Our heritage

DABICO Airport Solutions is the embodiment of this lineage, manufacturing in the United States of America, Germany and the United Kingdom, and with many offices around the world.

The complementary skills of DABICO, Meyerinck, Fladung, and INET were initially brought together by Cavotec Airports and are the strands that make us unique.

Established over 40 years ago, Cavotec is a leading engineering group that designs and manufactures automated connection and electrification systems for ports and industrial applications worldwide.

In February 2022, Cavotec SA has signed an agreement to divest 100% of its Airports business to US based investment company Fernweh Group LLC. The transaction is expected to close by Summer of 2022 subject to regulatory approvals.

DABICO where it all started

DABICO began life in 1966 in California under the name Culligan & McCallum. By the time of its acquisition by Cavotec in 2008, however, it had grown to become a US and UK-based manufacturing operation; changed its name to DABICO (1985); introduced key innovations – such as its waterproof fuel pit and cover products, and patented extension handrail and ladder for fuel pits – and was supplying in-ground airport supply systems to aircraft manufacturers, airlines, and airports, both civil and military, all around the world.

Meyerinck: the longest thread

The first and longest thread in our lineage belongs to the Meyerinck brand, which was founded in 1955 in Germany, and which initially supplied control valves, filters and pumps, primarily for use in the facilities of the NATO and US forces in Europe.

The firm’s involvement in aircraft fuelling steadily strengthened, most notably in 1981, with the introduction of its direct-refuelling pantograph built to order for the US Air Force. In 1983, Meyerinck established a production company responsible for the manufacturing of the pantographs and the patenting of low-maintenance and labour-efficient refuelling system which is now the standard method employed by many air forces worldwide.

Meyerinck was acquired by the Cavotec Group in 2008, where its strengths in the aviation refuelling sector provided a natural fit with Fladung – another German company that had been bought by the Group five years earlier – and DABICO, the US-based manufacturer of in-ground airport utility pit systems.

Fladung expanding possibilities

Established in 1968, Fladung’s origins lay in steel construction, but its focus soon narrowed to the airport industry, where it pioneered 400Hz connectors, cables, cable retrievers, scissor extensions, and the famous pit systems.

INET: a North American power base

In 2011, Cavotec further consolidated its foothold in North America with the acquisition of INET, a manufacturer of 50/60–400Hz power conversion technology, pre-conditioned air systems, and power generation equipment.

Founded in 1954, INET’s core strength lay in the development of motor generator sets, with both military and civilian applications. Of particular interest to Cavotec, however, was INET's development of methods and equipment to provide electrical systems for parked commercial aircraft from a central facility, an offering which it felt would further broaden the Group’s range of services to the airports sector.

Building on our inheritance

Today, DABICO Airport Solutions is the embodiment of this lineage, manufacturing in the United States of America, Germany and the United Kingdom, and with many offices around the world.

DABICO offers a comprehensive range of products for both the civil and military sectors: from contact gates, remote aprons, hangarage, 400Hz and 28V DC ground power units to pre-conditioned air systems, wet services, fuel systems - combined either with passenger boarding bridges or in-ground pits - and tunnel systems.

For the strength and future possibilities of this portfolio, we can thank the richness of our heritage.