Phillips Service Industries announces passing of Bill Phillips, founder

Phillips Service Industries Inc. (PSI), a privately held global manufacturing and services holding company, has announced the death of its founder and chairman of the board, William T. (Bill) Phillips.

Phillips launched PSI Hydraulics in Detroit in 1967; the two-man operation initially focused on servo valve repairs. He received his hydraulic systems training working on B-25 bomber aircraft while serving two stints in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Over the next three decades, Phillips expanded the business to include repair and remanufacturing services for electronics and precision mechanical assemblies, as well as other hydraulic components. The company was renamed PSI Repair Services Inc. and relocated to Livonia, Mich., where it remains today.

Phillips created Phillips Service Industries, Livonia, to serve as an overarching parent company for the acquisitions of Beaver Aerospace & Defense, Livonia; Sciaky Inc., Chicago; Evana Automation Specialists, Evansville, Ind.; Mountain Secure Systems, Longmont, Colo.; Powerthru, Livonia; and Skytronics Inc., El Segundo, Calif.