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In some respects, John Wilkinson's company headquarters resembled any regular office building, with its coffee mugs, computer terminals and highly trained employees.

Except for the threat that a rogue projectile may blow up the entire operation.

Which is why Mr. Wilkinson, whose company was contracted by the U.S. government to help with land-mine removal in Iraq, wound up in Alberta three years ago, inspecting a unique product that a Calgary office-furniture manufacturer promised could protect his staff in Baghdad: an "anti-terrorist" cubicle.

"Our guys felt that if there was indirect fire - you know, mortars or rockets - maybe [the cubicle] would help," said Mr. Wilkinson, head of Washington-based Ronco Consulting Corp.

What persuaded him to purchase two "protective office furniture" units for about $15,000 each, Mr. Wilkinson said, was a video showing Canadian scientists trying to explode one of the desks using 110 kilograms of TNT.

It survived with some scratches and one broken hinge.

Gunnar Office Furnishings president Ron Quigley believes it's only a matter of time before sales take off for his unique office furniture designs, helped along by America's war on terror and Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

The desks, made of reinforced steel and with a "personal protection pod" for workers to cower under during earthquakes or bombings, have been designated "anti-terrorist technology" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Two are now being used in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad (Mr. Wilkinson donated them when his offices - located in a trailer - were moved).

And the desks may wind up in Canadian government buildings overseas, Mr. Quigley said. "They definitely have been looking at it." Prime Minister Stephen Harper has toured Gunnar's large Calgary facility.

The 28-year-old furniture manufacturing company began producing the desks after the Sept. 11 attacks.

It helped that Mr. Quigley already had military contacts through his second company, Military International Ltd., which provided equipment to protect against land mines. (Mr. Quigley is no longer with that company.) But it wasn't until Defence Research and Development Canada scientists tried to blow several of the desks up in 2004 that the company's new "protective office furniture" began to garner respect.

Keith Gerrard, senior explosions research technologist with DRDC in Suffield, Alta., said he had planned to do some explosives testing anyway, so after Gunnar staff approached him about testing their product, he said to bring it along.

In a series of tests, Dr. Gerrard detonated explosives 30 metres from a blast-hardened desk - while rubber dummies sat primly in office chairs. The desk sustained a few scratches. A second blast test, this time detonated at a 20-metre range, caused the desk's drawers to open and one hinge to break, but the Gunnar desk otherwise remained intact.

A regular desk subjected to the same tests, according to the DRDC's report, was "reduced to pieces of shards."

Besides conducting the blast tests at Suffield, Gunnar also hired Calgary firefighters to drop slabs of cement and a large cube van on the desks. Each time, the desks ended up with enough room underneath for a person to survive.

One of the keys to his desk's supremacy, Mr. Quigley says, is that the surface is fastened to the floor to stop it from shifting or hurting someone. The Gunnar website lists 14 reasons why the company's office furniture is effective in disasters, including rounded corners to prevent blunt trauma, a survival kit with emergency supplies, and a fire-resistant surface that minimizes fragmentation.

Mr. Quigley said the units could also be helpful in the case of an earthquake or hurricane.

Still, the line of protective furnishings remains only a small sideline of the business, which focuses mainly on furnishing corporate offices. Only about 16 blast-hardened units have been produced, Mr. Quigley said - including four now on display, two in Baghdad and 10 that "we've blown up and tested and tried to crush."

But Mr. Quigley holds out hope. It takes time for people to catch on to new inventions, especially when you're dealing with national security, he said. "It's a whole new technology, and it's a whole different mindset."

Protective office furniture

From earthquakes to bombings, this cubicle is designed to keep workers safe from injury. The desks have been designated "anti-terrorist technology" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The desk has undergone explosion and impact tests such as dropping a delivery truck on the desk from 14 feet above.

Curved surfaces on front of desk help deflect blasts.

Rounded corners help prevent blunt trauma injuries.

Components have metal-to-metal connectors for strength and are fastened to floor so they don't become projectiles.

Gas venting slots help reduce reflective blast pressures.

Special surface coating minimizes fragmentation and is fire resistant.

Personal protection pod under desk offers a structural refuge against blasts and ceiling collapse.

SOURCE: DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CANADA, GUNNAR.CA