Story ID: 398LABACE17
DryUp Cleans Up in Crisis
By: Richard Pedicini
Caption: Crews used the water-free process to get visiting aircraft ready for display on the LABACE static line.
Word Count: 299
DryUp, a company that cleans aircraft using a water-free process, was at LABACE not as an exhibitor but as a service provider, giving a final polish to aircraft and equipment displayed by TAM AE, Helibras and AGS during setup, and wiping off the opening day's rain on Wednesday.

Guilherme Gmeiner founded DryUp 10 years ago, initially working with cars and boats, and for the last five years with aircraft, which now account for the majority of the revenue. DryUp is produced in Brazil and tested and certified by SMI in Florida and certified to meet Boeing and Airbus specificiations. Employees are trained in theory and practice, first being instructed in the company's various cleaning products, and then in using them. “Some are very specific. The [aircraft] manufacturer's operating manuals need to be consulted. Collaborators need to understand the business,” he said.

Gmeiner expects to have 40 employees by year-end. He has added two branch offices in the depth of the recession, and during LABACE DryUp occupied a room on the air side of Guarulhos Airport, where it cleans aircraft for Avianca, a service it also performs for the airline at Congonhas. At LABACE, Guilherme met with a USTDA representative about the possibility of representing U.S. firms in Brazil.

DryUp's growing list of clients extends beyond São Paulo, and at Sorocaba the list includes WWA, Icon Air and Gulfstream, though the OEM brought its usual team to prepare the LABACE show airplanes. Branch offices have opened in Rio de Janeiro and in Fortaleza.

Social concience is part of DryUp's corporate philosophy, expressed in ecologically friendly products, and also in an idealistic hiring policy. The firm hires and trains refugees throught a UN program, including those from Haiti, Angola and Syria.