Irvine startup Eon Reality Inc., a maker of 3-D and virtual reality software, has moved into new, larger space to accommodate growth during the past three years.
“We are a decently large fish in a very small pond,” said Dan Lejerskar, cofounder and chairman. “Organic growth has given us a good run.”
The company more than tripled its space in a recent move to an 18,000-square-foot office with a high-tech demonstration room. It counts 20 workers in Irvine and another dozen or so in design centers in Singapore and Sweden.
The demo room was key, according to Lejerskar.
“One problem that we have is this is a ‘You need to see it to believe it’ kind of thing,” he said.
Eon’s software takes computer renderings and makes them 3-D.
Images can be made transparent to show internal parts and manipulated onscreen.
The software also can recreate scenarios to help train emergency workers and crews working in dangerous jobs, such as mining.
Most of Eon’s revenue is from selling its software and services to companies for sales, marketing, training and support.
“You can actually bring products to life,” Lejerskar said. “There were not that many people using this type of software for pure sales, marketing and training. We saw a niche that could actually become very large.”
Eon, which did about $10 million in sales last year, has customers that include makers of hospital equipment, vocational training schools, aerospace and defense contractors, utility companies, the Navy and auto dealerships.
Customer Uses
They include Office Depot Inc., Lexmark International Inc., Peterbilt Motors Co. and British Petroleum PLC, among others.
Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., which has its U.S. headquarters in Brea, was an early adopter of its software.
A few years ago it installed interactive kiosks at 600 of Suzuki’s dealerships that help its sales staff show off the different types of motorcycles it sells and accessory options.
“If I’m a salesperson, this will help me talk about the key features,” said Mats Johansson, cofounder and president of Eon. “This is important because a typical dealership would sell three to four brands. Each car model has hundreds of data points to keep track of, and that changes from year to year.”
Subaru of America Inc., part of Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., has a similar program, where potential auto buyers can see what their cars will look like with different options packages, colors and upholstery.
Toyota Motor Corp. used the software to project a life-size version of the new Lexus IS 350 in a shop window in New York’s Times Square.
The aerospace industry, including customers Boeing Co. and Honeywell International Inc., is a big source of business for Eon.
“We can provide a visualization experience with interactive configurations before the plane is ever built,” Johansson said.
“Aerospace guys are not satisfied with just having computer generated designs,” Lejerskar said. “They want to see the real thing and they want to configure it.”
A few years ago Eon worked with Cypress-based Christie Digital Systems Inc., a maker of digital projectors, to create the iCube. It looks like a cube with one side missing. With special glasses, the projectors create a life-size, 3-D scenario that users can “experience” first hand by walking into the cube.
ICube can replace expensive mockups of an airplane, engine or the inside of an apartment.
Boeing uses one to train its workers on airplane maintenance. Miami-based developer Lennar Corp., which has operations in Aliso Viejo, used it to show prospective buyers the layouts of condominiums.
Companies like the software because it gives them more bang for their buck when it comes to reusing computer-created designs, Johansson said.
Tradeshows and entertainment are another big source of business for Eon.
The company partners with makers of special projectors, displays and digital televisions to put on 3-D presentations at such events.
Take its Holopodium, a futuristic display that projects a 3-D animated hologram of a lifelike person giving a presentation.
“It’s a really good way to create an exciting display,” Johansson said. “This experience is something a lot of our customers are looking for today.”
Even Hollywood is getting into the act.
Last year’s “Beowulf,” a movie lauded for its special effects, was released in 3-D through Imax and RealD theaters.
Johansson and Lejerskar, both natives of Sweden who came here in the 1990s, are looking to double Eon’s revenue by 2010.
They started the company in 1999 with startup money from friends and family.
Eon has been profitable for five years, Johansson said.
Roughly 60% of its revenue comes from Europe and Asia with the balance from the U.S., he said.
