The road to Mars goes through Oklahoma: Frontier Electronic Systems started in 1973 because an OSU professor, Dr. Edward Shreve, and Peggy Shreve wanted to keep newly graduated engineers in the state, and its focus on advanced technology lead them to work on complex space flight and defense programs.
“Frontier manufactures electronic hardware that is currently flying in space, and will be flying on the Artemis missions,” said Brenda Rolls, Frontier Electronic Systems president and CEO. “We 3-D print many different manufacturing fixtures and models to assist with complex assembly of products such as the hand controllers and control panels the Orion astronauts will use to pilot and operate the spacecraft. This allows us to improve first-pass yield of high-quality/high-reliability human-rated space flight hardware.”
If space travel wasn’t enough, Frontier Electronic Systems has seen a 60 percent increase in revenue in the past two years and a business backlog of more than 200 percent during the same time.
“Innovation has been a fundamental element in the company’s longevity and success, and we have seen the transforming impact of technology advances in our engineering and manufacturing capabilities,” Rolls said. “FES was founded as an engineering company with the intent of building an enterprise with innovation at its core, and the ability to manufacture our designs or those of our customers was always part of the founders’ vision.”
“Frontier uses innovation to drive design, development, characterization, and test simulations prior to physical build of products, yielding a robust movement from concept to production.”
Manufacturer of the Year Finalists: Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, AVPro Inc.
