Kurt, 2+ months may seem like a long time to respond to a post, but yours was one that touched on some observations I made during a recent visit to TRCD's office.
It is apparent as you walk through the door that they are making a concerted effort to control their cash burn rate: 1. No flashy reception area with a receptionist; visitors have a telephone and call sheet to summon anyone they would like to talk to. The area was neat and had reprints of a Product Analysis(positive) by Dataquest's James Staten, Industry Analyst dated 2/24/98. His Internet address, incidentally, is james.staten@dataquest.com
2. Office, Inventory/warehouse, and kitchen areas were orderly but, IMO, spartan. 3. The talk I had with a representative reinforced their emphasis on cost controls, and directing resources primarily toward the current primary objective - negotiating and signing contracts with OEMs. With regard to the latter, I was advised that a number of negotiations were going on with OEMs at several levels (initial introductory to advanced).
It should be noted that the TRCD rep was careful to not go into any further detail than that just recounted. They also have a policy of not issuing PR releases prematurely or hyping the company to analysts or investors. As it was put "We value our credibility highly..." (and don't want industry followers to roll up their eyes when they get future PR from TRCD) ...The parenthetical remarks are my summary of our talk- I wasn't taking notes or recording.
I did get a "roll up their eyes" reaction from the rep when I mentioned I was using message boards as one source of information, however. While small firms like TRCD may not acknowledge posts on boards like this one, they are monitoring them. The rep expressed some frustration in not being able to respond to some of the legitimate and illegitimate information posted anonymously about their company. I have gotten similar reactions from reps of other companies in the past. This, IMO, should serve as a reminder to all of us that with freedom of speech there is also responsibility; criticize or applaud as you will, but do it from some basis in fact.
Another area I was curious about was how TRCD created internal incentives for employee contributions to the bottom line. I was told TRCD is located in an area with many large corporations that seek out employees with similar skill sets. They have a form of "on the spot" cash awards that are given to employees in all areas of the business when deemed to have made positive recent efforts. (poor choice of words, but I think you get the message). They also offer vested stock option benefits to all employees.
They are very aware of the need to maintain the adequate cash reserves needed for continuing operations until improved revenue flows can be built up to cover overhead. At the same time, the rep stated TRCD is doing everything they can to avoid any dilution in stock value. Should it be needed, private placements are the avenue they will probably go (implied but not stated - my impression).
Right now, they are comfortable with their cash position
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My net impression is that this company is trying hard to successfully achieve the turnaround and mission they have set for themselves. The key, as many here have recognized, is to secure OEM contracts and TRCD is focused on that objective.........Dutch. |
