AP Labs' Project Might Get Cleared for Takeoff Soon
By BRAD GRAVES - 2/18/2008
San Diego Business Journal Staff

Eric Tarter's job is all about making fragile electronics tough.

These electrical components and systems could hold their own if they stayed on the ground. However, Tarter's company has to stitch together the computer gear, then box it up in such a way that it can survive the shock and extreme temperatures aboard an aircraft.

"Shake and bake" is how Tarter describes it.

Tarter, 48, is director of commercial products for AP Labs Inc., an electronics manufacturer with its main office in Rancho Bernardo.

AP Labs is creating components for a Los Angeles-area company called Row 44 Inc., which is rolling out a system to let airline passengers receive e-mail in flight and get movies on demand. The system also opens the door to in-flight phone calls. Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines have signed up to test Row 44's in-flight satellite broadband system later this year.

First, though, the system needs to pass muster with the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition to shaking and baking, the electronics need to retard fire. They need to stand up to decompression, high-altitude temperatures and loss of cooling. They need to be sealed in such a way that they don't emit electromagnetic interference.

AP Labs reached a milestone on the project in January, when its products - there are two from AP Labs in the system - began their battery of FAA tests. The company hopes to receive the federal agency's certification in the spring.

Rugged enclosures are the cornerstone of AP Labs' business. The company also makes an onboard system for the Predator, the unmanned spy aircraft built by its neighbor in Rancho Bernardo, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. The assembly floor at AP Labs' Thornmint Road building contains a variety of rugged electronics for several military clients.

While maintaining its focus on Pentagon work, the company is increasingly making its way into the world of commercial electronics, says Andy Mason, AP Labs' vice president of product development.

Mason says that before 2003, AP Labs did 95 percent of its work in defense. Now, 25 percent of the work is commercial and that figure may increase this year and next, Mason said.

AP Labs has been in business since 1985. The company is private and prefers not to disclose sales figures. AP Labs employs more than 80 people in Rancho Bernardo and has manufacturing space in Mexico.

The company subcontracts with local machine shops and metal shops to build its rugged electronics enclosures.

A Fan From Row 44

Financial terms of the deal between Row 44 and AP Labs were not disclosed. But one Row 44 executive seems happy with the relationship.

Putting products in an aerospace environment is a tricky business, says Gregg Fialcowitz, president and co-founder of Row 44. "Very few companies have the experience AP Labs has," Fialcowitz said, adding that Row 44 literally searched the globe for good subcontractors.

Row 44 is also relying heavily on the know-how of Maryland-based Hughes Electronics Corp. The Row 44 system uses Hughes' satellite modems and communicates with the rest of the world via Hughes' Ku-band satellite system.

The Row 44 system can do more than deliver e-mail and show movies.

Mason says members of the aircraft crew, from pilots to technicians, could use the system to get certain portions of their jobs done. Airline passengers could use it to make phone calls, Mason and Tarter say -- though that won't happen immediately.