BUTLER TWP — True to its namesake, Applied Test Systems offers a variety of testing equipment, capable of many variations of stress testing, and pressure, sealant, asphalt and calibration testing.

"We are sort of an anomaly. We actually make things," said David Fair, vice president of operations and general manager at ATS.

The company can build universal testing machines capable of almost any test on any material.

ATS can test how much pressure is needed to release the pull tab on a soda can, how much force is needed to peel the paper from drywall and how difficult it is to bend or break a titanium turbine blade in an engine.

The company also builds items for nondestructive testing, such as metal blocks with pre-engineered flaws to calibrate equipment.

For some tests, heating a material is required, so ATS began offering several lines of process heating goods: furnaces, ovens, electro heat systems and environmental chambers.

"The materials testing built the process heating. Now it is a significant part of our business," said Fair.

"We've been opportunistic to find things that fit into our competencies."

Asphalt, for example.

ATS makes four major pieces of equipment for asphalt testing, designed to meet requirements developed by the Strategic Highway Research Program.

"We always like to joke that Pennsylvania is not a big customer of ours," Fair said.

ATS offers installation, calibration and repair services for all of its equipment. The company provides training as well.

Its clients include universities, government agencies and testing laboratories.

The company builds and packs its own crates to ship components, ensuring a snug fit and no damage to its products.

The company was founded by Kansas native Norman L. Carroll after he spent 15 years working for the Westinghouse Atomic Fuel Division Plant in Cheswick.

Carroll often had to develop solutions in-house when he lacked adequate equipment for the unique testing and quality control applications he encountered with Westinghouse.

The situation led him to found his own company, Applied Devices, in 1965.

Carroll and his first few employees used a refurbished barn in Saxonburg as their engineering, marketing and manufacturing facility. The company's principal customer was Carroll's former employer, Westinghouse. Word quickly spread that Applied Devices was the place to go for custom equipment no one else would or could build.

By 1983, the company's growth prompted the adoption of a new name, Applied Test Systems, to more accurately describe the services it provided.

"Strength of materials in today's society, we always look for things that are lighter and stronger. That drives the materials industry, which drives the testing industry," Fair said.

In addition, the company had outgrown "The Barn." In 1983, it moved into its current location at 348 New Castle Road, home of the former Bobbie Brooks Clothing Factory.

ATS employs 67 workers, up from 54 two years ago. Fair expects to employ 80 people in coming years. Along with mechanical, electrical and software engineers, ATS employs a skilled and semiskilled labor force, including welders and machinists.

The company is a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials and continues to develop new products.

ATS is deeply involved internationally.

"The nice part is we're well-diversified between domestic and nondomestic sales," said president Michael Asti.

The company made its first international sale in the early 1970s and now has clients in China, India, Korea and Europe. Recently it began selling nanotechnology in Taiwan.

"All the politics go away. People just want to advance the science," said Fair.

He said the company has sales representatives and agents all over the world, "but quite honestly, we make damn good equipment, and our reputation precedes us."

ATS won the Pennsylvania Governor's Export Excellence Award in 2004.

The home of ATS is a 40,000 square foot facility.

"When we moved in, this place was huge. We thought we'd be here forever. Now we're bursting at the seams," Fair said.

By May, the company will be settled in East Butler, in the same industrial park that is home to Magnetics and JSP International. Several ATS departments have already been moved there.

The new site will feature several buildings, the two largest being 90,000 and 24,000 square feet.

When scouting locations, ATSconsidered places in Armstrong and Allegheny counties, and even out of state. But, ultimately, its employees kept it local.

"Between 'The Barn' and (New Castle Road), we've been hiring in Butler for 40-plus years. This is where our expertise lies," said Fair.

"Our employees are the best asset we have, hands down," Asti said.

Technologically, not much has changed for ATS. Fair compared the testing to the internal combustion engine — even though the technology surrounding it has improved, the base device has remained essentially the same.

"The fundamentals are the same, but the nature of data acquisition (using computers to collect, organize and analyze test results) has advanced drastically," said Fair.