By Jeff Postelwait
Online editor

Dr. David Japikse, chairman, CEO and founder of Concepts NREC, said advances in turbomachinery are vital to our modern lifestyle, adding that with greater demand for increased efficiency in the power generation industry comes more demand for research and development in the turbomachinery field.

Concepts NREC is a worldwide turbomachinery design, engineering and development organization with a staff of more than 100 people at its facilities in Wilder, Vt., and Woburn, Mass. At Concepts NREC, Japikse oversees the design and development of various centrifugal compressor, pump and turbine stages including the development of design tools.

Japikse said despite the global credit crisis and economic downturn, there will still be great advancements in the field of turbomachinery in the future.

"To be sure, there will be some nasty dips caused by the recession, but the basic industry demands will still be present: a) widely available, economical, green power; b) sustainable feedstocks for the petrochemical industry; and c) a fully revitalized automotive and housing market geared to a new economic model," Japikse said.

The engineering design group at Concepts NREC is the company's largest department, he said, adding that the department has a strong project load for renewable energy projects, turbochargers and other engine activities.

"This group also offers comprehensive testing capability thus enhancing all of our customer's efforts to design and produce their products," he said.

The company's software department is next largest in size and serves the world market.

"Once the economic system rebalances and exchange rates stabilize, this segment should snap back to strong growth," he said.

Japikse founded Concepts ETI in 1980 and guided the company as president until 2000 when he led the acquisition of NREC's consulting and engineering software business.

The company is on track, he said, to double in size over the next five to seven years on its current growth plan.

"There is a lot of opportunity out there. It just has to be pursued diligently and with good partners," he said.

Japikse said his company's Agile Engineering Design System is often imitated by competitors. The software tools combine experience, test data and theoretical concepts to aid in turbomachinery design, analysis and manufacturing, he said.

"Our system works with the design engineer from soup to nuts: we deeply support the earliest conceptual design iterations and support the designer with all essential steps through the complete process right up through the final machining of the key parts," he said.

While the turbomachinery industry will continue to grow, Japikse said only the strongest, most advanced and forward-thinking companies will thrive in a more difficult financial environment.

"The economic mess of the present time is horrible for business, but we can all help. Good services at a fair price with reasonable terms and margins are appropriate for all of us," he said. "It is time to go back to basics. Flexibility in problem solving for our customers is paramount in these times."

Japikse has written and co-authored four books and many papers and was recently awarded the 2008 SAE Cliff Garrett Turbomachinery and Applications Engineering Award.