When Wichita State President John Bardo announced his plans to create the “Innovation Campus,” he created a vision of businesses working with students and faculty to bring innovation to the area.

The ABI Group of Companies, an international aerospace company that provides products and services to aerospace companies around the world, has committed to be a tenant in the Innovation Campus.

“This relationship fits our new technology-transfer-focused business model,” John Tomblin, NIAR executive director, said in a news release. “We’ll continue to seek similar relationships as we engage industry participation in the Innovation Campus and focus on increasing our economic impact on the community.”

ABI has already been doing work with WSU through the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). They have been working on a next-generation aerospace coating that would allow for a more “environmentally aware” chemical milling process.

Chemical milling is a process that uses chemicals to thin out the metal, making the aircraft lighter.

ABI Managing Director James Havers-Strong said they will be looking to develop office space at WSU — even before innovation campus buildings are developed in late 2015.

“We’re ready to take on office space now, within existing campus structure before the new building is complete,” Havers-Strong said.

Tom Aldag, director of research and development at NIAR, said that’s the point of innovation campus.

“That’s the concept,” he said. “(To) have businesses on campus.”

ABI plans to staff its campus office with aerospace specialists who would work directly with students and project leaders.

The goal is ultimately to commercialize platforms that, in this case, would include composites, metal structures or other “innovative ideas” in aerospace.

“There’s been a real push where people are saying, ‘we’re making all this cool stuff, what do we do with that?’” Havers-Strong said. “The aerospace group have ideas but don’t know how to get it to market, and that’s where we will help.”

Havers-Strong said ABI can use its global experience in the industry to guide researchers in what aerospace companies are interested in buying and what they’re not so interested in buying.

“Some ideas are great and from our 25 years in the industry and what we’re doing on a global basis, we will be able to guide,” he said.

Havers-Strong said that the research done at the innovation campus will bring value  in the form of royalties and revenue to WSU and businesses that come on board. How WSU defines that value is continuing to develop.

“A lot of this is evolving as we go forward,” Aldag said. “There’s going to have to be policies…on how we define that value.”

ABI is expanding to Newton later this year by building a 20,000 square foot manufacturing plant that would focus on the aerospace coating production.

Havers-Strong said ABI will be looking to hire WSU graduates specifically for this facility — two chemical engineers and a chemist.

“I think that’s great,” Aldag said of the possibility of hiring graduates. “Especially if [the students have] been working on any of the projects ABI is hoping to pursue.

“They’ll be familiar with the process, culture and expectations.”