Avionics News October 2014 - 35

The	ALERTS	project	led	to	collaboration	efforts	with	Eurocopter	(now	
Airbus	Helicopters).	Together,	Appareo	
and	Eurocopter	developed	the	Vision	
1000,	which	is	a	light,	300-gram	flight	
data	recorder.	Airbus	installs	the	system	
on	most	new	helicopters.	
Perhaps	Appareo's	most	notable	best	
practice	is	the	company's	commitment	
to	remain	a	private	firm.	Without	venture	capitalists	involved,	the	company	
is	able	to	take	a	long-term	approach	to	
products.	Furthermore,	this	commitment	gives	the	company	the	ability	to	
change	directions	rapidly	as	markets	
develop	and	opportunities	arise.
Management	at	the	founding	level	
makes	their	home	in	the	Fargo	area.	
Barry	Batcheller,	president	and	chief	
executive	officer,	has	more	than	30	
years	of	experience	in	electronics	
design	and	has	
founded	four	successful	companies.	
Batcheller	was	named	the	North	Dakota	
Business	Innovator	of	the	Year	in	1994,	
the	Fargo	Chamber	of	Commerce	Small	
Business	Person	of	the	Year	in	1995,	
and	the	North	Dakota	Entrepreneur	
of	the	year	in	2006.	In	addition	to	his	
responsibilities	at	Appareo,	Batcheller	
also	serves	on	the	boards	of	several	
companies	and	organizations,	including	the	North	Dakota	State	University	
Research	and	Technology	Park.
With	local	private	management,	the	
company	has	the	ability	to	"be	patient	
and	find	our	opportunities,"	according	
to	Jeff	Johnson,	vice	president	of	business	development.	Johnson	noted	that	
Appareo	has	a	strong	center	of	gravity	
when	compared	to	other	companies,	
which	move	at	investors'	direction.	

"The	founders	wanted	a	vibrant	local	
place,	while	looking	to	future	generations,"	Johnson	said.
The	ADS-B	Stratus	product	line	is	
an	example	of	Appareo's	ability	to	be	
patient.	
"We	spent	a	year	studying	the	
market	and	formed	partnerships	with	
ForeFlight	and	Sporty's	Pilot	Shop,"	
Johnson	said.	
The	company	was	able	to	hit	the	
market	with	a	fully	formed	ADS-B	
solution	for	iPad-equipped	pilots.	The	
Stratus	won	the	2012	FLYING Magazine	Editor's	Choice	Award.	
Private	management	allows	Appareo	to	"buck	the	trend,"	according	to	
Johnson.	The	company	is	fully	vertical	and	able	to	bring	on	surrounding	
support	systems.	In	the	early	days,	the	
company	would	design	
a	product	and	then	use	
a	contracted	manufacturer.	At	times,	these	
manufacturers	would	
provide	feedback,	but	according	to	
Johnson,	"It	didn't	hit	home."	Appareo	
built	its	own	SMT	lines	that	allowed	it	
to	both	design	and	build	products.	Not	
only	do	the	design	and	manufacturing	
engineers	know	each	other,	but	they	
also	have	lunch	together.	This	creates	
an	effective	feedback	loop	resulting	in	
better-engineered	products.
Having	both	engineering	and	manufacturing	in-house	helps	Appareo	discover	new	opportunities.	The	company	
has	staffed	itself	to	develop	turnkey	solutions	by	virtue	of	having	mechanical	
and	electrical	engineers	on	hand.	Not	
only	is	the	company	well-staffed	with	
engineers,	but	Appareo	also	employs	
Continued on following page

Manufacturing test engineer Larry Wagner (left)
and electronics technicians Paul Mitchell and
Chris Serani work on one of Appareo's surface
mount technology assembly lines at the company's
headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota.

Daniel Premo, electronics technician, conducts
verification tests on a Vision 1000, one of Appareo's
lightweight flight data monitoring devices.
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Avionics News October 2014

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