Burnaby, BC March 7, 2017. Orbital Research today announced its sale to senior employees who will assume management of the company. Ian McEachern, Orbital’s Vice-President of Engineering will assume the role of President and will become the majority shareholder. To ensure a smooth transition, Orbital’s current resident and Founder, Mike Stevens, will remain with the company to advise the senior management team during the transition.
“Orbital Research’s innovative designs and quality manufacturing have consistently attracted top tier customers and I expect that to continue,” said Orbital’s outgoing President and Founder, Mike Stevens. “I could not leave the company in better hands. With over 30 years experience in the satellite industry, Ian has the technical expertise and the management experience to steer Orbital successfully through the next decade and beyond.”
The company is also announcing the appointment of Trevor Hiebert as Vice-President of Business Development. Trevor Hiebert brings a wealth of experience in the Satellite Communications industry starting with hands on experience installing and designing earth stations as well as over 15 years of experience in senior sales working on some of the largest Canadian satellite communications deals ever, steering billion-dollar and multi-million dollar deals through to completion. He is uniquely positioned to understand customers’ problems and help them devise the best solution.
In addition to the trend toward aircraft inflight connectivity, demand for communications components is being driven by the “small satellite” boom for earth observation applications. The lower cost and wider availability of low earth orbit cubesats and nanosats will fuel diverse applications including communications, remote sensing, agricultural and forestry surveillance, mineral exploration, navigation, scientific research, and technology testing. While these new use cases will drive the growth for electronic components, traditional markets like government and military remain stable in North America while expanding globally.
“These are exciting days to be involved in satellite communications,” said Ian McEachern, “With Trevor joining our existing very capable team, we will be focusing on new applications and new markets for our product lineup. Orbital Research has the track record and the engineering know-how to build high performance converters for the most demanding conditions and we will continue to prosper as this industry grows.”
About Orbital Research
The performance and value leader, Orbital Research engineers and manufactures custom, off-the-shelf high performance block down converters and low-noise down converters for the satellite communications industry. Since 2003, the company has engineered proven products for satellite systems and next generation earth terminals for L-Band through Ka-Band frequencies. Orbital converters form critical components of systems for High Throughput Satellites, communications on the move, earth observation, military, remote worksite communications, and telecommunications backhaul. Key customers include L3 GCS and L3 Datron. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Orbital is a private company. For more information visit www.orbitalresearch.net.
About Ian McEachern
With over 30 years of experience in the satellite communications industry, Ian McEachern’s experience includes projects with a major satellite carrier to several earth station equipment manufacturers. He has significant hands-on experience designing and installing earth stations in some of the most remote corners of Canada and around the world. He has also been involved in designs for on-board satellite systems, as well as advanced and next generation earth terminals for L-Band through Ka-Bands. He has also contributed to international standards organizations such as the ITU and DVB-RCS. Mr. McEachern received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and is a licensed Professional Engineer.