Alien Technology to Open a Division in Korea
The RFID hardware provider's new venture, scheduled to open in first quarter of 2007, will include sales, distribution, marketing, research and development, and manufacturing for the Asian RFID market.
Dec. 21, 2006—RFID tag and interrogator provider Alien Technology is establishing a new division in Korea—Alien Technology Asia—to take advantage of the growing Asian market in RFID. With the support of private investors, says Keith McDonald, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Alien Technology intends to spend $10 million over several years on facilities, personnel and operations for the new venture, which will include an Alien RFID Academy training program.
In the summer 2006, the company announced, postponed, then called off its plan to launch an initial public offering (see Alien Cancels IPO Plans). At that point, says Linda Prosser, vice president corporate marketing, the company decided that its "growth will come through private investment." Since then, she says, the company had received some additional private funding. "We will continue in that process," she says, but she cites limitations in public disclosure that prohibit her from naming investors. "We are planning to secure local investment in Asia into this new location," says McDonald, although again, the investors could not be named.
Alien Technology Asia—which will open in first quarter 2007—will include sales, distribution, marketing, research and development, and manufacturing for the RFID market in Korea, China and throughout Asia. Alien chose to locate in Korea's Songdo Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) because of its central position in Asia, says McDonald, with all major Asian markets within a two-hour plane ride. The Songdo IFEZ, designed for international business and the high-tech industry, is a self-sufficient area that offers housing, transportation, an international business center, schools and banking.
Alien already has business in Asia, says McDonald, in airport, agricultural, transportation and general supply chain markets, although he was unwilling to name specific clients. "What's difficult is doing that from California," he says. "There are many aspects to implementation, including identifying a solution and accomplishing that solution," he says. That kind of service, he says, requires a greater presence in Asia. "You need to have your feet on the ground there." Asian countries with specific and unique regulations need a more local service, he says. "One reader does not fit all. We need to be involved in the piloting."
The Korean facility will also be the third permanent site of the Alien RFID Academy , also scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2007, joining existing academies in Morgan Hill, Calif., and Dayton, Ohio (see Alien Opens Dayton RFID Lab). Those academies serve end user corporations, systems integration companies, college students and members of the military, he says, providing educational programs addressing protocol selection, tag placement based on package content and how to conduct effective site surveys.
McDonald reports fourth quarter 2006 set new records for Alien Technology in sales of tags, readers and services, although it declines to disclose specific sales figures. "Our forecast is that the next quarter will be even better," he says.
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