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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