Award-Winning Georgia Airplane Parts Exporter Honored Again by SBA 

For Aventure Aviation, a Georgia exporter undergoing a headquarters expansion and eyeing its 25th anniversary next year, there’s no mincing words about whom to credit for its steady growth amid constant challenges.

“We would be nothing without all of you,” Aventure President Talha Faruqi told an assemblage of customers, stakeholders and community partners during a celebratory event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  

The gathering was held on the sidelines of the MRO Americas conference, capping an eventful week for Aventure, which buys decommissioned planes, harvests FAA-approved parts and then inventories them at its Peachtree City warehouse.

More than 65 percent of its sales go abroad, including to aircraft leasing companies, governments and airlines looking to keep their fleets in tip-top shape. Aventure maintains offices in Beijing, Delhi, Istanbul, Karachi, Pakistan; London and Toronto. 

The company is set to complete a 70,000 square-foot warehouse expansion this summer on International Drive, with plans to add 90,000 more square feet in the future.

Zaheer Faruqi, the founder and CEO, said the company taking a wait-and-see approach to the topsy-turvy trade war breeding retaliation that is threatening Georgia exports, including its top product: aerospace.

What’s clear is that the family-owned company will find a way to adapt, the elder Mr. Faruqi told Global Atlanta: Aventure was founded just before 9/11, and nearly 20 years later, its diversification helped endure a pandemic that caused an immediate and precipitous drop in air traffic domestically. 

An unwavering commitment to global markets was one reason Aventure was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Exporter of the Year for Georgia and the Southeast U.S. in March, the second straight year a Georgia firm won the regional honor.

“We are truly honored to receive this recognition,” said Ebrahim Zakaria, Aventure’s vice president of sales, in a release. “It is a testament to our incredible team effort, and we look forward to continued growth and success together at Aventure.”

It’s also the second time Aventure has taken home the SBA award, the last time being in 2009. It’d be hard for Aventure to find a new award to win, as it’s already perhaps the most decorated exporter in the state. Aventure has taken home an honor from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Georgia GLOBE Award for entering new markets, the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, the president’s E Award for Exports and the Atlanta Metro Export Challenge, which came with a $5,000 grant.

The SBA award was tied to its use of the agency’s services, from the STEP grants that help companies attend trade shows to its export working capital programs and its SCORE business mentoring. 

Not just a beneficiary, Zaheer Faruqi has been a consistent contributor to the export community, serving on the Georgia District Export Council board and offering insights as an industry voice on trade discussions.  

In addition to aviation industry partners, the event brought in an eclectic mix of guests to Atlanta’s premier soccer and football venue: In attendance was former Pakistani President Arif Alvi, a dentist by training who served as the country’s head of state from 2018-24.

Dr. Alvi, who hails from Mr. Faruqi’s hometown of Karachi, told Global Atlanta Mr. Faruqi was an “ambassador” for Pakistan’s accomplished diaspora in metro Atlanta and the broader U.S. 

Aventure also recognized some of its partners in the community, including Midwest Food Bank and Global Atlanta. 

Read more about Mr. Faruqi and his journey to the U.S. here: Aventure Aviation Climbs to New Heights While Remaining Loyal to Its Grounded Values