Welcome to START PAC®

Founded in 1997 and based in Las Vegas, Start Pac is a family-owned American company passionate about its products and the industries it serves. Designing, manufacturing and selling ground power units for powering aircraft and jump starting any type of heavy duty engine, START PAC leads the way with the most up-to-date and safest technologies available. Integrity and reliability are values paramount to every member of the START PAC team; we are a company dedicated to providing long-term, superior service, supporting your industry with the most efficient, the most durable, the most reliable, the most powerful and the most cost effective line of ground power units. Introduce yourself, get to know START PAC and become a valued member of our family forever.

START PAC® History

One day in 1997, Jim Wurth took his MD 500 helicopter deep into the Arizona desert and set down for the night on a stretch of land 60 miles from the nearest habitation. Jim and a friend wanted to explore a set of ruins that would have taken all day to get to by car; with the MD500, they were within easy reach. Getting up the next morning however, Jim and his friend discovered that there was frost over everything; the battery was so cold-soaked that it wouldn’t start the helicopter’s engine.

Finally, they did get airborne, but only after waiting until well into the afternoon so the sun could heat up the battery. Right then and there, Jim vowed that he’d never let something like this happen to him again. Combining an innovative mind with his engineering degree and passion for aircraft – he is also a former commercial pilot, having flown 24 years for Eastern Airlines – he had the knowledge, the experience and the motivation to keep his word.

Jim’s primary aim was to design a reliable unit that could be taken with him on the helicopter easily. Soon, he had developed what would eventually become known as the first START PAC: a lightweight, portable starting unit that he could carry with him in case of emergencies. Jim saw the START PAC as a homemade fix intended mainly for his own personal use, but his wife, Judith, felt that other pilots could foresee themselves being in a similar predicament and would want to be prepared. She had the foresight to recognize a business opportunity, especially when she realized that Jim’s new design was superbly engineered and the best of its kind; it suddenly seemed obvious that this first-class product was meant to benefit others as well.

By the end of 1997, Jim and Judith had sold 11 START PAC units and thereafter, business continued to improve dramatically. Two people who had started with literally nothing except motivation and determination came to personify the American dream: START PAC is now a global phenomenon and is sold all over the world.

To date, the START PAC line for aircraft comprises 58 products: portable starting units and mobile ground power units (GPUs) to start both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as aircraft battery chargers, power supplies for avionic functions and, last but not least, combination units capable of both starting the engine and powering up the cockpit for maintenance.

START PAC has also entered other heavy duty segments, such as railroad. In fact, it was a 2007 request from the BNSF Railway to design a starting unit for its diesel locomotive engines that gave rise to these specialized products, currently used all over North America on all Class One railroads.

Additionally, START PAC has diversified into various heavy duty segments needing to secure their operations by making sure they can start their engines every morning: trucks, buses, military vehicles and heavy construction equipment (for example, in the mining industry).

Today START PAC has one main goal: we want to share our success in the aviation industry with all our customers, whatever industry they may be in and whether they are big or small. We want them, their businesses and their clients not only to benefit from our exceptional products, but also to be able to rely on our outstanding customer service, both of which have cemented our reputation around the world.

Technological development

Since the very beginning in 1997, START PAC has always endeavored to develop innovative products that are not yet available on the market: powerful starting units that are space saving, lightweight and portable; specific units for voltage sensitive aircraft; patented quick change systems to replace batteries in no time; specialized units for locomotives.

Thanks to our pioneering spirit, START PAC was the first company to produce a 28V jump starter in 2000, followed by the first 26V jump starter in 2010. START PAC also introduced the first Lithium starting unit, the quality of which is still unrivalled. Additionally, in 2017, we brought the smallest and lightest ever portable jump starter and power supply for aircraft onto the market.

In order to protect our products from the harsh conditions in which they are used, we apply an environmentally friendly, low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) durable powder coat finish. Our units look after you and the environment.

Corporate Culture

START PAC was created by a passionate engineer/pilot and a visionary business woman who have been able to infuse their expertise, energy and enthusiasm into an everlasting family entrepreneurial spirit.

START PAC has a culture of high quality created through employee engagement and competence.

Everyone in START PAC is emotionally invested in the company from the product line to the customer base.

Every customer, every sale – whatever the size – is treated with the same amount of commitment, passion and customer service. Every client is important and must feel that he or she is highly valued.

The company’s goal is to have customers for life, not for a single transaction. As a result, its employees go to great lengths to cultivate relationships based on trust and respect; customers are part of the family and are supported as such.

With START PAC, customers know that they are being taken care of with the utmost care and consideration.

Company Values

At START PAC, we value :

OUR PEOPLE

• We want everybody to feel like they matter, that we value them: customers, suppliers, employees
• We are about serving
• We truly understand our customers’ businesses
• We enjoy sharing our extensive knowledge with customers and giving them well-informed product recommendations
• We listen to and talk with our customers about their needs, desires and challenges
• We are here to support customers and help them have what they need to be safe, what they need to perform their operations, to help them take care of their investments
• We deliver on our promises

INNOVATION

• We are curious and open-minded
• We are innovative and find intelligent ways to create new solutions
• We have the skills, knowledge and intuition to do the right thing, but we also have the self-awareness and honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change
• We strive to improve continually
• We continue to lead the way in using the newest and safest technology available

QUALITY

• We manufacture state-of-the art products built to last for heavy duty applications
• We design our products pragmatically, to answer customer needs
• We continuously enhance our standards, technologies and trainings
• We prove at all times that we are worthy of the trust placed in us
• We meet the highest quality standards

PASSION

• We are passionate about Our Business, Our Brand, Our Products
• We show pride
• We promote a positive, energizing, optimistic and fun environment
• We promote and implement creative and innovative ideas and solutions
• We are dedicated to customer support
• We value, promote and fiercely protect our reputation

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

• We provide sustainable and recyclable products
• We manage our manufacturing in order to protect the environment
• We care deeply about future generations

START PAC® Mission statement

Since START PAC was created in 1997, the mission of the team has always been to design, manufacture, test, sell and support high quality heavy duty products adapted to each customer’s requirements in order to make sure their assets can start anytime, thus securing operations and business income.

ISO 9001 CERTIFIED

In keeping with the high standard of quality work since its creation, START PAC’s goal is the long-lasting and full satisfaction of every single one of its customers.

Every day START PAC strives to improve its system of quality management in order to:

• Master and improve all implemented procedures
• Listen to, understand, satisfy and anticipate the needs of its customers
• Put in place tailored measures and resources
• Encourage all its employees to achieve the goals agreed upon with the clients
• Maintain a good relationship with suppliers, all the while, making sure that they meet our quality requirements

ENVIRONMENTAL CARE

Caring about the environment is something each one of us should embrace.

At START PAC, every employee is sensitive to this and personally ensures that nothing is wasted in the process. All the hardware used to build our products is highly recyclable. For example, our lead acid batteries are 98% recyclable and we have made sure that they can be handled by any recycling facility wherever it is in the world. Even so, we are still keeping up to date with the numerous studies that are ongoing into the various ways to recycle Lithium batteries as the need for them grows, especially from the automotive and telecom industries. It must be stated however, that – once depleted – a Lithium battery is inert and non-hazardous, meaning that it can be easily and safely returned to the earth without any detrimental environmental repercussions.