IAUS news:
Tuesday April 4, 6:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: International Automated Systems, Inc.
International Automated Systems Inks $35 Million Deal
AMERICAN FORK, Utah, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Neldon Johnson, president and chief executive officer of International Automated Systems, Inc. (``IAS') (OTC Bulletin Board: IAUS - news), announced today that the company has reached an agreement with Schematics Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.), a privately held enterprise that will construct, own and operate an initial 10 U-Check Supermarkets in the eastern United States.
The contract, which has an estimated value of $35 million attributable to its first phase, provides for new supermarket design and construction, as well as the installation of 240 (IAS patented) self-cashiering check-out lanes.
In its first phase, the contract is expected also to generate approximately $1 million annually in recurring revenue attributable to licensing royalties, management and maintenance fees. Following the successful implementation of Phase One, Schematics Inc. plans to construct, own and operate several dozen stores, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic States and along the Eastern seaboard.
U-Check Supermarket is the world's only fully self-cashiering supermarket. The fully automated
self-cashiering system developed and marketed by International Automated Systems, Inc. provides
customer cashiering, transactional security and back-office grocery management systems, including accounting, inventory, ordering and cost controls. U-Check is the first supermarket that is so simple to manage that even someone outside the traditional bounds of the industry can own one.
IAS's patented automated check-out lane is the only self-cashiering system currently available to facilitate full-size orders in a high-volume store. The U-Check format is designed to reduce traditional labor costs by as much as 85%. Based upon today's standard supermarket volume, can increase a traditional operation's net profit margin from a slim 1.5% to a remarkable 13.5%
The U-Check system, which is scalable to meet the needs of small, medium or large retail grocery operations, has the flexibility to toggle between automated and attendant cashiering. According to Johnson, the IAS technology reduces customer check-out time, while reducing personnel and
operating costs. Additionally, the turnkey back-office functions have lowered the barriers to entry, so that now even in smaller communities where a full-service grocery presence would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, a self-cashiering supermarket can achieve economies of scale. Johnson estimates that there are well over 10,000 locations that are too restrictive for a traditional chain-store, but are ideal for a U-Check Supermarket.
The U-Check store is the first fully automated retail point-of-sale to rely solely upon IAS's proprietary automated fingerprint identification machine (AFIM) technology. AFIM-authorized payments are processed through the system using personal banking data encoded on a ``magstripe' card, cross-referenced to the individual's real-time three-dimensional fingerprint. Upon processing the
transaction, by providing a positive identification and allocating funds -- which funds are credited to the supermarket's account -- the system assigns an identification number to the real-time fingerprint
image that becomes embedded in the transaction information. In so doing, the IAS system virtually eliminates credit/debit card fraud and charge backs and prevents duplicate transaction postings.
Johnson indicated that, in addition to franchised units, U-Check will own and operate additional self-cashiering supermarkets and that several additional U-Check owned and operated stores are planned in the western United States within the next 18 months.
``The U-Check system has been exceptionally well received in its pilot installation, and we are enthusiastic about the revenue-generating opportunity represented in this geographic expansion of our concept,' said Johnson. ``We remain confident in the ability of the technology to enable grocery retailers of all sizes to pare several percentage points off their operating costs,' he said. ``Obviously,
in today's highly competitive environment, this is an exceedingly popular concept, and we intend to capitalize on it.'
Johnson also indicated that IAS's recent participation in trade shows and conferences has resulted in numerous leads for additional applications of its AFIM. Management of IAS also said that it intends to issue an update highlighting projects and joint-ventures structured around its digital wave modulation (DWM) technology. ``We are encouraged by the interest these applications are generating, especially in the banking and safety/security industries, and among communication and Internet service providers, and we look forward to executing additional agreements during the next
several months,' said Johnson.
International Automated Systems, Inc. develops high-technology products designed for increasing business efficiency, transactional security and access control. Visit the company's web site at www.iaus.com.
NOTE: Statements contained in this release that are not strictly historical are forward-looking within
the meaning of the safe harbor clause of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Editors
and investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements invoke risk and uncertainties that
may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, demand for the company's product both
domestically and abroad, the company's ability to continue to develop its market, general economic
conditions and other factors that may be more fully described in the company's literature and periodic
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities
and this does not purport to be a complete analysis of the company's financial position.
SOURCE: International Automated Systems, Inc. |
