rates for their local, walk-in customers ( is affiliated with full-service dive center Gypsy Divers).
- Then there are the wholesale rates charges other dive stores, which enable these stores to charge their customers the prevailing market rate for service, cover the cost of shipping and still make a profit.
We spoke with AirTech owner Dave Farrar, asking him what it is that provides for its dive store customers.
“Well, the first thing we provide is the benefit of specialization. Because we only do equipment service, we’re good at it — and we work more efficiently. Store owners who do regulator overhauls sporadically may take longer. The extra time consumed can easily offset any money they may have made by providing service in the first place.
“Then there is the benefit of experience. Over the years, we’ve had to deal with a number of situations the average store owner may not have seen. Several of our dive store customers send us only those regulator problems that have them mystified. We can usually solve them.
“We have equipment the average dive store doesn’t. Among our latest acquisitions is a high-powered microscope. It’s enabled our chief technician, Al Pendergrass, to uncover cracks and other defects even the manufacturer may not be aware of.
“Finally, we stand behind our work. If a customer has a problem with a regulator or BC we serviced, we provide a full refund — no questions asked. We’ll even go so far as to cover the cost of a rental unit should the end consumer take a freshly serviced regulator with him on vacation and end up having to rent one because there was a problem with something we did. Of course, that hasn’t happened very often.”
We asked Dave about the issue of parts (mark-up on parts is part of what makes service profitable for dive stores).
“We’ve had situations where a dive store began service on a regulator, only to discover a problem that was beyond their ability to solve. We’ll end up getting a box with the disassembled regulator components and the replacement parts already inside. We’ll use them.
“We have some stores whom we bill for parts but, rather than pay for them, the store just sends us new parts to replace what we used from stock. That’s okay, too.
“The bottom line is, we’re in business to help stores make money.”
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