Astro Pak Corp. is a byproduct of the 1950s Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
While the Soviet Union is gone, Astro Pak is still going strong 60 years later and is much loved by its employees.
The provider of precision cleaning services for companies in the space, military, healthcare, food and other industries took the top spot in the Business Journal’s latest ranking of Best Place to Work in the large company category, which ranks companies above 250 employees.
Last year, it ranked No. 3 on the midsize company list when it had 236 employees. Since then, it’s grown to 284 employees, including 30 at its Costa Mesa headquarters.
“We value our people above everything else, including our profits,” Chief Executive Ken Verheyen told the Business Journal.
“People are more important than anything else. Their families are very important to us.”
Astro Pak, founded in 1959 by Verheyen’s dad, Carl Verheyen, and Jim St. Clair, began by providing precision cleaning components and hardware for missile manufacturers, as well as other aerospace clients.
Precision cleaning removes contaminants like particles, fibers, oils, and greases, “resulting in a surface so clean it must be validated on a microscopic level,” the company says.
The company has played a part in nearly every major United States space program since Project Mercury.
“We’ve worked on just about every satellite system and rocket system that the U.S. has ever produced,” Verheyen said in a video on the company’s website celebrating its 60th anniversary.
At the end of the Cold War, revenue from the U.S. military began falling. Many industries that it once serviced six decades ago no longer exist. Thus, the company expanded into biotech and pharmaceutical businesses; its cleaning products help those companies meet FDA compliance standards.
“It’s grown to be a massive part of our business,” Verheyen said.
Astro Pak in the past decade has opened new locations, offered new services, and become one of the largest precision cleaning and surface treatment technology contractors in North America. In that time frame, it’s doubled its employee count and, company officials said, experienced a 130% revenue growth.
Its staff of engineers, chemists and Ph.D.s develop new chemistries and processes each year to deliver greater efficiencies, green solutions, and reduced costs.
“Each person is so uniquely created and therefore so uniquely gifted to bring amazing things to the tables that they were invited to,” Verheyen said. “Excellence was achievable as long as you empower your people.”
Astro Pak technicians are based in 10 field offices across the country to service biopharmaceutical, consumer goods, silicon chip manufacturers, and other industries that require contaminant-free cleanliness in their manufacturing process.
Additionally, two state-of-the art cleanroom facilities clean and package cleanliness critical hardware for a number of clients. Astro Pak routinely responds to emergency requests on the same day. Its website said it has completed more than 105,000 jobs worldwide.
Astro Pak is helping to prepare the next Mars rover, as well as NASA’s mobile launch platform.
“Our formula is the same that we’ve used for the past 60 years; find the best people and invest in them, serve our customers well and strive for excellence in all that we do,” Astro Pak President Ken Carroll said on the company’s website video.
