The
announcement that President Bush is proposing expansion
of NASA activity was nothing but good news to Welch
Fluorocarbon Inc.
The Dover, N.H., company makes liquid containment bags
used by the space agency, and executives see the president’s
proposal as an opportunity for greater commerce with
the federal agency.
“We want to be the NASA bag maker,” said
Evan Welch, founder and chief executive. “If there
are to be more projects and voyages, we want to be part
of them.”
Welch Fluorocarbon, a private company that employs about
25, has developed a niche that is about as thin as the
products it produces.
It is an example of a profitable company that has bootstrapped
its way to success over its 19-year life. And it is looking
for growth in the future.
Welch Fluorocarbon produces tiny, super-thin thermoformed
parts for critical applications.
In fact, it doesn’t develop products as much as
it produces them for customers.
One area in which the company developed a consistent
revenue stream is with the space program. NASA, or its
purchasing agents, came to Welch about a decade ago seeking
bags into which astronauts could urinate.
Industry analysts say Welch is the sole supplier of
this product, which reportedly takes 28 steps to make.
“NASA has an interest in monitoring the human
body,” said Welch, a Marblehead native who studied
at Claremont College in California.
“They want to know how much liquid goes in (to
the body), and how much comes out. Our product enables
them to determine how much liquid is evacuated.”
The company’s other products include corrosion
barriers for air regulators in gas masks, and a liner
of DuPont’s Kapton polyimide for a smoke hood used
by commercial flight crews.
Many of the company’s contracts come from referrals
from DuPont.
“A lot of our business development comes from
word of mouth,” Welch said. “We have done
much work with DuPont, and their recommendation to other
companies has helped.”
DuPont has proved a strong source of revenue, but perhaps
not as much as a manned trip to Mars will.
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