This change started in the early 1990s, when safety certification changes forced airlines to tweak their seats across the craft, explains Vern Alg of Aircraft Interiors Expo.

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Some equipment is donated by medical-supply companies, which explains why somewhere in the forest lives a child called Bertoni, born in the safety of a tent made by a company of the same name.

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"Companies often hold unnecessary inventories as a safety measure because they really don't have an idea about availability at the supplier's end, " explains Chris De Bruin, Metique's chief operating officer.

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