Iteris Inc. is doing the Lord’s work in Orange County.
The Santa Ana-based company is making commutes shorter in Southern California by working with city and state agencies to reduce traffic congestion.
As more cars crowd the roads, Iteris has seen demand for its services grow.
For the 12 months through June 30, the company had sales of about $60 million, up 33% from $45 million for the same period in 2004. It’s No. 48 on our list of fastest-growing public companies ranked by revenue.
“We are one of the largest traffic management companies in the country,” said Abbas Mohaddes, president and chief executive.
The company is looking for about 18% sales growth this year, he said.
Iteris recently doubled the size of its headquarters after moving from Anaheim to Santa Ana. The company is looking to hire more than 30 workers this year. It counts 235 total, with 145 in OC.
The company has three main businesses:
It does consulting work for state and city agencies looking to do studies and find remedies for areas with particularly bad traffic.
“(We) help public agencies to reduce congestion,” Mohaddes said. “We study intersections and prepare signal timing plans that would provide better synchronization of the lights. That would reduce overall travel time, stops and delays for motorists.”
Customers include the cities of Fountain Valley, Westminster and Anaheim, among others in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Iteris also does consulting work for the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Department of Transportation. It counts more than 50 public agencies as its customers, Mohaddes said.
Consulting projects can be as small as looking at traffic on one street or as large as a 10-year long analysis of truck traffic on a freeway.
“Transit studies are the hallmark of our firm,” Mohaddes said.
Consulting made up about $6 million of Iteris’ sales last year, he said.
Iteris’ biggest source of business is selling and installing cameras that get mounted on traffic lights.
The cameras act as sensors and change the light when a car approaches.
Iteris’ cameras are replacing an older system that’s installed below ground and activated when a car rolls over it.
“Our technology is 98% accurate, lasts 10 years and it’s easier to maintain and cheaper to install,” Mohaddes said.
Iteris has about 40% of the market for such systems, he said.
The company sold about $27 million in camera systems last year, or about 45% of its total sales, Mohaddes said.
The third,and fastest growing,piece of Iteris’ business is selling what’s called lane departure sensors to makers of large freight trucks and companies that have big fleets.
The system is made up of software, a camera and a small computer that attaches to the windshield or dashboard.
When a driver crosses a lane divider without signaling, the device sounds an alarm.
“It beeps or shakes the steering wheel,” Mohaddes said.
Iteris has sold the device to more than 40 fleets. Customers include truck makers Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Maverick Transportation LLC.
The company also sells to delivery companies with big fleets and installs them aftermarket.
“We typically focus on fleets that have 300 or more trucks,” Mohaddes said. “We give them a chip and training, and then their mechanics install them.”
Iteris is going after automakers for sales too, he said.
The company landed a design win with Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., which is branding it as a lane-keeping feature in its Infinity line of cars.
“It’s a technology option they provide bundled with other safety features,” Mohaddes said.
Although it’s a niche player, Iteris does have some competition.
“We tend to get a good share of the market, but we compete with over a dozen different companies depending on the niche market and the particular jurisdictions,” Mohaddes said.
Anaheim-based Econolite, one of OC’s oldest companies, makes traffic signals and management systems. Pasadena-based Parson’s Corp. is the 800 pound gorilla in the market. It does about $3 billion in sales and has a role in major public works projects across the country.
Mohaddes, a native of Iran, has logged more than 25 years in the traffic management industry.
He came to the U.S. in 1975 as a teen.
In 1983, he and a partner launched a traffic consulting firm that grew to have offices in Los Angeles, OC and the Bay area.
In 1998, the consulting firm was acquired by Odetics Inc., a traffic management company that also acquired Iteris. The company did a reverse merger that year and Iteris became a stand-alone company.
Mohaddes was named chief executive in March.
THE NUMBERS
Three-year growth: 33%
Yearly sales through June 30: $60.2 million
Yearly profit: $3.7 million
Market value: $80 million
Employees: 235, 145 in OC
Company: traffic management systems
