LEO HOOD ARTICLE:Tava Technologies
NASDAQ (Symbol TAVA)
52-week range 4 3/4 - 14 7/8
Friday's close:
One of the biggest challenges from the Year 2000 problem is the large number of industries that have computer vulnerabilities in their production of goods and services. From the generation of electricity to food processing and packaging, forest products, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing, consumer goods, aerospace and so on, we are dependent on computer systems and embedded process controls to keep the wheels of industry turning.
Publicly traded TAVA Technologies has been in the business of providing automation solutions to a broad cross-section of industries for nearly 25 years. The company today is perhaps the number one independent provider of innovative, sophisticated information and automation technology solutions to industry. And the company is way out in front of the Y2K issue with a proven approach to preparing factory plant floor systems to smoothly handle the change in date from 1999 to 2000.
TAVA's Millennium Services has over 250 systems engineers located in 10 offices from coast to coast. These engineers are also completely familiar with TAVA's specialized Plant Y2kOne suite of tools designed to reduce the time to Y2K compliance dramatically. The demand for these tools should be soaring in the year ahead. Most plant floor systems are complex combinations of hardware and software from a variety of vendors. The only approach that assures a smooth transition to the next millennium is a component-by-component analysis of all microprocessor based functions.
TAVA knows where most of the problems in a factory are, has the expertise to deal with the variety of programming languages and hardware systems in use and how to approach the problem effectively. To date the company has landed Y2K projects with many notable customers such as Coca Cola, General Motors, Kraft, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Genencor, Amgen and Boise Cascade.
While the company is expected to have only minimal earnings for the fiscal year, which just ended in June 1998, it is also anticipated that earnings will soar to the $1 per share range for the upcoming fiscal year. With the potential for explosive growth in the sales of TAVA's toolsets over the next year, it is possible that these high earnings expectations may prove conservative. With the stock of the company trading below $10 per share in recent weeks, this may be an excellent opportunity for investors to enjoy a financial benefit from the remediation of the Y2K problem.
_Leo Hood, Y2K Journal, Gainesville, Fla.
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