SurveyLab
The Market
SurveyLab's IKE being used by the military in the field (Click to enlarge)
Four years on, SurveyLab has sold IKEs for use in the US, South Africa, Europe, Asia, India, and Australia. In Canada, a seismic survey company bought 13 of the devices to record information about potential drilling sites. Other applications offshore include managing forests and archeological sites and recording scene evidence in accident investigations. Local customers include Levin-based lines company Electra, which uses the device to record information about its inventory of powerpoles. The Rotorua District Council uses the device to look after its water hydrants, street signs and other outdoor assets.
The market for the device seems almost boundless, but, as the saying goes: “Too much choice leads to the madhouse”. Leon says the company isn't a multinational yet and can't go spreading its limited resources too thinly. “You have to go and do one thing and do it well then move on to the next. It's all about focus."
Recognising just how large potential sales are, the market has sat up and paid attention. In August 2005, ‘angel’ investment company No 8 Ventures invested $2 million in SurveyLab to help the company develop its sales and marketing capacity, particularly in the US.
One market that SurveyLab has focused on is the military. In 2004 Skylab negotiated a research deal with the US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) to develop a handheld mapping device. After consultation and field trials, including trials in a minefield, SurveyLab designed a military version of IKE. This involved, making it ‘desert-ready’, beefing up the casing, making the screen resistant to sand scratching and sun glare, and adding some new software.
In 2006, SurveyLab signed a patent license agreement with CERL, giving it the right to market and sell the device – named HAMMER in the military market – within the US. Worldwide, it's an enormous market, but its one that comes with several drawbacks: Military organisations may buy in bulk but they typically have long buying cycles and pay slowly.
The oil and gas exploration market is also promising, says Leon. Declining yields from the fast-maturing mega-fields are putting oil companies are under pressure to find and develop new fields quickly. Trouble is, right now there are more prospects than prospectors to explore them. Leon figures using his device would help prospectors do just that. These ‘bull’ market conditions are putting pressure on operators to operate quickly and efficiently.
