Omni-ID to Open Production Plant in China

Pavela believes Omni-ID is becoming "a significant player in the RFID industry," though he adds that his company's decision to open up a plant in China is a sign that business is on the upswing not only for Omni-ID, but also for the RFID industry as a whole. "Like many in the industry, we had a very difficult first quarter," he says. "Then, during the March-April time frame, we saw an increase in activity." A degree of comfort with the economy's improvement, he indicates, has led to increased tag orders. "In our second quarter, we saw the highest revenue of our history, and thus far in Q3, we are very pleased with the activity. We're cautiously optimist."

The RFID industry, Pavela observes, has shown a shift from proof-of-concept testing and pilots to direct deployments by end users. "We are starting to see signs that we're moving in the right direction in terms of RFID adoption," he states. "We're very encouraged by this."

Still Pavela adds, Omni-ID's growth is an indication not only of an improving economy, but of a good product line as well. "What I'm sensing," he says, "is that we are offering real value to our customers, and we're seeing that in the high-volume orders."

According to Pavela, Omni-ID decided to locate its new subsidiary in China not only because the cost of manufacturing in Asia is inexpensive, but also because the company expects to expand sales of its tags to customers in that region. In June 2009, for instance, the firm signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Electric and IBM Japan to sell RFID solutions for asset management in Japan, using Omni-ID's Prox metal-mount RFID tag (see Omni-ID, Mitsubishi Electric, IBM Japan Partner On RFID Asset Management).

If business continues to grow, Pavela says, the company will expand the size of its production facility further, to increase RFID tag production volume.