Topcon’s O’Connor: Saving Time by Adopting New Technologies Will Ensure Progressive Companies Remain Strong
Livermore, Calif., Jan 28, 2009 — "Companies embracing increased productivity through technology will drive the world’s economic recovery."
Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), said the statement above is what drives top-ranked technology companies to continue to support strong research and product development (R&D) efforts.
"The current economic recession provides an incredible window of opportunity for forward-thinking companies in the construction, survey, civil engineering and agriculture markets," O’Connor said.
"In tough times, increasing productivity through the acceptance of technological breakthroughs will be the difference in success and failure, the difference in being competitive and trailing the competition.
"The economic turnaround will be technology-fueled, driven by the products of forward-thinking companies and the forward-thinking businesses that buy the products that increase productivity," he said.
The key to any successful business "is managing time to optimize results. If you can save time on every phase of every job, you put more money in your pocket. If you find a technology that will make your machines and people more productive, you become more competitive. And, if you look at what technological breakthroughs can do to not only help you make it during the tough times, but exceed, or even double, the industry averages, you will be in the driver’s seat when business turns around."
History, he said, "shows us this is true. The companies that emerged from the Great Depression in the 1930s strong and viable adopted emerging technologies when times were tough. They made investments in technology to maximize productivity in every phase of their operation.
"The same opportunities exist today."
Some instrument and product technology manufacturers tend to pull back research-and-development (R&D) resources when business is down. O’Connor points out that Topcon takes the exact opposite approach.
"Our entire precise positioning business is based on innovative thinking, on conceptualizing products and technologies that have not even been thought of by our customers and potential customers," O’Connor said, "and then bringing those ideas to the marketplace ahead of the competition."
The seeking out, testing and acceptance of new technology drives "aggressive business models for companies that don’t want to just survive in tough times, but actually plan to grow their market share.
"It is these companies," O’Connor said, "that will not be crawling and merely existing when the economic turnaround happens. These are the companies that will be running full speed, and growing their business exponentially because they took advantage of existing opportunities."
O’Connor pointed to Topcon’s extensive R&D budget for developing "two of the most innovative technologies for construction to be announced in the last few years" as examples of what technology can do "to make a good company better and a great company unbeatable."
Topcon’s 3D-MC(2) is not just another improvement on an old technology, O’Connor said. "We’re talking about a unique technological innovation. When you think about dozer machine control think of a countdown for a rocket launch," he said: "4 – Four times faster than a standard dozer; 3 – three times smoother than any machine control; 2 – two times the speed of any 3D dozer system; and; 1 – one dozer doing the work equal to two 3D dozers."
He said the technology driving 3D-MC(2 )combines cutting-edge hydraulic control software, the latest in inertial sensor technology and the "industry’s leading GNSS receivers to provide more than 100 blade positioning checks per second – about five times higher than the industry machine control average.
"That’s not science fiction. That’s science fact."
An often-overlooked segment of company operations is asset management. O’Connor said, "Remote asset management is a crucial element in maximizing the machine production on every job site."
Topcon Tierra is a web-based telematics service that provides "real-time information on every piece of rolling stock on any job site in the world," O’Connor said. Topcon Tierra introduces a "unique on-site job management system that provides meticulous data to companies interested in maximizing productivity and drastically reducing unexpected and unnecessary equipment maintenance."
Simply put, O’Connor said, "Topcon’s system lets you monitor every piece of equipment regardless of location, regardless of make or model. And it provides you with instant documentation on the job site information you want to receive."
If a company’s management team "recognizes the need to do whatever is necessary to create a lean, efficient operation in the economic conditions we are all facing today, the first thing to check out is what technologies are available to increase productivity in their operations . . . and do whatever is necessary to obtain that technology," O’Connor said.
"In this economy, the future viability of many companies will depend on expanding upon or adopting that forward-thinking philosophy."
About Topcon Positioning Systems
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc., (TPS) designs and manufactures precise positioning products and solutions for the global surveying, construction, agriculture, civil engineering, mapping and GIS, asset management and mobile control markets. The company has worldwide employee operations and dealer networks. Topcon Corporation was founded in 1932. It is the parent company of TPS and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (7732).