Redwood City-based Tectura Corp. is a small company with a split personality.
Tectura’s main business is helping companies use Microsoft Corp. business software to streamline operations.
Then there’s Applied Engineering Solutions, its lesser-known side that does aerospace consulting work.
Tectura was started in 2001 through a management buyout of Scitor Enterprises Inc., a unit of Washington, D.C.-based Scitor Corp.
At the time of the buyout, Tectura’s managers were split: Some wanted to pursue the software business,then a new venture,while others wanted to stay with Tectura’s core aerospace business.
Applied Engineering, formerly called Tectura Aerospace, now is a small part of the privately-held company,about 10% of overall sales. Applied Engineering’s revenue has grown 35% during the past five years to about $25 million in 2006.
The funky business model has some staying power. Applied Engineering has logged two decades working on commercial aviation and defense projects for Boeing Co., Rockwell Collins Inc. and Honeywell Inc., among others.
It saw growth during the post-Sept. 11 downturn, while most of the aerospace industry was recovering.
Now Applied Engineering is looking to tap Orange County defense contractors, aerospace suppliers and companies that do maintenance and repair.
The company’s looking to OC to help it grow about 20% next year, according to Tectura spokesman Brad Carufel.
Late to Party?
Applied Engineering could be late to the party.
“We are probably not at the height of the aerospace market,” said Oksana Bardygula, West Coast vice president, who’s heading the initiative to tap work from the county’s aerospace companies. “We aren’t here to take the whole market, a small chunk of that would be great for us.”
Applied Engineering is targeting businesses with yearly revenue of $500 million or more,hoping to zero in on suppliers that deliver to the big, first-tier companies.
“There are still a large number of aerospace companies in the supply market,” Bardygula said. “The customer base is slightly different than it used to be.”
Applied Engineering is based just outside Seattle, in Bellevue.
The company has about 18 employees in Laguna Niguel who work for the Microsoft side of the business.
Bardygula, a 19-year veteran of the aerospace industry, is set to lead the local push from Tectura’s Laguna Niguel office.
Applied Engineering plans to hire about 10 consultants locally by the end of the year.
The company’s hoping to lure longtime industry workers or those who want more flexibility, she said.
The company has high expectations for the market.
Applied Engineering is projecting sales of $1.5 million in work from local companies for this year, according to Bardygula.
Local Ties
It already has some ties to OC.
A few consultants from Bellevue are working with Panasonic’s avionics division in Lake Forest. The unit makes parts for in-flight entertainment systems.
There’s talk with Boeing for consulting work at its Satellite Development Center in El Segundo.
The bulk of Applied Engineering’s consulting work falls into two areas: information technology, and project management and systems engineering.
For Boeing’s commercial jet business, Applied Engineering developed, integrated and tested a Web site for customers who own Boeing’s airplanes, called myboeing- fleet.com.
Work tends to be more short term,anywhere from three months to 18 months for a project, Bardygula said.
Applied Engineering’s carved out a niche by helping companies that work in industries that are high-security, tightly controlled and highly regulated. It’s one of a few consulting companies that does advanced technical consulting.
Competitors include big names such as Accenture Ltd., Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Capgemini.
The company also has its eye on OC medical device makers.
“Our next logical area is in other regulatory industries,the medical manufacturing industry and life sciences,” Bardygula said.
