Photo: Built for use in rugged environments, the 8950 helps mobile workers track inventory in cold storage facilities and harsh outdoor settings.

If you've rented a car from Hertz or taken the train in France, chances are you've seen Psion Teklogix products in action. Conductors on France's SNCF railway use their handheld computers to take payments and issue tickets. Hertz uses the computers to speed the return of rental vehicles, with a quick scan producing an invoice that can be printed out right in the parking lot.

"Our products have a wide variety of applications," says Michael Homer, Psion Teklogix's Chief Operating Officer. "When Rod Coutts founded the company (as Teklogix) in Waterloo, he and a small group of engineers developed solutions that gave mobile workers the tools for wireless data transmission and real-time data management."

From ports and terminals to warehouses and freezers, Teklogix's mobile computing solutions tracked the movement of goods. The company's customers knew where a given shipment was at any given time, a key advantage in supply chain logistics.

In late 2000, Teklogix joined forces with the Psion Group, a London (UK) based company founded by David Potter, creator of the world's first PDA - the Psion Organiser - in 1984. The combination of experience and expertise has given Psion Teklogix worldwide recognition as a market leader in delivering mobile computing solutions. From the outset, the talent, foresight, and energy of Coutts and Potter fostered a corporate culture based on the drive to provide innovative products and solutions to customers.

Headquartered in Mississauga, Psion Teklogix now serves customers in over 80 countries through a global network of direct sales and support offices in Europe, the United States, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The company also uses regional partners, including value-added resellers, distributors, and third party suppliers.

"The Ontario government has identified IT (information technology) as a target sector in its Strategic Opportunities Program," says Alexandra Sutton, International Marketing Consultant with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. "Whether they are a start-up or a well-established exporter such as Psion Teklogix, there is strong support for these companies right through to the export marketing stage, where the International Trade Branch can provide assistance. For example, we organize participation at key international exhibitions such as the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona where Psion Teklogix showcased its products".

Homer attributes the company's continued growth and success to its emphasis on understanding customer needs. "There is a strong connection between our sales force and our customers," he says. "We focus on the front end, in truly understanding customers' needs, in articulating those needs back to engineering, and in providing solutions." The ability to understand and translate customer needs is evident in the new WORKABOUT PRO, Psion Teklogix's flagship product - a robust, highly flexible handheld computer. The newest version was built in response to the success of the first generation product. "We listened to our customers and let them drive the new features," Homer explains.

In recent years, Psion Teklogix has been focusing on the mobility market, making information accessible outside the closed environment of a LAN (local area network). Using WAN (wide area network) technologies, Psion Teklogix is now empowering industries such as meter reading, ticketing, and mail delivery. RFID (radio frequency identification) tags have read/write capabilities for real-time information updates throughout the supply chain or anywhere you need to capture data.

"While we're maintaining our strong position in the supply chain logistics market, there's a need to take our computing solutions to people who do a lot of travel," says Homer. "Even if you're out in the field, you still need to exchange information. Our products can read bar codes, capture images, and read RFID tags, and translate all that information into data."

It goes far beyond mail delivery, though. The mobility market also includes industries such as biometrics (fingerprints, passports) and even livestock. Psion Teklogix recently worked with a company in Uruguay to help control outbreaks of disease in cattle. Cybercampo's identification devices are implanted in the animals' ears to provide data that is collected with the WORKABOUT PRO. The initiative will make Uruguay the first nation with full cattle traceability.

"Our R&D gives us the products our customers need," says Homer. "We now have about 1200 employees worldwide, and the largest percentage of them is in Mississauga where products are both researched and developed. The Mississauga plant alone has 200 engineers."

In the mobility market, regulatory compliance is critical. Psion Teklogix's readers meet stringent European Union and Japanese telecommunications standards, and their success in global markets comes from their ability to translate any bar code or image into data.

"The product leaving the plant is configured for the location in which it will be used," says Homer, "whether it's the United States, Latin America, Asia, or Europe. We ensure that all certifications are met, and that the unit displays information in the language of that country."

This dedication to customer service continues with the company's latest product. The Ikôn is a rugged PDA that offers the features adaptability that will ensure success in competitive export markets.

"The Ikôn can work off any radio frequency and WAN," says Homer, "and it has full functionality for bar code reading or imaging. It's also got great ergonomics that the end users will really appreciate. We just started production here in Mississauga and by next month (March 2008) we'll be shipping them to customers around the world."

Website: www.psionteklogix.com