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Hands-On
Technology
Three local companies have succeeded with applied technologies you can actually use
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Business New Haven
12/14/1998
By: Abigail White
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The growth of technology-based industries in the second half of this century stems from major changes from the manufacture of mechanical products to their production via digital electronics. Three New Haven-area companies have not only made the transition from designing and manufacturing in an analog-driven environment to a digital one, but did so in a standard-leading fashion as innovators in their
respective industries.
Back in the early 1980s it would have been pretty amazing to have a PC running aboard a boat. In recent years, yachting - specifically racing - has reached a stage of technological advancement where marine instruments like the PC have become more commonplace than even ten years ago.
Ockam Instruments of Milford is one company directly involved in the high-end development of yachting technolo
gy. Its founders, Rich McCurdy and Art Ellis, have played an integral part in producing performance-measurement support for the America's Cup.
The pair developed an information software system while working at Kenyon Marine in Guilford. They found that they had a product in need of a company to sell their system to the high-end cruising market.
Ockam Instruments came together in 1981 and today there are 25 branded Ockam products ranging from central processing units (CPUs) to various interface devices that send sensor information coming from different points on the boat by way of co-axial cable to a marine-powered CPU.
“The systems developed and changed as new technology has come along in performance and navigation, like the GPS. Ockam incorporates them into the products,” says Ockam vice president for sales and marketing Tom Davis. “There are 75 different pieces of data running through the Ockam interfaces, working and talking to one another.”
The information on the CPU tells the yachtsman what the wind speed is, the global positioning (GPS), boat speed, as well as how much tension there is on the sails.
Richard McCurdy designed the software that collects and displays this measurement information all in real-time, digital format.
“Our business is directly affected by the America's Cup,” explains Davis. “As one race is over we start getting ready to develop the next boat.” Ockam has a hands-on relationship with five America's Cup syndicates for onboard instrumentation, including Cup defender Team New Zealand. Davis says that the Cup's engineers come up with ideas and things they need onboard computer systems to do, and Ockam develops the solution or application.
In addition to giving actual real-time data, the Ockam display gives “polar information,” a scientific comparison of how fast the boat should be traveling given the data entering the system. Half the screen displays the boat's actual measurements, while the other half displays the polar information. “We also have a laser range-finder gun that uses telemetry: information about another boat's position, speed, etc., that feeds into the real-time measurements in the computer. All this data tells what performance gain or loss there is.
“When we develop the software and hardware solutions for our work in the America's Cup and our other clients, it pays back for the time in,” says Davis. “That's how we do our research and development. Then we have something that may be a viable product to produce and offer to the market.” This synergy has given Ockam a sales performance of a million dollars a year.
Davis says being located in Connecticut provides Ockam with a selling market and vendors that belong to an overall sailing culture that Ockam is able to take advantage of.
“I'm in awe of the engineering might of thinkers that we know and deal with who are all here in the Northeast,” says Davis. “It's a big advantage to be here.”
Ockam's 52 employees service marine enthusiasts in Connecticut and around the world. They communicate with current and potential customers by using the company's Web site and e-mail system. Plans for 1999 include an Ockam system designed for a broader commercial market. The company's latest development with the America's Cup will be showcased in Auckland, New Zealand in January 2000.
Bio-Med Devices of Guilford, an ISO 9001-registered company, was honored in 1997 as one of Connecticut's 50 fastest-growing technology companies. The company manufactures and markets a complete line of respirators/ventilators, air/oxygen blenders, ventilator monitors and accessories.
Bio-Med Devices' niche is in emergency transport. Hospitals install ventilator units in emergency rooms, intensive and neonatal care units and recovery rooms. Its lightweight and 15-hour battery-powered unit provides a source of access for air transporters such as Connecticut's Life Star helicopter to employ life-supporting respiration units to those in need.
“Our units are used in transports where they don't have access to power,” explains Bio-Med vice president Dean Bennett Jr. of the battery-powered devices. The innovation is “more than just a special battery - it was the way the electronics were designed to really make the most use of the battery.”
With the help of CAD/CAM (computer aided design software) used internally, and by subcontracting some of the manufacturing process to Connecticut-based companies, efficiencies are realized. “We keep it local so we have a machine shop making parts to our specifications,” Bennett says. “Our circuit boards are designed in-house and we ship them out for stuffing [assembly]. We also use local distributors for chips and so forth.”
In 1981 Bio-Med Devices launched the first generation, electronic-based ventilator to an all gas-powered pneumatic market. “We designed the first microprocessor control unit with a 64-key pad and a single display screen,” explains Dean Bennett Sr., Bio-Med's CEO and president. “The R&D time for this was five years.”
Research and development has remained at the core of this company's operations scheme. “Different from some other companies, we develop our R&D, like our newest Crossvent 4 line, with the company's own cash flow,” says the senior Bennett.
Bio-Med Devices' Crossvent 4 is a line of ventilators, introduced in 1995, which employ advanced touch screen control technology. “We were able to do a lot more with the available technology,” says the older Bennett. “Coming out with a multi-layer display board, we went from a 6,500-pound to a ten-pound unit.”
Adds his son, “The ten-pound unit took three years R&D time to get it to market, a key part of which was waiting for the FDA approval.”
“Once we have the 510(k) [pre-market notification], we begin to sell it in other countries, “ says the elder Bennett.
His son adds that the FDA picture is getting better with the time it takes to review the applications necessary for new medical devices. “They're doing pre-screening now,” he says, “and immediately sending them back if they need more information.”
Bio-Med Devices' domestic and national sales operation uses electronic marketing and support information online with a Web site. The company still practices conventional marketing through trade journals and demonstrations at trade shows.
Each year Bio-Med representatives attend a technological medical device exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Medica exhibition alone draws an attendance about 110,000 people.
Currently Bio-Med Devices is working on developing an interactive CD for training purposes, as well as preparing to launch its new TC-100 calibrating instrument specifically designed to aid in troubleshooting and calibrating pneumatic devices.
Fire-Lite Alarms has sure come a long way since its beginnings in 1949 as a small fire equipment installation company in Northford. In this pre-solid state era, Edward Levy and his son Herbert installed and serviced a multitude of fire protection devices.
Edward Levy used his engineering and technical expertise and began to design and manufacture many of his own components. This new venture is today Fire-Lite's flagship and features more than 30 variations of fire-alarm, control panel systems.
When the company found itself with more business than it could handle, Fire-Lite decided in 1962 to shut down the installation and servicing part of the business and put its energies fully into manufacturing. In 1970 Mark Levy took the helm. By the mid-'70s the company had developed its first line of integrated circuit devices, and from there added electronic detection devices to the product mix. Simultaneously Fire-Lite added transmitting and receiving products to its roster of available products.
Fire-Lite's current alarm systems range from two-zone conversion fire-detection for day-care centers to large intelligent networks for airports and full campus systems for universities. Local security service business and national companies like ADT and Johnson Controls distribute and install Fire-Lite Systems.
Fire-Lite control panels offer features compatible within the latest Windows-based programming software, permitting remote site programming, functional control options and online troubleshooting. Additional Fire-Lite product options used in small and large facility applications include emergency voice evacuation; digital alarm communicator transmitters designed to transmit system status by zone or by point; six-amp remote power supplies, used alternately as resettable/non-resettable power outputs; and manual pull stations to initiate alarms manually.
Local sites such as New Haven City Hall, New Haven Savings Bank and the University of New Haven are just a few of Fire-Lite's clients. Other Fire- Lite installations may be found among local, national and international hotels, restaurants, schools and hospitals.
Last month Fire-Lite launched its Year 2000 compliance report: an eight-page, 66-step procedure to insure their Fire Alarm Control Panels (FACPs) will survive the turnover to the new Millennium. The company has increased its technological capability and set up a Y2K test and conversion on every version of software that it has ever released to the market to ensure compliance.
“We spent a quarter million dollars to make the switch,” says Mark Levy, “but it's done.”
“Burglar and fire-alarm panels won't likely fail completely like many computer systems operating on older technology,” says Fire-Lite product manager Kevin Araujo. “Instead, the time and date recorded in the system's history log may not read properly. The system will still provide protection. It's just that should the system go into alarm, the proper time and date may not be recorded correctly, and this can lead to problems.
“These history logs compiled by your burglar and fire alarm panels can provide valuable information if there were an incident,” Araujo adds. “If this is ever the case with your system, you'll want all pertinent history to be accurate.”
The year 2000 is also a leap year, and therefore leap-year compliance is equally important. “Will your system roll over to February 29, 2000 or March 1, 2000?” Araujo asks.
In addition to investing in Y2K compliance, Fire-Lite has also been putting its resources toward acquiring greater share in foreign markets and expanding international sales. “Fire-Lite has been a successful manufacturer for a long time, and we look forward to a bright and growing future,” says Levy.
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