demands and expectations. Twenty years ago we could make a Doppler system that simply measured velocity accurately, then spit out a stream of ascii data and call that a product. Today our products must provide an entire array of features and collateral items well beyond the plain and simple Doppler measurement. Essentially, we no longer make just Dopplers but we rather make products that fill specific customer needs.
MTR Briefly describe your outlook for the business in 2007 and beyond? RC Our business so far this year is growing at an accelerated pace. I cannot discuss the details of our growth projections here but I can confidently say that SonTek/YSI's future is looking brighter each day. MTR What markets, by vessel niche, do you see as being lucrative in the coming years? Which segments do you see on the decline? RC Obviously anything that has to do with climate change is going to become more and more important in the future. Thus I expect to see more large-scale observation programs in the open ocean as well as along the coast. Also related to climate change, but mostly due simply to population pressure for now, I also expect to see a lot more monitoring of inland water resources. The growth in those markets alone should keep us busy for years to come. A segment that I think is in decline, unfortunately, is the group of individual scientific/engineering pioneers. Perhaps because of their own success, funding is now shifting from basic research (just for the sake of scientific curiosity) to large, standardized operational programs. MTR What do you consider to be the biggest challenges (ie. Legislation, technical demand, competition, etc.) to your company's continued success? RC Our only challenge is to stay focus on our goal to provide our customers with the best products and the best service in the industry. With the kind of people that we have at SonTek/YSI today, I can assure you that we are up to that challenge.
April 2007
MTR What do you consider the most important trends in your business to be? Ie. what's happening today that will affect your business for the next 10 years. RC I think people are finally accepting the fact that human activity is changing the planet for the worse, that climate change is not a question of `if ' but of `when' and to what extent, that fishing resources are rapidly disappearing, etc. Essentially the problems that until not so long ago were mostly topics of discussion within the research community are now important in the minds of the average person. This in turn is prompting governments and the private sector to take action, which will necessarily include more water velocity measurements. MTR What do you consider the top priorities for your company in the coming 12 to 24 months? RC Well, the only thing I can say about this is that I think we have a fair understanding of where we want to go and that we have an exceptional group of people Twenty years ago only a handful of highly who are working enthusiastrained people would consider using a tically to get us there. If you keep and eye on Doppler system, or would even believe that SonTek/YSI newsletters over it worked. Today we have Dopplers being the next 12-24 months I think you will a clearer used by high-school students answer to this question.
48 MTR
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