The Microvision boys

Microvision Launches Fleet Maintenance Sales of Nomad Expert Technician System with Florida County

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2004--Microvision, Inc., (Nasdaq:MVIS - News), a leader in light scanning technology, announced today the first sale of the Nomad Expert Technician System to the fleet management segment of the automotive maintenance, repair and overhaul market. The initial sale of three units was made to a Florida county which has the need to attract and keep good service technicians to maintain a very diverse fleet of 4,000 vehicles.



According to the Automotive Fleet Fact Book, there are over 20 million vehicles in US fleets and over 14,000 commercial fleets with 25 or more vehicles. "The fleets represent a very large market segment for our Nomad sales efforts," said Andrew Lee, Vice President of sales for Microvision. "Many of the fleet operations share the same challenges as automotive dealerships: the shortage of trained service technicians, high cost of training, and the need to get the job done right the first time. Somewhat unique to fleets are the financial losses suffered from vehicle downtime. The trucking and construction sectors, for example, face significant financial losses for vehicle downtime and require tools for rapid access to vehicle testing and maintenance procedures that reduce repair times and work errors to a minimum. Fleets also often encompass a high variety of vehicles, especially in the government sector, and therefore have the particular need to bring productivity enhancing tools into the maintenance process to help technicians unfamiliar with specific vehicle types.



"The Nomad Expert Technician System provides important functionality and benefits to fleet managers facing these kinds of problems. As we add to the size and capabilities of our sales force, we are beginning to extend our marketing efforts into the fleet segment. We believe the Nomad can be very useful to those fleets that do their own maintenance and are very sensitive to downtime costs, operate complex equipment or have to service many makes and models of vehicles. This would include many of the fleet operations in business, as well as federal, state, and local government operations."

Looks like those good ol' Microvision boys have rustled up some nice local press for their first Nomad reference account, this from the Dallas Fort-Worth Star Telegram business page:

High-tech headgear aids mechanics' productivity



Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine is the first local dealer to utilize a new high-tech headgear for its mechanics.



Classic has ordered five Nomad Expert Technician Systems from Washington-based Microvision. The Microvision boys visited with the Star-Telegram's Sean Wood in May, touting the system, which puts technical schematics right before the mechanic's eyes.



The system features a small computer worn on the belt and hooked to a headband with an optical display screen. Now, instead of running to a computer terminal to print out schematics or order parts, a mechanic can do it from where he stands.



Classic service director Mike Zorn said the units have made his mechanics more productive. "Production isn't lost so much looking at the schematic; it's leaving your work area," he said. "It's the loss of production in coming and going."