Like many aerospace-related companies, DeVore Aviation cut staff and hunkered down as business slowed to a trickle in the wake of 9/11. But almost seven years later, a booming international market for helicopters and business aircraft has this 54-year-old, Albuquerque-based manufacturing company cruising at high altitude.

"Honestly, we can't make our products fast enough," said Jonathan Bent, DeVore's president and CEO. "We've continued to hire for the last 24 months, but we still have overtime almost every week.

"That's a nice problem to have to solve."

DeVore is best-known for exterior lighting - such as landing lights and floodlamps that make aircraft tails and other identifying features visible at night - and the metal, glass and composite structures that surround them.

It also makes pulse light approach slope indicator, or PLASI, ground-based systems that use a beam of light pilots use to direct aircraft safely to landing strips or heliports. Help from Hefner

The company was founded in New York in 1954 by aircraft engineer Gilbert DeVore, who died in February.

In its early days, DeVore was an engineering consulting firm, helping larger firms and entrepreneurs prove aircraft and helicopter concepts. Later, the firm opened a marketing office in California.