What is HARS? It's the system that helps keep you safe on the road and home one time.
HARS is the Highway Advisory Radio System and is responsible for broadcasting messages through an AM frequency that highway drivers can tune in to and access current information regarding traffic patterns and highway conditions.
Whether it be a construction delay, an accident, or even an act of god, such as a rock slide, the HARS helps keep drivers where they need to be and in one piece by alerting them to what their commutes their commutes have in store for them.
Today, one of our favorite long-time portfolio favorites, Nighthawk Systems (OTCBB: NIHK) announced a 75-unit order today from Quixote Transportation Technologies, Inc. for products to be used in HARSs throughout the country. NIHK's PT1000 remote control boards having been reportedly going into Quixote's HIS brand for more than 5 years.
QTT is one of two wholly-owned subsidiaries of publicly-traded Quixote Corporation (NYSE: QUIX). With trailing-twelve month revenues of nearly $138 million, QUIX is is the world's leading manufacturer of transportation safety products and services. Going forward, its PT100 could become a very lucrative product line for Nighthawk in addition to its solid CEO700 and IPTV product offerings, if its relationship with Quixote continues to grow.
Commenting on today's announcement, NIHK CEO H. Douglas Saathoff stated "We’re happy to continue our affiliation with the Highway Information Systems brand. The PT1000 is one of our core products that has proven to be reliable in mission-critical applications for many years, and that is why we continue to generate a large percentage of repeat business with existing customers every year."
As the global economy worsens, company's capable of saving their clients time and money by simplifying and automating costly and environmentally harmful processes will thrive while others fall by the wayside.
Green Printer Inc. - While most printers struggle due to rapid decline of the overall print market, this environmentally friendly player has tacked on 2,100 new clients since its inception last June. The company has also, by its own account, saved its clients approximately 76,645 pounds of greenhouse gasses and 38,116 pounds of solid waste in its relatively short existence.
In addition to using recycled paper and non-toxic ink, the company's proprietary licensed software allows the user to identify local printing venues to help reduce transportation costs.
Workforce Software, a leader in workforce management software and time and attendance systems, has experienced +200% revenue and profit growth over the past three years due to the success of its EmpCenter software suite in easing employer fears of employee telecommuting by developing automated reporting solutions that provide them with increased visibility and control over their remote employees.
Lastly, Sustainable Minds, a green product design software and information service company has recently partnered with AutoDesk Inc. to develop software solutions that forecast the future environmental impacts of their clients product design decisions and help customers develop new offerings while utilizing the "greenest" possible formulations.
In our own portfolio, I know that we've been harping on it lately, but, Nighthawk Systems Inc. (OTCBB: NIHK) offers a very compelling and timely automated solution as well. The company's remote disconnect products enable the wireless connect and disconnect of virtually any electronic device from anywhere in the world. With energy conservation on the tip of the world's tongue as of late, NIHK should benefit from the ability of its products to help save consumers time and money.
(U.S. Energy Consumption Projections to the right are based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Statistics Center)
This system, which by the company's account has been successfully deployed at hundreds of schools nationwide could save the district $3.4 million in heating and electricity over ten years. During the presentation given on August 21st, the company issued a money back guarantee on the system and subsequently received a unanimous vote to move forward with installation plans.
“We guarantee that the savings will exceed the investment,” said Chuck Fasnacht, Energy Education’s Regional President; explaining that the company would simply write a check to the Canton Public Schools at the end of 12 months if the schools had not saved at least enough in utility costs to cover the fee paid to the company. He firmly believes that the system can facilitate a cost savings of more than $4 million, $500 thousand of which would be paid to the company through 48 monthly installments.
Another company that helps with energy conservation isNighthawk Systems (OTCBB: NIHK). Their product suite is designed to remotely monitor and turn electronic devices on and off. In our opinion, Energy Education, Inc and Nighthawk should join forces in some capacity!
Good morning from Las Vegas , where Nighthawk is an exhibitor at the IWCE (International Wireless Communications Expo) show!
The following release went out this morning and announces that we recently received a larger order for several hundred of our CEO700 whole house disconnect units from El Paso Electric. This is the third and largest order we’ve received from El Paso since we joined forces with American Messaging and approached El Paso Electric jointly back in the latter stages of 2006. With this order, El Paso Electric is now one one of our largest customers. They have some pretty ambitious plans for automation, and I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made with them to date. We hope to continue helping them as their plans expand.
The release also announces that we are developing a Web-enabled interface with El Paso Electric. This interface will allow El Paso to turn on and off their devices through the Nighthawk website. They’ll be able to ‘point and click’ on their CEO700 units from a database that we will host and that they will manage. We have been working with them over the past several weeks on the design and functionality of the database so that it meets their needs, and hope to complete the project in the next few weeks. This Web-enabled functionality will then be packaged and marketed as part of product/service offering to customers in all of our markets.
I believe that this will have a significant impact on our growth going forward. As I state in the press release, by making it easier for customers to use our devices, we should be able to sell more of them. In the past, we’ve offered great products that saved our customers time, effort and money. However, customers wanting to buy a lot of devices were then faced with the issue of managing the devices, who could access them and the time involved in contacting the devices, often one at a time by dialing a telephone number. This interface will solve those issues, and make it much easier for customers to utilize our devices. I believe it enables Nighthawk to offer a more complete solution to our customers. This interface becomes a ‘platform’ that can then be used to access other devices that we can offer our customers. The customer doesn’t have to worry about their connection to the wireless network – we provide that connection from our own facilities. It provides Nighthawk with the opportunity to become a telemetry ‘partner’ with its customer.
Our goal is to complete development of the interface with El Paso , and begin marketing it to new and existing customers within the second quarter of this year. I think our existing customer base, which has grown significantly over the past 18 months, presents a great growth opportunity to Nighthawk as we approach them with this enhanced offering. They like what we’ve already sold them, and now we can offer an enhancement and hopefully sell them additional product.
I’m very pleased that this project is being handled almost entirely in-house by Nighthawk personnel. We have so much more ability to offer additional products and services now than we had a year ago. We’re hitting more new customers, and have been growing incrementally. This in turn is bringing about larger and more profitable opportunities such as those we’ve seen lately with Verizon Wireless and DaimlerChrysler. We’re much better equipped for projects like that than we were a year ago.
Have a great day!
H. Douglas Saathoff
Chief Executive Officer
Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
Nighthawk Systems Enhances Product Offering,
Receives Large Order from El Paso Electric
--Web Interface Enables Easier Product Use--
SAN ANTONIO, TX – 3/29/07- Nighthawk Systems, Inc. (OTC BB: NIHK), a leading provider of intelligent wireless power management and emergency notification solutions, announced today that El Paso Electric has placed an additional order for several hundred Nighthawk CEO700 remote power disconnect units as part of a growing automation program at the utility. Nighthawk also announced that, in conjunction with the order, Nighthawk is developing a Web-enabled interface that will be used by El Paso to manage the devices being purchased, in addition to the devices already purchased by them.
H. Douglas Saathoff, Nighthawk’s CEO, commented, “To put it simply, the easier our products are to use, the more of them we will sell. The Web-enabled interface that we are developing with El Paso will make it easier for El Paso and other customers to manage and use Nighthawk devices. Customers that have a desire to utilize thousands of devices like El Paso Electric need the ability to easily track and activate the units and produce reports on their use. This solution will allow El Paso to ‘point and click’ devices from a database in order to activate them via Nighthawk and the American Messaging wireless network.”
Mr. Saathoff continued, “We look forward to finalizing this program with El Paso over the coming weeks, and rolling it out to our existing customer base during the second quarter of this year. It is our goal to become much more than an equipment vendor to our customers – we want to be a solutions provider for them. Assisting with the automation process gives us the opportunity to become partners with our customers as their programs continue to evolve.”
Nighthawk’s CEO700 gives electric utilities the ability to remotely disconnect and reconnect power to residential electric meters, saving them significant time and money over the traditional manual methods requiring truck rolls and field personnel. In September 2006, Nighthawk Systems and American Messaging announced they had strengthened their joint marketing agreement to take advantage of their core competencies and provide the best wireless remote control solutions possible to their customers.
About Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
Nighthawk is a leading provider of intelligent wireless power control products that enable simultaneous activation or de-activation of multiple assets or systems on demand. Nighthawk's installed customer base includes major electric utilities, internet service providers and fire departments in over 40 states. Nighthawk's products also enable custom message display, making them ideal for use in traffic control and emergency notification situations.
Individuals interested in Nighthawk Systems can sign up to receive email alerts by visiting the Company’s website at www.nighthawksystems.com.
Forward-looking statements Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, including statements about plans and expectations regarding business areas and opportunities, acceptance of new or existing businesses, capital resources and future business or financial results are "forward-looking" statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer acceptance of our products, our ability to raise capital to fund our operations, our ability to develop and protect proprietary technology, government regulation, competition in our industry, general economic conditions and other risk factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and our future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements may not meet these expectations. We do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
The following release went out this morning and contains a few comments from me on recent sales activity. It also begins to introduce to the public the fact that I think Nighthawk can be well positioned to benefit from changes taking place in the electric utility market.
If utilities continue to do business as they always have, they will need to generate more power. However, doing so may generate harmful effects on our environment, so there is a lot of pressure against the generation of more electricity. TXU and their scrapped plans of building a handful of coal burning generation facilities serve as a great example. Without getting into a long political discussion, utilities are going to have to continue to adjust to the fact that there is not a limitless supply of power available to meet growing demand for power. If their demand surges, utilities that do not generate their own power are often forced to buy power at a cost that is higher than they can sell it.
I believe that Baltimore Gas & Electric recently raised their rates more than 70% to customers! Many states are going to time of use billing, or even variable time of use billing under which consumers may pay variable rates from day to day based on varying levels of demand.
This rapidly changing environment has fostered many ‘green’ initiatives, aimed at building more energy efficient homes/buildings or simply using less electricity. I think it is no coincidence that Nighthawk has made some recent sales to large companies (Verizon Wireless and DaimlerChrysler) that could be considered ‘green’ applications. Verizon Wireless is using Nighthawk equipment to meet new rules adopted by the State of New Jersey to limit the use of diesel generators on air quality alert days. This prevents unnecessary pollution on bad air days.
DaimlerChrysler will use our equipment to better manage the amount of heat escaping from their plant by controlling the huge exhaust fans around the facility. By doing so, they will use less electricity, which in turn has a positive effect on the environment. I believe that the need to control energy-using machines in order to limit their use of electricity will continue to grow as utilities and their customers are forced to find ways to be more efficient with available sources of electricity.
The ‘green’ movement should have a positive effect on the market for Nighthawk products.
H. Douglas Saathoff Chief Executive Officer Nighthawk Systems, Inc
Nighthawk Systems Discusses Recent Sales, Green Applications for Products
SAN ANTONIO , TX – 3/13/07 - Nighthawk Systems, Inc. (OTC BB: NIHK), a leading provider of intelligent wireless power management and emergency notification solutions, today commented on recent sales activity at the Company and potential future applications for its products.
H. Douglas Saathoff, Nighthawk’s CEO, commented, “I’m extremely pleased that we ended last year on a high note, and I’m very happy that we’ve continued that year-over-year growth trend into 2007. While we’ve continued to sell our core products to utilities and for rebooting applications, I’m particularly pleased that we’ve had recent sales to large companies like Verizon Wireless and DaimlerChrysler. The Nighthawk brand continues to grow as we extend our reach through direct marketing and channel partners like American Messaging. We’re doing a lot of work internally to develop software interfaces to our equipment which I believe will make it easier for our customers to use our products, and lead to larger sales volumes. Our goal is to be more than an equipment vendor for our customers – we want to be their telemetry solutions partner.”
Mr. Saathoff continued, “I believe that Nighthawk products will be important to green initiatives that are aimed at using less energy or improving the effect of energy production on the environment. Verizon Wireless is limiting the use of diesel generators to avoid polluting the environment, and DaimlerChrysler is controlling exhaust fans in order to regulate heat in their engine plant. I believe that the ability to easily and remotely control devices will play an increasingly important role in energy conservation as companies and consumers look to gain efficiencies in how they utilize available electricity supplies.
Simply put, many devices today use power when they don’t need to. In the near future, devices will need to be shut down on demand based on unpredictable external factors like weather and usage by others. Limited energy production resulting in variable, real time pricing from utilities may force consumers and utilities to make rapid decisions to turn off pool pumps, hot water heaters or air conditioners. If utilities can’t supply enough power, the rate paid by customers for the available power will increase. Through existing relationships with utilities and continued product enhancement, we hope to position Nighthawk to be a leader in providing products for these applications as they develop. I believe we’ll see the number and size of applications for our products continue to grow as the U.S. and the rest of the world seeks to become more efficient with available sources of electricity.”
About Nighthawk Systems, Inc. Nighthawk is a leading provider of intelligent wireless power control products that enable simultaneous activation or de-activation of multiple assets or systems on demand. Nighthawk's installed customer base includes major electric utilities, internet service providers and fire departments in forty states. Nighthawk's products also enable custom message display, making them ideal for use in traffic control and emergency notification situations. Individuals interested in Nighthawk Systems can sign up to receive email alerts by visiting the Company’s website at
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, including statements about plans and expectations regarding business areas and opportunities, acceptance of new or existing businesses, capital resources and future business or financial results are "forward-looking" statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer acceptance of our products, our ability to raise capital to fund our operations, our ability to develop and protect proprietary technology, government regulation, competition in our industry, general economic conditions and other risk factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements.
Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and our future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements may not meet these expectations. We do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
What is HARS? It's the system that helps keep you safe on the road and home one time.
