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Local
manufacturer plays tag with RFID technology Pete Metros, former president and CEO of Siemen Dematic AG and Gary Burns, former vice president of Siemens Dematic's parcel and postal operations, started RF IDentics Inc. in 2004 in a 4,000 square foot facility in a Renaissance Zone on Hynes Avenue SW in Grand Rapids. The pair, with 35 years of collective material handling experience, studied the market and determined that RFID tags for individual items, cases and pallets is the niche they could fill. "RFID is a huge and growing market and there are many segments within RFID," Metros told MiBiz. Metros and Burns chose to produce tags because the "barriers to entry weren't very high,"said Metros. Tags are the fastest growth segment within the RFID market and at least for now, the demand is greater than the supply. Metros calls RFID a "bar code on steroids." Unlike bar codes, RFID relies on advanced microchip communication, allowing users to write, read and store up to two pages of data on individual tags. Metros said many companies have taken their product identification strategy to the next level and have advanced from UPC codes and other inventory systems to the more sophisticated RFID technology. RF IDentics is banking on increasing numbers of retailers, governmental departments and manufacturing companies adopting the technology as it moves from being used on mostly high-value items to becoming more of a commodity. Already the U.S. Department of Defense and retail giants Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot and Target have directed their suppliers to comply with newly created RFID global standards. "The whole secret is to be a lower priced tag," Burns told MiBiz. RF IDentics has developed a strong market presence with its high performance, low price tags. The company markets its tags by going directly to the end user and through value-added resellers. With a growing national customer base, the fledgling company plans to create approximately 18 more jobs at its new engineering and manufacturing facilities and produce 100 million tags within the next 12 months. This month RF IDentics recieved delivery of a custom made proprietary, high-speed machine for its assemble process that should help ensure that the firem reached the 100 million-tag goal. RF IDentics' advantage in the market is its overall working design that includes an antenna, microchip and a very conductive adhesive. The microchip attaches to the antenna. The antennas and microchips automatically and wirelessly collect information on products, places, times and transactions. RF IDentics' tags are complianbt with EPC Global Inc.'s RFID VHF Generation 2, a newly developed international language. EPC global, a standards group, works to develop international standards as they relate to auto identification, including bar codes and RFID. Metros explained the many advantages of the RFID technology. An item with RFID technology doesn't have to be within line of site like a scanner looking for bar codes. RFID tags can help companies better manage inventory, improve security and handle stock depletions with more accuracy. From a logistics standpoint, a reader can instantly read everything on an incoming pallet as it enters a warehouse and be able to track exactly what's being loaded on an outbound truck. RF IDentics attaced the attention of the Grand Angels, a group of West Michigan investors who have provided the company with some start-up capitol. "We are thrilled to invest in this promising, dynamic company," and John Jackoboice, Grand Angels executive board member and chairman of Monarch Hydraulics Inc. "We have no doubt RFID applications will see tremendous growth in the coming years." Grand Rapids-based DaVinci Capital LLC, a private equity firm helped secure the outside capital by finalizing RF IDentics' business plan, refining its management incentive plans and building relationships with investors, notably the Grand Angels. "RF IDentics has a great management team and a very powerful idea to aggressively pursue an exploding marketing'" said DaVinci Capital Founding Parner Bill Kleven. |