He observed that Aerostar has evolved since he was at Raven . He ’ s seen the company expand into areas he explored with NSC and sees similarities between the two companies , “ with a much deeper bench , and capabilities that overlap , but much greater than what a small company could do on their own .”
He said that before being bought out by Aerostar , “ We were really spread out supporting a wide range of space technology providers , whose investments were closely held , and our work primarily came from people who knew us . Aerostar has a much deeper reach into a larger customer base as well as their own investments to keep advancing technologies . We were limited as a small company as to what we could do . Now , with Aerostar , it is a fertile environment for growth .” He sees the Aerostar Tillamook group as younger , innovative , and more adaptive than NSC .
Russ Van Der Werff , with Aerostar , has an engineering and business background . He knows Aerostar ’ s business inside out and said that the operation has grown from a couple of dozen people to 120 people on the team .
He enjoys his job and says , “ It ’ s been fun since I started , and it continues to be fun . I like that at Aerostar , we are doing the engineering piece , everything end-to-end , whereas many companies are doing just a piece or a part .” He noted that their motto is “ Connect , Protect , and Save Lives ,” which ties to their work .
He said the work is engaging and dynamic and supports a good cause . Some examples include high-altitude balloon work , protective wear like survival suits , and border protection .
AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2024 ISSUE NO . 40 13