California company to partner with UI lab
By John Kenyon
CEDAR RAPIDS – A company that plans to manufacture lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be used by law enforcement and military personnel will do so in Cedar Rapids.
AirCover Integrated Solutions announced last week that it seeks to locate in the Cherry Building in downtown Cedar Rapids. It has applied for local and state incentives, including a $175,000 loan through the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
James Hill, president of the company, said Cedar Rapids was an attractive competitor as it began looking for somewhere to locate its manufacturing facility.
“Cedar Rapids brought a tremendous value in terms of the resources of human capital,” he said.
The Cherry Building location also was appealing, he said, because of its downtown location. The revitalization of downtown Cedar Rapids and the lifestyle that allows should make the company attractive for the technicians and engineers the company will employ. It plans to hire 15 to 25 people for the facility over the next three years with salaries ranging from $38,000 to $45,000.
The California company recently announced a research and development operation in Redding, Calif. Mr. Hill said Redding is ideal for that because it has favorable testing conditions year-round. Cedar Rapids is attractive as a manufacturing location because of the talent base and collaboration opportunities.
The company has partnered with the Operator Performance Laboratory (OPL) at the University of Iowa.
“Air-launching UAVs is a capability that is in high demand in the first responder and military user communities,” said Tom Schnell, associate professor and director of the OPL, in a press release. “I am excited for the opportunity to collaborate with AirCover. Infrastructure at OPL will be made available for joint projects, including the development of a fully integrated pilot-to-ground interoperability system for public safety and commercial applications.”
The company’s core product for Cedar Rapids is the QuadRotor unmanned surveillance system. It will manufacture, assemble, test and sell the product from Cedar Rapids, Mr. Hill said. Positions will include support, call center and service center staff.
“There is a market segment that is substantial in growth to what AirCover will be doing in Iowa,” he said.
The QuadRotor is a vehicle of less than five pounds that can take off and land vertically. It has a camera with a real-time video link to a briefcase-size control box, real-time GPS, flight data and more.
Mr. Hill said the company’s founders served in the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and as military officers, they became familiar with advanced surveillance technology and needs.
The company’s goal is to increase safety for first responders in a war setting while addressing costs, he said.
The QuadRotor will differentiate itself in the market, Mr. Hill said, by its ease of use. Most unmanned systems require up to six months to learn to operate. The QuadRotor can be learned in a day, he said.
The company expects to invest $5 million on equipment acquisition, workforce training, inventory and support costs on the Iowa project.
It won’t take long for the company to get up to speed in Cedar Rapids.
“By the time we reach April, there will be products being pushed out the door,” he said. “We’re banking on the fact that the costs in this location and the resources we have to work with will make it a large center of influence in our market.”
Priority One, the economic development division of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Entrepreneurial Development Center, assisted AirCover with the project.
