SOURCE: Long Beach Press-Telegram <http://www.press-telegram.com/archive/business/0202/09/biz01.asp> Box passes FAA toughness test By John W. Cox Staff writer RANCHO DOMINGUEZ A new model of airplane baggage containers designed and made in Rancho Dominguez has been federally certified as being capable of withstanding gunshots and bomb explosions. The certification, announced Friday in Washington, makes Telair International the nation's first air cargo container manufacturer to pass the Federal Aviation Administration's blast resistance test. Hailed by Torrance Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald as a breakthrough in the nation's quest for greater airline security, the certification follows four years and millions of dollars spent in research. "I'm excited, first of all, that this emanated from my (congressional) district," Millender-McDonald said. She added that the product should persuade more people to return to air travel in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The technology behind Telair's new container, called the Hardened Unit Load Device, or HULD, relies heavily on a Kevlar material commonly used to make bulletproof vests. Telair recently unveiled a gunshot-proof cockpit door made of the same fabric-like material. In August bomb tests at the federal Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, the cargo containers' Kevlar walls expanded like a balloon upon detonation, but no material penetrated the containers. In other tests, the same Kevlar material withstood rounds from a .44-caliber Magnum fired from 16 feet. Telair's vice president and general manager, Dennis K. Staver, said the containers are 25 percent heavier than standard cargo containers and will cost airlines extra fuel and money. However, he said HULDs provide better security than any other cargo container. "It would feel like turbulence" if a bomb exploded inside a HULD in flight, Staver said. "But that's a lot better than a big hole in the side of the airplane." Each HULD is expected to sell for about $20,000, though price will depend on the number bought, Staver said. In estimating the product's potential market, he said there are 3,600 aircraft in operation worldwide that could use the containers, 1,000 of them in the United States. Each plane can require three to five cargo containers. Telair has received no orders for HULDs, but Staver said that's because the product was just announced. Some airlines have been watching its progress, he said. Telair expects to make 5,000 to 6,000 HULDs at a rate of 50 to 100 daily, Staver said. A New Jersey company, Galaxy Scientific, uses a different material to make an air cargo container with similar security aims. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex, a German company with operations in England, Germany and Sweden. Telair, started 10 years ago at 2930 E. Maria St., employs 75 people. Other potential applications for Telair's technology include airplane floor panels and bulkheads, Staver said.