Date: Apr 15, 2012 Source: MDA (
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Advanced Powder Solutions, Inc. (APS; Houston, TX), has nearly doubled its work force and its revenue during the past two years, thanks in part----- to a contract from a major oil-exploration company that enlisted APS to manufacture a composite product for clearing debris from deep wells.
APS, a maker of specialty composite materials and parts, got its start developing components under two SBIR contracts from MDA in 2006. APS's materials, in their pre-fabricated form, are nanoscopic spheres. In bulk form, they resemble ash. The company now manufactures a composite replacement for small rubber balls used by oil exploration and production companies. Such balls are sent down a well via a water/chemical/sand-based slurry. The balls in the slurry collide with the walls of the well cavity leading to an oil reservoir, breaking up aberrations that could impede the flow of oil. APS claims its composite balls can withstand underground pressure at levels beyond those withstood by rubber rivals.
The company's success in working with an oil-exploration giant has been significant. At the end of 2011, APS expanded its space in Houston to make room for new production capabilities and employees. The company saw a thirtyfold increase in materials production at year's end, as well as double the employees and double the revenue. (Today the company has 20 employees and reported 2011 revenue of $2.6 million.) Last year also showed APS reporting commercial, nongovernment revenues that exceeded its government contracts by an 85-to-15 margin, compared with nearly 100 percent government-based business during the year prior. The company's entry into the oil exploration business has just begun. APS began this year producing five different composite components for use in corrosion-resistant oil-drilling equipment, a move that should help APS's client save on parts replacement.
