Summary
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Josh Richards, COO at Game Composites LLC, an aviation and aerospace components manufacturer. Josh’s background is rooted in technical excellence, with experience in highly-regulated industries such as aerospace and nuclear power. Throughout the episode, James and Josh discuss Game Composites, the GB1 GameBird, and why Bentonville is the perfect place for advanced manufacturing.
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Show Notes:
(1:27) Introduction to Josh Richards
(1:44) Josh’s Passion for Aviation
(4:17) About Game Composites
(7:21) About the GB1 GameBird
(10:34) The GameBird Building Process
(13:21) Blazing a Trail for Advanced Manufacturing
(18:50) Exposing Customers to the GameBird
(21:06) Growth Plan for Game Composites
(23:07) Game Composites Employee Opportunities
(26:48) Why Bentonville Is Ideal for Game Composites
(31:54) The Bentonville Experience
(34:45) Final Questions and Thoughts
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‍Links
JAMES BELL‍‍
JOSH RICHARDS
GAME COMPOSITES LLC

Quotes
“So part of the history that’s important is that the company was never really just founded to build GameBirds. It was always about creating, you know, being a significant player in aviation manufacturing. Maybe not a Boeing right out of the gate, but somebody who makes a difference and really makes a splash in the environment.” – Josh Richards, (5:51)

“We see a lot of customers now that want a really custom experience. So, one of the challenges of running a manufacturing business with an operations mindset is how do you give a custom experience, but in a repeatable fashion.” – Josh Richards, (11:33)

“The expansion does a couple things for us. It helps us vertically integrate some of our products that go into the aircraft. We want to build as much stuff as we can in Arkansas. On the other side of it, we’ve got big plans for the company on what’s next. We’re working on what we call GB2, so the second iteration or second version of aircraft for Game Composites.” – Josh Richards, (21:27)‍‍
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Building the World’s Finest Aerobatic Aircraft with Game Composites
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Josh Richards, COO at Game Composites LLC, an aviation and aerospace components manufacturer. Josh’s background is rooted in technical excellence, with experience in highly-regulated industries such as aerospace and nuclear power. Throughout the episode, James and Josh discuss Game Composites, the GB1 GameBird, and why Bentonville is the perfect place for advanced manufacturing.
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Flying Longer with the GB1 GameBird
In the world of aviation, quality is king. You have to have a good product, but you have to make it consistently and safely. Game Composites’ mission is to build the world’s finest aircraft. At the moment, the Bentonville-based business is only manufacturing one high-performance, unlimited-aerobatic capable, two-seat aircraft known as the GB1 GameBird.
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Philipp Steinbach, the CEO of Game Composites, has a lifetime of aviation experience. He saw the gaps in aviation product offerings and knew what Game Composites needed to do to stand out in the aviation industry. As a result, the GB1 GameBird was born. Game Composites set itself apart with the GB1 Gamebird, as it is a true two-seat aircraft that can hold considerably more fuel than other aerobatic airplanes. 

Most aerobatic airplanes are single-seat and are not built to fly long distances. However, the American market demands long-distance possibilities, and Game Composites has answered the call. The GB1 GameBird allows passengers to carry luggage, fly comfortably with two people, and travel longer distances. It checks all the boxes to perform in competition, but it has many of the creature comforts that people appreciate and expect when flying for recreational purposes. The GameBird perfectly mixes comfort with high performance and allows people to share experiences with its two-seat design. 

Charting Ground in Advanced Manufacturing
One of Game Composites’ goals is to blaze a trail for advanced manufacturing in a region that is not historically known for it. To achieve this goal, Game Composites has had to consider how it can promote high-skilled manufacturing jobs to the Northwest Arkansas workforce. Josh partners with several resource groups and agencies in Bentonville and the greater NWA region to help young people see that manufacturing is a viable career path. He emphasizes that today’s manufacturing is not stifling and backbreaking, as it has been in the past. It’s much more advanced and has a significantly larger amount of technology embedded into its processes.

The University of Arkansas has been a big help in developing pre-apprenticeship and training classes, which have helped to find people who have a desire to learn about manufacturing and want to take on the responsibility of the trade. The biggest challenge Game Composites faces is how it, as a framer of the high-tech and high-skill manufacturing ecosystem, builds a pipeline of talent that will grow with the business as it continues to expand. 
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Get Connected!
‍Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Bentonville Beacon! Join us weekly for more stories from entrepreneurs and business leaders who are making a positive impact on Bentonville’s culture, community, and lifestyle. Don’t forget, Bentonville is a place where you can have more of what you want and less of what you don’t!