2012 Update: Define Instruments

2012 saw me involved in a wide range of activities – which has always been a personal target. However I did experience one serious clash of priorities in September and October, and client work suffered, but otherwise this is how I like it. Here’s the first in a series of posts updating progress. 

I worked with (or am invested in) a wide range of companies, from a person with an idea and early stage start-ups, through to well funded start-ups, growing SMEs, established companies and large corporations. I keep finding common lessons, and also learnings that can be taken back and forth across the range of companies.

Highlights

Define Instruments, who design and manufacture process control products and do electronic contract manufacturing, had a strong year. We expanded the factory by 50%, got most of the way through the ISO9001 process, got control of the inventory and finances through a new system. The team consolidated the rebranding done at the end of 2011, and overall the company has grown up a lot in the last three years. We have a number of enduring client relationships and we have some nice developments in the pipeline for us and them. We paid a decent amount of payroll, GST and income tax this year, rewarding the government for earlier technology development funding.

During the year we launched a range of Transmitters that convert outputs from sensors to a range of industry standard inputs and the Zen16 monitoring and control station. Early sales of these are really pleasing, and we are expanding our global distributor network, with South Africa the first major market outside of Australasia, and eyes on the UK and China markets as well.

Aside from our own products, Define helps design and manufacture control systems for NZ and Australian companies, most of who are producing high technology equipment for the export market. We also have a full service contract manufacturing, sometimes including design, often including procurement and always with ISO 9001 standards. If you’d like to know more about any of this then get in touch with rolla@defineinstruments.com.