JÜRGEN DRESEL Alaris is more focused and will devote more resources to research and development and client support
Defence and specialist antenna company Alaris Antennas recorded improved sales in many of the regions where it operates and has made good progress towards concluding an acquisition that will provide it with a footprint in the US, says Alaris Holdings CEO Jürgen Dresel.
Alaris Holdings, which changed its name from Poynting Holdings, reports improved sales for subsidiary Alaris Antennas in India and the South-East Asia region, including Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and growing sales within China and Australia, as well as good prospects in Africa owing to the migration from analogue television broadcasting to digital broadcasting.
“We have a strong drive to diversify geographically, with Europe, Asia and the US being our biggest markets. We are in the final negotiations to acquire US antenna specialist firm Antenna Research Associates (ARA), which would provide us with a footprint in the US, mainly focusing on the lucrative defence market. In the medium term, we are investigating expanding our footprint into Europe.”
Further, Dresel notes that ARA and Alaris Antennas (previously Poynting Defence & Specialised) do not have many similar products and immediate prospects include using existing sales channels to bolster sales for both companies.
Production SynergiesThere will be product development and engineering benefits for both companies and the link-up will boost the group’s research and development (R&D) capabilities, while production synergies would be examined once Alaris Antennas had a firmer view of demand, he says.
“All our defence products and developments are in-house, which are then sold worldwide, and we retain all the intellectual property. Nothing is manufactured under licence. Further, we have significant capabilities in frequency spectrum monitoring and we are particularly strong in this niche of the market. We are also continuously developing new products for this sector,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Dresel notes that the company already has several clients and significant dealings within the South American region, but would investigate what works best for the expanded group with regard to supporting clients and selling products within the region.
Alaris’s broadcasting division, African Union Communications (Aucom), meanwhile, reports good prospects from the digital migration taking place in Africa, which mainly entails replacing analogue broadcasting equipment with digital broadcasting equipment.