Founder and President Neil Gupta’s engineering and design company creates cutting-edge prototypes for aerospace and other industries.
Thanks to a staff of experienced specialists, Kinetic Analytics is able to not only design and develop new products for their clients but also to assist in assessing the efficiency and feasibility of large-scale production of the parts. In addition, the company does some production work of their own for clients, most often in building robotic components for various manufacturing industries.
In terms of the company’s capabilities, Gupta says, “We do almost everything ourselves. What we don’t do is plating or heat treating of alloys. But we will buy the raw materials and do all the finish-machining [and] all the electro-mechanical tasks like assembly and circuitry to get [the product] ready for the customer. We have a knowledge and depth of experience that allows us to analyze and design exactly what’s needed.”
Gupta’s own background of decades in design and analysis of composite structures and mechanical systems combines with other experts in electronics, CAD, mechanics, and machining operations to create a well-rounded, versatile team to handle whatever projects come their way. The company’s collective technical knowledge in aerospace, medical, automotive, and other fields also allows them to assist clients with material and product certifications for military and FAA requirements.
Most of Kinetic Analytics’ work is precision oriented, and a variety of CNC equipment in the hands of skilled operators allows them to achieve the accuracy and consistency needed to provide the quality results their customers are looking for. Specific experience in working with the latest in high-strength, high-temperature materials keeps the company at the forefront of innovation. Because of the highly detailed and technical nature of the work, Gupta deals directly with clients. Rather than filtering through a salesforce, he says, “The customer appreciates being able to deal directly with an engineer who’s able to accurately understand their specific needs. Sometimes we just do CAD; sometimes we just do analysis; and sometimes we create the whole product.”
The company’s raw materials — particularly metals — are primarily domestically sourced. For the most part, they’ve been able to purchase supplies without much disruption, although Gupta points out, “In some cases, it’s been challenging, but in odd items. The precursors for some epoxies have been difficult, sometimes with part A and not part B, and some metal alloys, and some other ancillary things like solvents and such. We do need to stay aware of the problem, and we try to set up orders a couple of months ahead of where we would normally in anticipation of it.”
Over the years, Kinetic Analytics has both expanded and contracted, and Gupta says that finding people with the kind of expertise needed to work in the company’s environment can be quite difficult. “People might know one of the operations we need,” he explains, “but it’s a rare person who knows two or three or four of the things. So, it’s been hard to find those people that are broadly capable.”
Going forward, the company is looking to demonstrate a new rotor system for UAVs and is in the process of sending out research grant proposals to the National Science Foundation and NASA to assist with achieving that goal. They are hopeful the project may begin by the end of this year, and Gupta has invested personally in moving it ahead. Additionally, Kinetic Analytics is looking to demonstrate a new vehicle for the U.S. Army, so there’s no shortage of advanced technological ideas for the team to create and bring to the world.
Challenges: The company came through the worst of the pandemic with a steady workflow, but Gupta says, “The first few months of this year we had tons of work. But in recent months, we’ve seen a significant slowdown. I do feel like everyone is getting a little worried.”
Opportunities: “We are trying to advertise our consulting services a bit more because we are all engineers, and we deal with a variety of things for people,” says Gupta. “We are looking to grow, and a lot of the production work we’re doing just came to us. We weren’t really looking for it, but it opened lines to other things like our automation. We’ve been putting together little marketing campaigns through emails or LinkedIn to people that we think would be interested. It’s a rare company that’s big enough to design for their own automation needs, and we can provide a third-party automation solution for them.”
Needs: Simply to continue developing new business and getting the word out about their capabilities.
