Initial order opens up potential $100m market for company’s safety products

22nd May, 2006 - Kelvin Hughes, a world leader in providing innovative integrated bridge solutions for some of the world’s most prestigious vessels, has netted an important breakthrough deal in Japan for its innovative ship’s “accident black box recorder” after engaging Asia Pacific market access specialists Intralink to drive its sales and business development in the region.

The 250 year-old company, part of the prestigious Smiths Group, turned to Intralink to devise a strategy that would help them break into the strategically-important Japanese maritime market, where entrenched domestic suppliers dominate.

In particular, they wanted to drive sales of its Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR), which maintains and stores, in a secure and retrievable form, information concerning the position, movement, physical status, command and control of a vessel over the period leading up to and following an incident.

Initial sales success – with a $500k contract – has opened up a market which could be worth as much as $100m over the next two years, as shipping companies strive to meet a July 2006 mandate set by the International Maritime Organisation for carriage of S-VDRs on the majority of large sea vessels.

Needing to act fast, Kelvin Hughes appointed Intralink which, through implementation of its signature Surrogate Sales Program™, delivered a thorough analysis of the market potential, including contacts inside over one hundred target organisations. Intralink followed this with sales presentations to over 70 potential customers and by securing US$500K in sales orders with potential for $100m in additional order intake.

Martin Taylor, Engineering Manager at Kelvin Hughes, who lead the initiative, commented: "Despite their relative inexperience in our specialist sector, we felt that Intralink's Surrogate Sales Program™ offered commitment with a level of transparency and flexibility that would never have been possible through traditional channel distributors. So it has proved – and we are delighted with the traction we are now enjoying."

James Lawson, Intralink’s CEO, commented: "We like challenges such as the one Kelvin Hughes presented to us. While our client base is dominated by venture-backed technology companies across a wide range of industries, in our 16 years we have acted successfully for companies as diverse as Links of London (jewellery), Corning (glass), Corin (orthopaedic implants), V&A Enterprises (licensing) and Astra Zeneca (biocides).

"Our Surrogate Sales Program™ was ideal for Kelvin Hughes, providing them with a low risk sales model that allowed them a stepping stone approach without the disadvantages of the alternative channel sales strategies or long term commitment. It has proved remarkably successful both in Japan and in China."

About Kelvin Hughes:

Kelvin Hughes is today a part of the Smiths Group but it can trace its history back for more than 250 years when predecessors supplied mariners with chronometers and sextants to help navigate them around the new worlds. The Kelvin Hughes S-VDR software allows data to be exported into standard formats for further analysis. Standard file formats such as TIFF, WAV, TXT, and Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Paint are supported. Another facility unique to Kelvin Hughes is the ability to replay data straight into an Electronic Chart System for training or incident simulation. The S-VDR system adds to Kelvin Hughes’ wide product range that includes Radar, ECDIS, VDR, IBS, autopilots, logs, gyros, charts and publications.

About Intralink:

Established in 1990, Intralink has a proven record of achieving accelerated market access and revenue traction for venture-backed technology companies – in electronics, IT, software and semiconductors – across the automotive, drug discovery, consumer electronics, construction materials and telecoms sectors.

With offices in the UK, Tokyo and Shanghai, Intralink works for US and European companies seeking success in the strategically important Chinese and Japanese markets.