Getac Inc.’s line of rugged computers are built to withstand the harshest conditions on the battlefield and some of the most extreme climates on earth.
Its U.S. operation, headquartered in Irvine, supplies the Department of Defense and several U.S. law enforcement agencies with specialized laptops and tablets.
In battle, the computers help troop leaders communicate with soldiers in the field or sailors at sea, pinpoint possible targets, and launch weapons systems.
The Houston Police Department’s fleet of 1,800 patrol cars are outfitted with Getac’s B300 rugged notebook to access information on board and in remote databases.
Commercial markets, such as the oil and gas sector, use its computers for exploration, analysis and real-time feedback for personnel in the field.
The mix has led to strong growth, and the company expects revenue to hit the $80 million mark this year.
It’s in the right place.
U.S. Market
“The U.S. market is the largest for rugged products,” said John Lamb, director of marketing.
America is the largest market because of the large population and businesses’ and government agencies’ ability to pay for such expensive items.
Global sales of rugged notebooks, tablets and hand-held computers was about $4 billion last year, according to Natick, Mass.-based VDC Research Group Inc.
Getac held the No. 3 spot, with a 12.4% share in the notebook segment, which accounts for about a third of total sales.
Rugged notebooks, similar to the greater PC market, are largely seen as a maturing market, according to David Krebs, executive vice president of enterprise mobility and connected devices at VDC.
“It’s certainly not a market that’s booming, but it’s providing stable single-digit revenue growth,” he said.
The Irvine unit serves as the U.S. operation of Taiwan-based Getac Technology Corp., which has annual sales of more than $500 million. The unit employs 45 people at its 25,000-square-foot facility.
Getac’s main engineers are based in factories outside Shanghai, and testing and final assembly are handled here in Irvine, at sister company Synnex Corp.’s Mississippi operation, or by manufacturing contractors in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C.
The local outfit was established in 1989 as a joint venture with GE Aerospace to supply rugged computers for the U.S. military and has since expanded its customer base to allies around the world.
The defense segment still accounts for about half of Getac’s annual sales. Some of its largest customers, such as the Air Force, don’t disclose how they use the company’s products.
U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan use Getac’s computers, which can cost as much as $5,000 per unit, for battlefield operations.
In an episode on National Geographic’s “Battleground Afghanistan,” soldiers sitting in a tent use a Getac-branded computer to zero in on a target and activate a drone to bomb the location.
The company said its computers can withstand temperatures as low as 20 degrees below zero and as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
They can be equipped for night vision on clandestine missions and can be dropped from five feet without damaging the interior and exterior.
About 35% of the company’s business is in public safety, including customers such as the San Jose Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which utilizes its water-resistant and specially coated line of computers that thwart salt-water corrosion and can withstand torrential storms and full blasts from fire hoses when closed.
Its contract with the Florida agency called for outfitting its entire fleet of vessels, which outnumber those of the U.S. Coast Guard and vary from fanboats to open sea ships, Lamb said.
Getac sales have grown from about $25 million in 2002 as it’s moved toward more mainstream units rather than customized computers sold in low volumes.
“Our business model is set more to selling 500 or 1,000 computers [in one sale],” Lamb said.
The company’s move of all inventory to Synnex distribution centers across the U.S. a few years ago improved efficiencies.
A recent deal with FedEx to utilize its Tech Connect service significantly shortened turnaround time, Lamb said.
With the service, customers in San Jose, Orlando or Berlin can return damaged products daily. The products are trucked to airports and then flown directly into the delivery company’s hub in Memphis, Tenn., where they’re fixed in FedEx’ repair unit and sent back, typically the same day.
Getac ran a 14-month test program before making the program permanent in late 2012. It’s particularly important in critical operations, such as police work, because a damaged computer in a patrol car will take it off the street until it’s repaired, Lamb said.
Getac’s lesser-known business line includes designing and manufacturing plastic and metal components for some of the most well-known electronics companies in the world.
The company is ultimately part of MiTAC-Synnex Business Group, the third-largest computer company based in Taiwan, with more than $25.6 billion in annual sales.
