Apr. 12—Leave it to the rengineers at Exquadrum to develop a special "formulated" fuse cord to cut the ribbon on the company's new headquarters at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
Exquadrum CEO Kevin Mahaffy and President Eric Schmidt were joined by a host of dignitaries and guests at the ceremonial unveiling of the company's 66,000-square-foot facility on Sabre Boulevard on Friday.
Exquadrum paid $4.3 million for the property and did exhaustive remodeling on the building that was constructed in 1955 as a main logistics center for the now-shuttered George Air Force Base.
"This is a milestone for us that will enable the further growth of our company and further demonstrates the aerospace, defense, and aviation presence at SCLA," said Schmidt, who launched Exquadrum with Mahaffy in 2002 in Victorville before relocating shortly thereafter to Adelanto.
'Vital to the national security'
The outdoor ceremony near the front steps of the building included several speakers, including U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, who said as a newly elected member of Congress, he's gotten a whole different perspective on just how important companies like Exquadrum are.
"This facility is vital to the national security of our country," Obernolte said. "The research and the development that's done here makes our military more competitive, makes our industry more competitive and makes our space program more competitive."
Obernolte said as an entrepreneur he's "in awe" of the work done by Mahaffy and Schmidt, whose business model centers around research and development, where there's a high degree of failure.
Sometimes the projects "work and sometimes they don't work," said Obernolte, the former 33rd District Assemblyman.
Mahaffy recalled growing up in the High Desert as a "dreamer," with heroes like Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla inspiring him to start a great company and team that would turn innovations into reality.
While working his dream job as a research and development engineer at the Air Force Astronautics Laboratory, Mahaffy knew he needed to take the next step toward his ultimate dream.
During that time, Mahaffy looked for a business partner, someone as "crazy" as himself, who would leave a steady government job to take a risk in pursuing a dream.
Mahaffy told the audience that he looked down the hall of the Air Force Astronautics Laboratory and shouted "him," as he pointed to Schmidt.
Because of Exquadrum's past achievements and ambitious future, Mahaffy reminded those gathered that he "prophesied" that one day, SCLA would be known as the "Southern California Logistics Space Port."
Exquadrum clients include DARPA, Air Force
Exquadrum oversees a wide range of projects and has contracted with private firms and government agencies, including the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency and Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Schmidt said.
For example, Exquadrum's $15.1 million contract with DARPA included last year's successful completion of a second and final hot-fire test of a new rocket being developed for the DARPA Operational Fires advanced hypersonic weapon system mission, the Daily Press reported.
The rocket propulsion system for DARPA was tested last year at Exquadrum's FORGE Rocket Test Facility at SCLA.
First District Supervisor Paul Cook started his address with a bit of comedy when he asked Schmidt and Mahaffy, "Where did you get the name Exquadrum? You know, it sounds like a diuretic or something."
Later, Schmidt would explain that the word "Exquadrum" is a loose translation of a Latin word for "out of the box," indicating the company's "unconstrained approach to research and development, and technical services."
Cook, the former representative for California's 8th congressional district, the seat now held by Obernolte, said that some aerospace companies have high production costs and lengthy project turnaround times.
"Turn it over to these guys," shouted Cook, as he pounded the lectern, gestured toward the Exquadrum owners, which drew laughter from the crowd.
"What you've done here in so many ways — jobs, the economy — but once again you were able to go out and do things and cut through the red tape," Cook said. "As somebody who spent a lot of time in the military, we appreciate that. It's all about the troops and to me it translates into saving lives."
In 2015, Exquadrum was involved when the Pentagon awarded a $7.2 million contract to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Aerospace to develop and test the fireball HAMMER (Heated And Mobile Munitions Employing Rockets), designed to destroy chemical and biological weapons in underground bunkers or weapons storage facilities, according to a previous Daily Press story.
The bomb's concept was patented by Exquadrum and created by Mahaffy, who explained how the one-ton bomb is designed to litter the area with hundreds of rocket-propelled fireballs designed to incinerate chemical and biological agents at temperatures over 1,000 degrees.
Exquadrum Director of Operations Brian Bowers, who oversaw the renovation of the building, said his goal was to transform the old warehouse into Schmidt and Mahaffy's dream of a new corporate headquarters.
Victorville Mayor Debra Jones said the work done by Exquadrum is putting the region on the map and Hesperia Mayor Cameron Gregg thanked Schmidt and Exquadrum for their work.
Assemblyman Thurston "Smitty" Smith said Exquadrum's multi-million dollar investment in Victorville resulted in 63 "big paying jobs" created in the Victor Valley.
'Eric is everywhere'
Smith praised Schmidt, and also Mahaffy, whom he called the one "behind the scenes who doesn't get much recognition because Eric is everywhere."
Some of Schmidt's public involvement includes serving the City of Hesperia as mayor and councilman, also president of the Victor Valley College Foundation and chairman of the board of the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce.
Attorney and Victor Valley College Board of Trustee Brandon Wood told the audience that Schmidt and Exquadrum have had a direct impact on countless students, many who have advanced in their educational goals.
Exquadrum announced in March the donation of 26,000 square feet of the new building to VVC to house a regional training center and to potentially expand the College's SCLA School of Aviation in the future.
Schmidt said the 66-year-old building held many remodeling challenges and a bit of family history as his late stepfather, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Edward Kleinlein, worked there in 1983 as a stockroom clerk to support his family amid an economic slowdown, where he lost his job as a logistics systems manager in the defense community.
Kleinlein, who worked on classified programs such as the B-2 Stealth Bomber and served during two wars, died in August 2019 at his Hesperia home. He was 83.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
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