APT - In The News

At a little-known arm of the renowned Storage Technology Corp., a Dell Computer sits on a platform that's shaking like an 18 wheeler headed for Kentucky. Nearby, a half-dozen kegs of Coors are locked in a chamber that's hotter than Jamaica in July. First-time visitors may be unsure of what's going on in this warehouse-looking lab in Longmont. In fact, many engineers at StorageTek would be, too. But what Advanced Packaging Technology does is critical to its parent company Storage Technology and outside clients. The 14 employee company makes sure packaged goods, from mainframes to beer cans, can get from Point A to B with no damage. "We basically can simulate any type of condition a package will face, right here in the lab," said packaging engineer Brian Estey. The lab contains chambers that simulate condition such as altitude changes, heat, rain, dust and outer space. Train wrecks, hurricanes and the clumsiest of moving men are also simulated. Some chambers are the size of standard microwave ovens; others are big enough for an entire sport utility vehicle. A sliding chamber moves a product from a dry climate to a very humid one. In another, packages are surrounded by saltwater-laden air to simulate coastal or at-sea conditions. "That one is testing communications computers that go on ships," said test engineer Bob Polverari. The lab has grown rapidly, and can now simulate almost any atmospheric condition, natural catastrophe or accident. When Polverari came to the company a year ago, the lab held three testing chambers. There are now 50 - with more on the way. The next acquisition is asset of tow seismic machines, expected to arrive at he end of the month. The machines can simulate earthquake conditions. "It will be a huge addition to our capability," Estey said. The company also has a packaging department - the "low-tech side," Estey calls it - that can build custom shipping boxes and creates for customers. The lab started in 1982, using a vibration TABLE to shake up ready-to-ship StorageTek packages. It moved to the $4.8 million, 30,000-square-foot Longmont facility in 1992. In 1995, the lab opened its doors to outsiders - companies that make products that need to get somewhere, but may not have the in-house testing capabilities. The lab opened, in part, to offset the cost of the expensive testing equipment. Each testing chamber can cost up to $500,000. "We picked up used ones, too. We're constantly upgrading," said Joseph Jeffries, a test engineer. " So they range in cost from free to about a half-a-million." But like preventative health care, expensive testing machines can save the life of a corporation. From beer bottles that break on the way to the bar to space computers that malfunction once they exit the atmosphere, a lot is riding on the trip from the manufacturer. "Companies can cut costs by using cheaper bottles, or changing the thickness of their packages," Estey said "But it's essential to know if it will ship the same, and work the same when it arrives." Edward Church, the executive director of the International Safe Transit Association - of which Advanced Packaging is a member - said the industry is ever-growing as technology and products change. "When the industry stared in 1948, it was in response to the damage from shipping appliances and other things related to the housing boom," Church said. The company's emphasis is on preventing that damage. "But the number of manufacturers who go through the process is small - there is a lot of opportunity for growth," Church said. Advanced Packaging's manager thinks is company is poised to take advantage of the growth. "Our goal is to have round-the-clock shifts within a year or so," said Steve Kajewski, the lab's manager who has been with StorageTek since 1978. "We'll have two shifts within a year or so." StorageTek doesn't release separate financial results for the lab. Kajewski said the lab has seen 500 percent sales growth since it became third-party test facility. With noTABLE growth, the lab could be a bragging point for the mighty StorageTek. But it's not. In fact many people who work at StorageTek have never even heard of Advanced Packaging Technology. "Most of them don't even know we're here," Estey said. That's something Kajewski hopes will change - not only within the parent organization, but along the Front Range. The team has been active with organizations and trade shows and said they hope to host open houses and tours fro the public. "No one has as wide a variety of testing equipment as we do," Kajewski said.

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