Formation grows since EMS merger

EMS Formation, the Moorestown-based company that makes ToughDisk assemblies to keep in-flight movies and Internet connections working, has grown to 115 employees, from 68 nine months ago, as it boosts sales of new products, particularly in the "emerging aero connectivity market", says general manager R. Nim Evatt

Formation's growth resulted in the company's purchase, in January, by EMS Technologies Inc., Atlanta, for $40 million (plus up to $15 million in two-year performance payments). Formation said this morning that it's been hired by Florida-based LiveTV LLC, which provides in-flight entertainment and connectivity for Continental, JetBlue, Frontier and other airlines, "to provide rugged data storage for up to 1,000 aircraft that are deploying LiveTV systems."

The LiveTV deal strengthens Formation lead in that market, said Evatt.  "Aircell, in suburban Chicago, is putting equipment on American, Delta, and Virgin, they've announced United and Northwest. California-based Row 44 is doing testing on Southwest and Alaska Airlines. We also have Airbus, as a manufacturer." And it builds communications systems for New York City subways.

Formation has recovered ground it lost earlier this decade, Evatt says. "After 911 we had a very close call. We went from 120 people to 50 and just barely survived. We changed our whole product strategy. We used to go to market as an engineering company. We switched to being a product company. We developed new products in a difficult time - wireless access points, avionics servers, ruggedized disk storage systems, avionics data loaders, and the advanced integrated recorder for air traffic control."