Innerspace

INNERSPACE CORPORATION

A TARGETED APPROACH TO UNDERWATER PROPULSION Powered by Inside Oil & Gas

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INNERSPACE CORPORATION

I PROFILE

Innerspace Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures efficient subsea propulsion systems for marine vehicles. The company has created some of the world’s most advanced and reliable commercial underwater thrusters.

Hannah Barnett spoke to Owner & Vice President Omar Rafeh to learn more.

nnerspace Corporation’s primary focus

I

a company alive rather than stagnant.

is to make thrusters for underwater vehi-

Complacency is the death of business.

cles such as ROVs, AUVs and submarines.

Eventually, it’ll catch up to you.”

in part to its continuous investment in

Now and then

Research and Development.

Innerspace was founded by engineer Calvin

The company is a pioneer in its field, thanks

“We have a big budget every year for

Gongwer in 1960. Thanks to his expertise,

innovation,” said Omar Rafeh, Owner &

the company grew quickly, and its thrusters

Vice President. “Instead of putting money

were used in many groundbreaking pro-

in my pocket, I’m putting it in R&D. All our

jects, including on the Alvin submarine

success comes down to spending money

that found the Titanic in 1985.

on innovation. I’m a big believer that constantly improving products keeps

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“I was lucky enough that Calvin trained me, and we worked together for about

15 years,” said Mr. Rafeh. “He was

These sort of investments and devel-

extremely intelligent, and he had, at the

opments over the last year have signifi-

time, about 65 patents. One of his major

cantly enhanced Innerspace’s capabilities.

milestones was reducing the noise sig-

“There’s maybe two, possibly three,

nature on submarines in World War Two.

companies in the world that actually sell

He also revised the propellent for torpe-

propulsion systems,” Mr. Rafeh explained.

does that made them go twice as far as

“And we’re the only one left that I know of

they used to.”

that does hydraulic thrusters; the other

Mr. Rafeh bought the business, along-

two or three companies purely do electric.

side his wife Wendy, on November 1st 2022.

So, we are a small company focusing on

He has since invested $300,000 into

quality and innovation.”

new state of the art CNC machines and developed two new propulsion systems.

The best of both

This has been major milestone in innova-

Innerspace offers a variety of hydraulic

tion, with the development of a Brushless

and electric marine thrusters, including off

DC Electric Thruster, capable of generating

the shelf systems, as well as customized

an impressive 1,200 pounds of thrust. The

solutions for R&D programs or prototype

company is also developing another thruster

underwater vehicles.

of the same type which is set to deliver an astonishing 2,100 pounds of thrust.

Omar began developing electric thrusters more than a decade ago. Due to continued

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INNERSPACE CORPORATION

I PROFILE

investments in R&D, the Innerspace electric

are using aren’t reliable and it has a failure,

propulsion systems now match the thrust

then we’re getting a call in the middle of

of hydraulic.

the night,” he said. “Underwater Vehicle

The major negative to electric propulsion

logistics is so expensive that we make

is thruster physical weight and expense,

high reliability and high efficiency a pri-

as it is around three to five times the cost

ority. This makes a great fit in the military

of a hydraulic system. The nature of the

space which requires these traits as

low volumes produced in the marine

well. Not to mention, some of our military

underwater vehicle industry means

propulsion systems are 82 percent effi-

prices do not come down as readily as

cient, which is unheard of, for a propeller

with products that are mass produced

driven thruster.”

like cars, for instance.

Innerspace also sells thrusters to be used

The company now derives 20% of its

on manned submersibles that are on super

business selling thrusters to the military.

yachts. Other manned submersibles are

The product is a good fit, due to its effi-

for taking tourists on dives in holiday

ciency and reliability, thanks to being

locations. Once again, the efficiency and

originally developed for the oil and gas

long range provided by the Innerspace

industry, according to Mr. Rafeh.

thrusters benefits both the diving company

“An oil and gas customer spends more

and its customers.

than a $100,000 a day to have a ship that

“These diving companies like our

can accommodate an underwater vehicle

product because of the high reliability

or ROV, so if the thrusters on the ROV they

and high efficiency,” Mr. Rafeh explained.

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“The high efficiency means they can sell

a very expensive thruster. We must check

seven hours of dive time, as opposed to

everything. For example, a resolver, is

three or four with our competitors’ thrusters.

a product we outsource. So, we do a 100

So now they can make more money per

per cent inspection, meaning we literally

day because their submersibles are able to

check every single one when they come

last a lot longer in dives before charge.”

in. And anything we manufacture in house

According to Mr. Rafeh, diving companies are seeing a return on investment within

is inspected closely too.”

For its next venture, Innerspace is working

six months to a year after purchasing

on a Thruster Control System that can

Innerspace thrusters, despite the

interact with the various vehicle commu-

higher expense.

nication protocols on different submersibles.

This is to circumvent a common issue that

Superior standards

universal industry communication protocols

Another vital element to Innerspace’s suc-

do not yet exist.

cess comes from its attention to detail.

“The Thruster Control System can take

As a result, the company has updated

in multiple different communication pro-

its Quality Control department with a new

tocols Mr. Rafeh explained. “Then, the

inspection room to ensure the highest

Thruster Control System will communi-

product standards.

cate with the existing Innerspace Motor

“We do our own internal QC inspections,”

Controller. It’s ease of configuration and

said Mr. Rafeh, “because we can’t have

versatility makes it an excellent addition

a failure from any small component on

to our in house motor controllers. So that

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INNERSPACE CORPORATION

I PROFILE

way, we’re not developing a different

salary, but he didn’t let me design. This

motor controller for each customers’

was so I could learn all the materials and

different protocol. We’ve got one con-

how to machine different products.

troller and we’re developing a Thruster

I would go to his office all the time and

Control System that can work with

say: ‘Okay, I’m ready to design.’ And he

them all.”

would reply: ‘Get back out there. You’ll

It is clear that Mr. Rafeh’s passion lies in

design when you’re ready.’ I thought he

inventing and innovating. Now, in his posi-

was crazy for a while, paying me an engi-

tion as owner, he reflected on how he

neering salary for machining parts.

began his career at Innerspace.

“Calvin Gongwer started me as a

“But I had good morals, I knew to respect my elders, and to take direction,

machinist, for about a year and a half,” he

and when he eventually brought me into

said. “After I graduated as a Mechanical

the design room, I was able to design

Engineer, he gave me an engineering

something that’s easier to manufacture.

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So being patient and taking that time to learn, made me a better engineer.

“Cal saw that in me and trained me for 15 years before handing over the reins. I ran Innerspace for 10 years while Cal did what he loved, which was innovating new products that many times had nothing to do with thrusters. He passed away at 97 years old trying to re-invent the gulf club.

“Now I can pass this wisdom onto others, including my boys. This is truly what I love doing, so if I can pass on even a small portion of what was shown to me, then I am happy.”

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