This is a great feature on L-Tron Corporation in the Democrat & Chronicle, a Rochester, NY newspaper.
L-Tron Branching Out From Scanners to Software
To keep tabs on the fasteners and other materials it supplies customers, H&C Tool Supply Corp. staffers go to those manufacturers on a regular basis and take inventory with pen and paper.
But the Rochester company is about to arm its staffers with an L-Tron Corp. system of hand-held computers and software that instantly scan and transmit barcode information back to H&C, cutting a day out of the supply chain, saving the manufacturers down time and — H&C hopes — further locking those manufacturers in as satisfied customers.
“We’ve already got customers excited about the prospect,” said H&C Chief Executive Don Waltzer.
The barcode scanning business has been good to L-Tron.
The Victor company moved in February to a 4,500-square-foot site after spending more than 10 years operating in less than half that space in Bushnell’s Basin.
“We had people doubled up in offices,” said RAD DeRose, president of the 13-person L-Tron, which provided the new inventory tracking system to H&C.
L-Tron is predicting sizable growth after branching out from hardware to software.
The 36-year-old L-Tron specializes in barcode scanners and printers and asset tracking software. It also is a reseller of industrial equipment.
The company in its earlier years manufactured hardware but today uses gear made by other companies.
L-Tron then customizes the hardware for its customers.
Lined up on display at L-Tron is an array of rugged Honeywell and Motorola hand-held computers with built-in cameras, radios and barcode scanners — “basically cell phones on steroids,” DeRose said.
The company more recently has focused on software offerings that allow for, among other things, tracking inventory and connecting the scanners to computer servers via cellular networks, DeRose said.
Starting in the late 1990s, the company branched into hand-held scanners used by law enforcement agencies to scan the barcodes on driver’s licenses. Now police forces in more than 20 states carry L-Tron scanners in their vehicles.
Despite the recession, some industries have remained willing to spend for the capabilities the company provides, DeRose said.
L-Tron expects to see sales growth of more than 20 percent in 2011 and to add “a couple people this year,” filling its new office space within two years, DeRose said.
“The challenge we have is managing the growth.”