 |
| Pepro's field-proven technology—a modern take on the lightning rod—provides sensitive digital equipment with protection from lightning, EMI and RFI. The company also offers a complete line of secure enclosures, cabinets and portable communications systems. |
Ben Franklin was a pioneer in studying electricity and lightning. (Who can forget the famous kite experiment?) In fact, he understood the dangers of lightning so well that he invented a revolutionary way to protect people and buildings from it—the lightning rod.
Today—250 years later—Pioneer Energy Products (Pepro) has developed new technology to protect sensitive electronic communications equipment from lightning strikes.
"Everyone's communications equipment works on a nice day. Our system is there for the stormy days," says Victor Garmong, CEO of Pepro. "Over the past 10 years, major strides have been made in computers and communication technology, but little has been done to protect all that sophisticated equipment."
The Oil City-based company has developed an innovative shielded enclosure that protects sensitive equipment from direct lightning strikes. Tests show the enclosures can handle a 50,000 volt direct hit with less than half a volt getting through to the equipment inside.
"That 50,000 volts would fry you on the spot," says Garmong. "But half a volt won't even power a flashlight bulb."
Pepro's system was initially deployed on mountains in high lightning strike areas.
"We have supplied several systems for the forest service in the northern Rockies that have high incidents of lightning," Garmong says. "A lightning strike on a communication tower in a remote mountain area can shut a site down for days. Our towers and buildings will handle direct lightning strikes without losing the equipment in them."
BFTP was an instrumental partner as the company moved into a growth phase, says Garmong, providing $165,000 in 2002. "We used their investment to help in the development and patent phase. Now they're providing expertise to guide us along as we move into our growth stage so we make the right decisions and right moves," he says.
“When regular communications systems
go down, we can restore emergency communications in 20 minutes.”
—Victor Garmong, CEO, Pepro |
Garmong enjoys the coincidence of a helping hand from BFTP. "We are advancing what Ben Franklin was developing when he flew that kite," Garmong says. "Lightning is still an issue we need to deal with and technology is still evolving around that."
The National Forest Service has identified 20 different fixed sites in the Rockies alone that could benefit from Pepro's technology. But the company's latest advance is a mobile unit that can be employed anywhere that communications equipment needs to be protected from the elements.
"We have developed a trailer-based unit with one of our enclosures, its own generator and a 65- or 80-foot tower," Garmong says. "For example, before, during and after a hurricane, you have high incidences of lightning and tornadoes. With this unit, when regular communications systems go down, you can restore emergency services communications in 20 minutes."
Earlier this year, the City of Boston, as part of a crisis preparedness initiative, took delivery of its first Pepro mobile unit. In late December, Garmong returned from North Carolina, where the company delivered a unit to Motorola for the city of Charlotte in anticipation of next year's hurricane season. Motorola is partnering with Pepro to market these communications systems to city governments, police and fire departments around the country, and Pepro is benefiting from this relationship.
"Motorola is marketing our product in their system as the Motorola Secure Mobile Communications System (MSMCS)," Garmong says.
With the Motorola opportunity in place, Pepro is preparing for an exciting growth period. "Now that we are in the marketplace with a standardized product, we are entering an aggressive marketing phase. With that, we expect to double the number of employees this year from 13 to 26," Garmong says.
From the January/February 2006 Issue |
