Relm fights fires arboreal and financial
What’s bad for the nation’s forests is good for Relm Wireless. The West Melbourne, FL-based radio communications equipment manufacturer received an “emergency order” worth $320,000 for 530 radios on July 27 and shipped them the next day. U.S. Forest Service workers received them the following day. Relm has a contract to supply the Forest Service, which is fighting fires on more than four million acres of forest.
On Aug. 30, the company announced that the vast number of forest fires has resulted in $1.9 million worth of additional orders that are expected to be shipped during the third quarter. Relm filled emergency orders for 1,400 radios in August.
However, for the three months ending June 30, Relm reported losing $542,000 on $5.2 million in sales.
Relm has retained the investment banking firm of Janney Montgomery Scott as a financial advisor as the company considers whether to sell all of its assets, merge with another company, recapitalize or enter into a joint venture. Janney will also explore additional financing alternatives and other sources of working capital.
Relm’s president, David P. Storey, said that the Forest Service sales will help to increase revenue, as will expected sales and shipments of inventory acquired from Uniden America’s Private Radio Communication Division and shipments to the U. S. Army under an order placed in June.
The company’s expense ratio may improve since it contracted earlier this year for manufacturing services and moved to smaller quarters.
“We are continuing to develop our APCO 25-compliant digital products, planned for introduction early in 2001,” Storey said. “These new product and revenue opportunities, combined with serious cost reduction measures, we believe, will yield improved financial performance in 2001.”
Com-Net Ericsson Critical Radio Systems, Lynchburg, VA, and Dataradio, Atlanta, have signed a letter of intent for the creation of a strategic alliance to provide and integrate Dataradio’s wireless data products and systems through Com-Net Ericsson’s worldwide distribution channels.
In addition to Com-Net Ericsson offering Dataradio products and systems, the two companies intend to work together to develop new products for combined voice and data networks.
The companies will interface through Com-Net Ericsson’s newly formed Data Systems division, a multifunctional organization dedicated to serving the data needs of today’s land mobile radio market, from consulting services to the delivery of complete, integrated working systems.
For details on these stories, visit MRT’s Web site – Com-Net Ericsson, Marconi Communications, Simoco and Nokia, among others, want to introduce TETRA products in the United States for public safety and commercial users. Motorola and perhaps other holders of intellectual property rights connected with TETRA can prevent TETRA products from being sold in North America. Motorola has said that it recognizes the strength of the public safety community’s desire for interoperability. It is reluctant to facilitate the introduction of digital radio technology that doesn’t meet the U.S. Project 25 standard for interoperability, although it has a large share of the worldwide TETRA market and could offer such products itself. Our online story explains how the matter is being resolved within the standards process and how long it may take.
– USMSS is ready to help dealers find new opportunities when it makes presentations at the Oct. 4-7 Private Wireless Spectrum Management Conference and Exposition (see page 8). USMSS is finding ways to overcome the “Motorola factor.”
– “Orthogonal multiplexing” may boost mobile data transfer rates, including voice-over-IP. Read what Joseph Leonardi, president of ElectroCom Systems, and Ernie Hofmeister, Ph.D., chief technology officer of Com-Net Ericsson Critical Radio Systems, have to say about the new technology from Flarion.
– An acquisition by Motorola brings Printrak, its 600 employees and its software and related services into the fold at the manufacturing giant. Motorola executive Robert L. Barnett explains why the Printrak acquisition will help public safety customers.
– Southern Linc has signed up its 200,000th customer as it scores a hefty percentage growth over last year.
– Transcrypt International lost $2.6 million in the second quarter. Chairman Michael Jalbert explains the loss, offers reasons why the future holds better results, and sets an ambitious revenue target for 2005.
– Datamarine International, still the subject of takeover talk, saw its land mobile product sales increase a little last quarter, while its marine communications and marine instrumentation product sales sank. Find out what else the company is selling.
