Gallery: An Artsy MRO HQ Sweetens Move To Suburbs

Aftermarket parts supplier and component MRO Setna iO recently moved to a new headquarters in the Chicago suburbs. Aviation Week Network visited the 230,000 ft.² facility to see how the company’s eight-figure renovation project is transforming a former printing facility into a unique workplace that is growing in line with Setna iO’s operations—and providing incentive for employees to come into the office.

Setna iO has been busy growing its business in the last few years. Since 2023, it has acquired more than 100 aircraft and engine assets and it has ventured into buying and leasing aircraft to gain earlier control over its supply chain. CEO David Chaimovitz says the company will be closing “a significant handful of other assets” that are currently under contract within the next few weeks. “We’re definitely deploying capital, and that’s going to be a major piece of our business as we move forward,” he adds.

Setna iO commissioned custom murals from Dutch artist Collin van der Sluijs to make a grand impression upon entry to its new headquarters. The artwork, which is featured outside and inside the main entrance, incorporates aviation and avian elements.

To provide a more welcoming environment for employees, Setna iO opened up the second floor of the building’s office area to provide more natural light and space. Currently, around 100 of Setna iO’s approximately 200 global employees are based at the Chicago-area headquarters.

Setna iO carried on the artistic themes from the building’s entryway with large paintings and custom graffiti art around the office.

As an extra incentive to draw employees to the new headquarters in the suburbs, Setna iO added a gym and is building an indoor pickle ball court. Chief Culture Officer Janelle Weber says the company also regularly brings in chefs to cook lunch for employees and holds team outings such as sports games, barbecues and go karting.

The garage doors installed in the headquarters’ cafeteria allow employees to enjoy fresh air when the weather is nice. Setna iO has also installed electric car charging infrastructure in the parking lot.

This Top Gun-inspired artwork is located just outside Setna iO’s shipping department.

Pictured here is Setna iO’s shipping room, where parts are prepared to go to customers all over the world. Setna iO typically ships around 200-400 boxes per day.

Setna iO has built proprietary technology to track shipping processes. The company has been testing the application for several weeks, noting that so far it has sped up shipping processes by 30%.

On a typical day, Setna iO also receives as many packages as it ships out, with parts coming in from teardowns and other asset purchases. Chaimovitz says the company “started getting really aggressive in buying” in 2020 after established companies were forced to significantly reprice assets as the market fluctuated. “We bought our first aircraft teardown in July 2020 [a Boeing 777] for probably 10% of what it would have traded for in 2019,” he notes.

Setna iO is in the process of renovating this area of its receiving operations. It will be cutting new garage doors on the far wall in this warehouse area so shipping trucks can pull up to the facility.

Aviation Week Network’s visit to Setna iO’s headquarters coincided with the first day of work for its summer interns. Weber says the company also works with nonprofit Have Dreams to hire adults with autism spectrum disorder. So far, it has hired four people through the partnership. 

Weber notes that, as of a year ago, Setna iO had 80 employees and it has since doubled that number to nearly 200. As the business looks to “get to that billion-dollar mark,” Weber says it will likely grow the workforce further. However, Chaimovitz notes that the company does not have “any specific goals on how big we can be” in terms of workforce, stressing that it is focused on “trying to recruit talented commercial people that can add a lot of value to the company” and looking for employees that are the right cultural fit for the business.

In addition to its new Chicago-area HQ, Setna iO also operates facilities in Tempe, Arizona (its Setnix MRO repair station) and London. Its headquarters houses shipping, receiving, quality, logistics, procurement, accounting, management, and sales and trading operations.