FINANCIAL REPORT
April 2013 March 2014
1. Basic Management Policy
Throughout its history, Amano has adhered to a basic policy of putting the customer
first. This has meant paying heed to what its customers say—based on its corporate
themes of “people and time” and “people and the environment”—and giving pivotal
importance to customer satisfaction throughout its business activities, particularly in
sales, production, and development.
In accordance with this fundamental policy, Amano continues to undertake business
activities with the goal of earning the trust and high regard of all those who support it:
the customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and other entities with which it does
business, and the local community. It achieves this by providing a variety of products,
systems, services, and solutions that match the needs of its customers in relation to the
themes of “people and time” and “people and the environment.”
Amano and its Group companies direct their efforts toward maximizing corporate val-
ue by fostering innovation in management and by ensuring a strong earnings structure
and sustained growth in business performance.
2. New Medium-Term Business Plan
Amano and all of its Group companies continue to pursue the Group’s tradition of con-
tinuing to evolve in response to the changes of the times, while remaining committed
to the following four immutable strategies of the Amano Group.
(i) Emphasis on the Time & Ecology business fields and enhancement of our core business
(ii) Being a niche leader in the business fields in which we excel
(iii) Ceaseless restructuring
(iv) Management based on cash flow
In accordance with these four fundamental strategies, Amano launched a new medi-
um-term business plan. An outline of the plan is set out below.
[1] Basic Policies
Under its new medium-term business plan, aiming to become a 100-year Company,
the Group will work to address the following four priority challenges with “Challenge
Ourselves to Advance to a New Stage” as its management concept:
(i) Expansion of business: Increase sales and achieve an operating profit ratio of 10%
(ii) Improvement in management efficiency: Increase earnings capacity aiming to
achieve an ROE (return on equity) of 10%
(iii) Strengthening of consolidated management: Increase the consolidated-to-non
consolidated net sales ratio by 10% by growing domestic and overseas Group
companies
(iv) Evolution of corporate governance: Enhance the environment for internal con-
trols for the entire Amano Group
Under these basic policies, the Company will carry out the following measures.
Management Policy
1. North American and European markets
North America: In the Parking Systems business, we will further expand business by
introducing Amano McGann’s new systems into the market and by improving our abil-
ity to propose solutions through enhancement of peripheral services. In the Information
System business, we will continue to scale up operations by launching a new series of
Accu-Time Systems Inc. terminals into the market and developing cloud services. In the
Clean Systems business, we will expand business by acquiring the wooden floor sand-
ing equipment division of Amano Pioneer Eclipse Corp. In the Environment Systems
business, we will boost sales of standard equipment to Japanese companies operating
outside Japan, centering on automobile-related businesses.
Europe: In the Information Systems business, we will continue to enhance our French
market customer base and will strive to permeate and expand the markets in Belgium
and Germany by offering T&A, access control, and cloud solutions through Horosmart
S.A. In the Parking Systems business, we will strive to expand business by accelerating
the deployment of low-cost barcode systems and focusing efforts on the new commis-
sioned management services business.
2. Asian, Latin American and other emerging markets
Asia: In the Parking Systems business, we will scale up operations by launching low-
end barcode systems into the market and enhancing the commissioned management
services business. In the Environment Systems business, we will strengthen our engi-
neering capabilities as well as sales and service systems for Japanese companies oper-
ating in Asia by making use of the ties between our Group companies across Asia and
our head office in Japan. We will also expand our local production capabilities in order
to enhance cost competitiveness.
Latin America: In light of future local business expansion, we will explore market fron-
tiers in the Information Systems, Parking Systems, and Environment Systems businesses.
3.Japanese market
Japan: We will reinforce ties among Group companies and strengthen our capacity
to provide holistic solutions (which cover hardware, software, and services) across all
business fields both qualitatively and quantitatively. We will also increase our stable of
customers by locking in existing customers as well as our flow of customers by acquir-
ing new customers.
[2] Numerical Targets
In FY 2016 (ending March 2017), the final fiscal year of the medium-term business
plan, the Company aims to achieve net sales of at least ¥130,000 million and an oper-
ating profit of at least ¥13,000 million.
Numerical targets
(Millions of yen)FY 2014
(ending March 2015) (ending March 2016) FY 2015 (ending March 2017) FY 2016
Amount YoY (%) Amount YoY (%) Amount YoY (%)
Net sales 110,000 7.7 119,000 8.2 130,000 9.2
Operating profit 9,100 3.1 10,900 19.8 13,000 19.3
Operating profit ratio (%) 8.3 – 9.2 – 10.0 –
Ordinary profit 9,700 2.9 11,600 19.6 13,600 17.2
Net profit 6,300 18.9 6,900 9.5 8,300 20.3
Izumi NAKAJIMA
President
Representative Director
3. Basic Policy on Distribution of Profits and Payment of Dividends for
This Fiscal Year and the Next
Amano places great importance on its policy for the payment of dividends to sharehold-
ers. Fundamental to this is its policy for the return of profit to shareholders, based on
maintaining a stable ordinary dividend of ¥26 annually (interim dividend of ¥13 and
year-end dividend of ¥13), together with appropriate results-based distributions of profits
and flexible purchasing of treasury stock. The Company aims to maintain a payout ratio
of at least 35% on a consolidated basis and a ratio of dividend to net assets of at least 2.5%.
In line with this policy, taking into account our current-year operations results, we plan to pay
a year-end dividend of ¥17 per share, an increase of ¥4 per share compared with the amount
paid at the end of the previous year. As a result, the annual per-share dividend will be ¥30
(including the ¥13 per share paid as the interim dividend). This corresponds to a dividend
payout ratio of 43.4% and a 2.9% ratio of dividends to net assets on a consolidated basis.
With regard to our Basic Policy on Distribution of Profits for the next fiscal year, in line
with the new medium-term business plan we started to implement in April 2014, in order
to return more profits to our shareholders we aim to maintain a payout ratio of at least
40% on a consolidated basis while maintaining a stable ordinary dividend of ¥26 annu-
ally (interim dividend of ¥13 and year-end dividend of ¥13) as well as a ratio of dividend
to net assets of at least 2.5%.
Taking into consideration this new Basic Policy and the earnings forecasts, we aim to pay
an annual per-share dividend of ¥32 for the next fiscal year (interim dividend of ¥15 and
year-end dividend of ¥17).
Retained earnings will be earmarked to fund effective investment aimed at the fundamen-
tal enhancement of the Company’s capacity to conduct its business operations. This will
include the expansion and strengthening of existing business fields, strategic investment
in growth fields, and spending on research and development, as well as the rationaliza-
tion of production plants and equipment for the purpose of reducing costs and further
improving product quality.
Analysis of Business Results
Business Results in the Year Ended March 31, 2014
During the fiscal year ended March
31, 2014, although overseas econo-
mies continued to struggle due to
uncer tainty resulting from factors
such as the slowdown of the Chi-
nese economy and decelerating
growth in emerging economies, the
Japanese economy seemed to be
on track to recover moderately. This
was thanks to a continued increase
in public investment due to the ef-
fects of the government’s economic
policy, a recovery in capital invest-
ment following an improvement
in corporate profits, and steady
personal consumption due to im-
provements in the employment and
income situation.
Amid this business environment, the
Amano Group wor ked in accor-
dance with the consolidated global
growth strategy outlined in its new
medium-term business plan drawn
up in April 2011 on global market
and product development as well
as the enhancement of its capac-
ity to provide holistic solutions. The
Amano Group also concentrated
on thoroughly uncovering customer
needs and strove to reduce the
costs of goods sold (COGS) and
selling, general, and administrative
(SG&A) expenses.
As a result of the above, during the
fiscal year under review, the Com-
pany recorded sales of ¥102,131
million, up by 13.1% year-on-year.
Operating profit increased by 20.4%
to ¥8,826 million, ordinar y profit
went up by 21.3% to ¥9,423 mil-
lion, and net income increased by
33.0% to ¥5,299 million, resulting in
increases in both income and profit.
The following is a breakdown of
sales by business division.
Sales by business division
(Unit: Millions of yen)Category
FY2012 FY2013
Change
(April 1, 2012–March 31, 2013) (April 1, 2013–March 31, 2014)
Amount Ratio (%) Amount Ratio (%) Amount %
Time Information System business:
Information Systems 19,331 21.4 22,979 22.5 3,648 18.9
Time Management Products 3,996 4.4 4,087 4.0 91 2.3
Parking Systems 42,207 46.7 48,808 47.8 6,601 15.6
Subtotal 65,535 72.5 75,876 74.3 10,340 15.8
Environment System business:
Environmental Systems 17,385 19.3 18,157 17.8 772 4.4
Clean Systems 7,374 8.2 8,097 7.9 722 9.8
Subtotal 24,760 27.5 26,255 25.7 1,494 6.0
Total 90,295 100.0 102,131 100.0 11,835 13.1
Time Information System Business
• Information Systems:
Time & attendance (T&A), payroll,
human-resource management, access
control, and cafeteria systems
• Time Management Products:
Time recorders and time stamps
• Parking Systems:
Parking and bicycle-parking space
management systems, and com-
missioned parking lot manage-
ment business
Information Systems
The business environment for this
business division has improved
because companies’ information-
related investments have recovered
in Japan following the economic re-
covery and the demand for system
updates increased due to termina-
tion of Windows XP support.
In response to these market con-
ditions, the Company focused on
attracting demand by making more
proposals for comprehensive solu-
tions associated with the transition
from owning systems to using sys-
tems that suppor t the introduc-
tion of an optimum-working-hours
system, control of total personnel
expenses, and enhancement of labor
compliance.
Domestic sales for the cur rent
term were as follows: hardware
sales increased by ¥747 million
(14.2%) year-on-year, software sales
increased by ¥612 million (20.8%),
and sales generated by maintenance
contracts and supplies services in-
creased by ¥232 million (6.9%). The
increase in hardware sales was at-
tributed to the effects of the launch
of new products and order s for
large-scale projects, and the increase
in software sales was attributed to
the strengthening of 3-in-1 sales
activities for time and attendance
(T&A), payroll, and human resource
management. As a result, T&A sys-
tem sales increased by ¥1,439 mil-
lion (18.2%) while access control
system sales were down by ¥118
million (9.0%).
Overall overseas sales increased
by ¥1,861 million (27.0%). The
sales of Accu-Time Systems, Inc. in
North America increased thanks to
positive foreign exchange rate ef-
fects and other factors; the sales of
Horosmart S.A. in Europe remained
strong and also increased.
As a result of the above, sales in this
business division totaled ¥22,979
million, representing an increase of
18.9% year-on-year.
Time Management Products
In Japan, this business division con-
tinued to struggle under difficult
conditions because the demand
str ucture has shifted from stan-
dard machines to systems.
In this mar ket environment, the
Company concentr ated on ex-
panding its customer base and un-
covering new demand by strength-
ening Internet and mail order sales
promotions on low-priced equip-
ment and supply commodities.
Overall domestic sales for the cur-
rent term increased by ¥20 million
(0.7%), in spite of a decrease in
expor ts due to the rush demand
for consumable goods, etc. before
the consumption tax hike and an
increase in Internet and mail order
sales. Overseas sales increased by
¥14 million (1.2%) thanks to posi-
tive foreign exchange rate effects
and other factors.
As a result of the above , sales
in this business division totaled
¥4,087 million, representing an in-
crease of 2.3% year-on-year.
Parking Systems
The Parking Systems business sector
in Japan has been working to reduce
the costs of parking lot management,
promote environmental initiatives,
ensure safety and security in park-
ing lots, and increase convenience
for parking lot users in order to
respond to the increasingly diverse
needs of parking lot management.
In response to these market condi-
tions, the Company has, in coop-
eration with its Group companies
in Japan, and with safety, security,
and environmental awareness as its
watchwords, focused its efforts on
expanding commissioned parking lot
management services. The company
has done this by vigorously develop-
ing proposals for better services for
parking lot users, proposals for effi-
cient parking lot management utiliz-
ing a parking lot information distri-
bution service, and comprehensive
proposals covering equipment and
various ancillary services. The Com-
pany has also made effor ts to ex-
pand into new markets for security-
SX-270
gate systems, toll road systems, and
bicycle parking systems, etc.
In Japan, sales of large parking lot
systems during the fiscal year in-
creased by ¥2,340 million (15.0%)
and revenues from maintenance
contracts and supplies services in-
creased by ¥363 million (4.2%).
The commissioned management
b u s i n e s s by G r o u p s u b s i d i a r y
Amano Management Service Cor-
poration expanded steadily and the
number of commissioned parking
spaces increased by 31,400 (12.5%)
from the end of the previous fiscal
year.
Overall overseas sales increased
by ¥2,992 million (29.5%). Sales for
Nor th America increased because
positive foreign exchange rate ef-
fects and other factor s assisted
Amano McGann, Inc., although sales
decreased on a local currency basis.
Sales for Europe increased due to
increased orders for systems for
Asian and Oceanian markets. Sales
in the Asian region increased as
sales in Korea remained firm.
As a net result of the above, sales
in this business division totaled
¥48,808 million, up by 15.6% year-
on-year.
Environment System business
• Environmental Systems:
Standard dust collectors, large
dust collection systems, pneumatic
powder conveyance systems,
high-temperature hazardous-gas
removal systems, deodorization
systems, and electrolytic water
generators
• Clean Systems:
Cleaning equipment, dr y-care
cleaning systems, and cleaning
management services
Environmental Systems
In this business division, capital
investment star ted to increase
moderately following the economic
recovery in Japan, while capital in-
vestment by Japanese companies
operating abroad remained steady.
Against this backdrop, the business
environment showed signs of recov-
ery.
In this mar ket environment, the
Company has made efforts to boost
sales of standard equipment by pro-
moting new products in its solution
proposals and has strengthened its
efforts to expand new markets for
pharmaceutical, foods, and cosmet-
ics. The Company also proactively
shifted its managerial resources to
areas where there is demand and
focused on the expansion of orders.
The Company’s efforts included the
strengthening of local engineering
capabilities, the establishment of
closer cooperation with overseas
group companies, and full-fledged
business development in Nor th
America in order to attract demand
from businesses operating overseas.
During the current term, domestic
sales of standard dust collectors
increased by ¥410 million (7.7%),
although sales of large-scale systems
decreased by ¥315 million (5.6%)
affected by the restraints on capital
investments that continued until the
first half of the current fiscal year,
and sales of maintenance contracts
and supplies services decreased by
¥233 million (6.1%) year-on-year.
Overall overseas sales increased
by ¥703 million (27.4%). Sales in-
creased in the Asian market as a
whole, especially Southeast Asia.
Sales increased in the North Ameri-
can market due to increased orders
for large-scale systems.
As a result of the above, sales in this
business division totaled ¥18,157
million, up by 4.4% year-on-year.
Clean Systems
This business division is seeing in-
creasing needs for commissioned
cleaning services and maintenance
of building aesthetics despite the
prolonged corporate restraints on
cleaning management costs in Japan.
To cope with this market environ-
ment, the Company has actively de-
veloped proposals for improving ef-
ficiency without compromising qual-
ity. In addition, the division worked
to unlock new demand by enhanc-
ing proposals for commissioned
cleaning services and preparing new
proposals based on the concept of
comprehensive cleanliness solutions,
Analysis of Financial Condition
(i) Assets, liabilities, and net assets
• Assets
Total assets as of March 31, 2014
amounted to ¥122,838 million, up by
¥13,361 million from the previous fis-
cal year-end. Current assets increased
by ¥9,517 million year-on-year. This
was chiefly due to a ¥5,839 million in-
crease in cash and bank deposits and
a ¥3,664 million increase in notes and
accounts receivable-trade. Fixed assets
increased by ¥3,844 million year-on-
year. This was attributable primarily to,
for tangible fixed assets, a ¥530 million
increase in buildings and structures as
well as a ¥272 million increase in lease
assets, and for intangible fixed assets, a
¥1,178 million increase in software.
• Liabilities
Total liabilities as of March 31, 2014
amounted to ¥39,355 million, up by
¥6,597 million year-on-year. Current
liabilities increased by ¥3,872 million
year-on-year. This was chiefly due to
an increase of ¥1,128 million in ac-
crued income taxes, an increase of
¥916 million in electronically recorded
obligations, and an increase of ¥745
million in other current liabilities due
to an increase in accrued expenses.
Fixed liabilities increased by ¥2,724
million year-on-year. The principal fac-
tors behind this were an increase of
¥4,158 million in net defined benefit
liabilities and an increase of ¥889 mil-
lion in long-term bank loans, despite a
decrease of ¥2,670 million in accrued
retirement benefits for employees as-
sociated with changes in accounting
standards.
• Net Assets
Total net assets as of March 31, 2014
amounted to ¥83,482 million, up by
¥6,764 million from the previous fiscal
year-end. This was primarily due to an
increase of ¥3,306 million in share-
holders’ equity by posting net income
and an increase of ¥3,305 million in
total accumulated other comprehen-
sive income resulting from an increase
in foreign currency translation adjust-
ments.
(ii) Cash Flows
Consolidated cash and cash equiva-
lents increased by ¥5,087 million from
the previous fiscal year-end to a total
of ¥31,674 million as of March 31,
2014. The status of each type of cash
flow at year-end and the underlying
factors are as follows.
(1) Cash flow from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating ac-
tivities totaled ¥11,035 million. This
was attributable primarily to income
before income taxes amounting to
¥9,299 million, and depreciation and
amor tization amounting to ¥3,711
million, despite income taxes pay-
ments amounting to ¥3,084 million.
including cleaning of both floors and
vertical surfaces.
Domestic sales of cleaning equip-
ment during the fiscal year under
review increased by ¥296 million
(15.4%) year-on-year, and revenue
from maintenance contracts and
supplies ser vices increased by ¥6
million (0.2%), while revenue from
commissioned cleaning services in-
creased by ¥31 million (2.1%).
Overall overseas sales increased by
¥384 million (21.8%) year-on-year. In
particular, sales for North America
increased.
As a result of the above, sales in this
business division totaled ¥8,097 mil-
lion, up by 9.8%.
Notes : Equity ratio: Equity capital/Total assets
Fair value equity ratio: Gross market capitalization/Total assets
Ratio of cash flow to interest-bearing liabilities: Interest-bearing liabilities/Cash flow from operating activities Interest coverage ratio: Cash flow from operating activities/Interest payments
Assumptions
* All indicators are calculated on the basis of consolidated financial values.
* Gross market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the closing price of the Company’s shares at the year-end by the num- ber of shares of common stock issued and outstanding at the year-end (less treasury stock).
* The term “cash flow from operating activities” refers to cash flow from operating activities posted under the consolidated state- ments of cash flows. The term “interest-bearing liabilities” refers to those liabilities stated in the consolidated balance sheets on which interest is paid. Interest payments equate with the interest paid recorded in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Reference: Trend of cash flow indicators
As of Mar. 31, 2010 As of Mar. 31, 2011 As of Mar. 31, 2012 As of Mar. 31, 2013 As of Mar. 31, 2014
Equity ratio (%) 73.4 70.3 69.6 69.8 67.6
Fair value equity ratio (%) 64.7 59.3 56.9 62.3 66.5
Ratio of cash flow to interest-bearing liabilities (%) 17.1 31.4 50.2 34.7 37.3
Interest coverage ratio 250.6 275.2 158.1 207.7 219.7
Outlook for Fiscal Year
Ending March 31, 2015
During the fiscal year ending March
31, 2015, we forecast that the
Japanese economy will continue to
recover as expor ts are expected
to increase due to the recovery of
the global economy and the yen’s
depreciation. Public investment
is expected to remain firm while
capital investment is expected to
moderately increase, although there
will be effects of rush demand and
reaction to the same resulting from
(2) Cash flow from investing activities
Net cash used in investing activities to-
taled -¥6,081 million. This was largely
due to expenditures of ¥5,267 million
for the placement of time deposits,
¥3,225 million for the acquisition of
tangible fixed assets, ¥2,250 million
for the acquisition of intangible fixed
assets, and ¥2,000 million for the ac-
the consumption tax rate hike.
Amid this business environment,
Amano Corporation and its Group
companies continue to emphasize
the following strategies: 1) emphasis
on Time & Ecology business fields,
and enhancement of core business;
2) becoming a niche leader in the
business fields in which we excel;
3) ceaseless restructuring; and 4)
management based on cash flow.
In line with these four fundamental
strategies, we will work to address
the impor tant challenges in the
new medium-term business plan
described in “3. Business Policies” on
page 11 with a view to maximizing
the corporate value of Amano Cor-
poration while aiming at a 100-year
Company having “Challenge Our-
selves to Advance to a New Stage”
as its management concept.
The following business results are
projected for the fiscal year end-
ing March 31, 2015: net sales of
¥110,000 million, operating profit
of ¥9,100 million, ordinary profit of
¥9,700 million, and net income of
¥6,300 million. These projections
assume currency exchange rates of
¥100 to the US dollar and ¥137 to
the euro.
quisition of securities. These outflows
were more than offset by proceeds of
¥4,683 million from the withdrawal of
time deposits and ¥2,200 million from
the redemption of securities.
(3) Cash flow from financing activities
Net cash used in financing activi-
ties amounted to -¥780 million. This
was chiefly due to the payment of
dividends amounting to ¥1,991 mil-
lion and repayment of finance lease
obligations of ¥1,507 million, despite
proceeds from sale and leaseback of
¥1,891 million and proceeds from
long-term debt of ¥972 million.
Operating and Other Risk Factors
Matters relating to the qualitative
infor mation contained in these
summar y financial statements and
relating to the consolidated financial
statements that could be envisaged
as having a possible material impact
on investors are described below.
Ever y effor t are made to identify
factors that may now or in the fu-
ture pose a risk to the undertaking
of business by the Amano Group,
and these risk factors are then elimi-
nated or otherwise managed in the
course of business.
Forward-looking statements are cur-
rent as of the date of the release of
these financial results (May 8, 2014).
(i) Impact on earnings due to
changes in the business environ-
ment
The Amano Group uses the unique
technologies and know-how it has
accumulated to provide customers
with high-quality products, services
and solutions, thereby gaining large
market shares in each sphere of
business in Japan, Nor th America,
Europe, and Asia, and developing its
business globally.
In the year ended March 31, 2014,
the Time Information System busi-
ness accounted for 74.3% of total
sales, and the Environment System
business accounted for 25.7%. Be-
fore the deduction of unallocated
expenses, the Time Information Sys-
tem business contributed 80.9% to
operating profit, while the Environ-
ment System business contributed
19.1%. In terms of weighted average
sales over the last five years, the
Time Information System business
accounted for 74.0% of total sales
and 80.1% of operating profit.
One future r isk factor is that if
market expansion is forecast for a
business activity within the Time In-
formation System business segment
(which accounts for a large propor-
tion of the Group’s business) for
such reasons as a significant change
in the demand str ucture or the
creation of a new market, entities
in other industries or other power-
ful competitors may be tempted to
enter the market. In such an event,
if a competitor were to enter with
innovative products or solutions
that surpass Amano’s, the Amano
Group’s market advantage would
decline, which may have a material
impact on its business performance.
(ii) Fluctuations in exchange rates
The Group engages in business
activities on a global scale and has
production and sales bases overseas.
In view of this, the Group’s business
results may be impacted by fluctua-
tions in exchange rates when the
proceeds for overseas transactions
are converted into yen.
(iii) Information security
In the course of providing system
solutions and developing cloud busi-
ness ser vices (e.g., ASP, SaaS, and
hosting services), the Amano Group
handles confidential information,
such as personal information con-
cerning, or provided by, customers.
In view of this, the Company has
strengthened and thoroughly imple-
mented security control measures
based on the Information Security
Management Rules. Specifically, the
Company has implemented mea-
sures to protect confidential infor-
mation (e.g., encr ypting hard disk
drives and external media) as well
as provided periodic staff training
through e-learning. Furthermore, the
Company obtained the Privacy Mark
cer tification in February 2014 and
has implemented all possible mea-
sures to ensure information security,
including super vision of ser vice
providers and thorough compliance
with internal rules. Nevertheless, the
occurrence of an unforeseen situ-
ation that results in loss or leakage
of confidential or personal informa-
tion as described above could have
an adverse material impact on the
Group’s business performance due
to factors such as loss of confidence.
(iv) Natural disasters
Natural disasters (e.g., large-scale
earthquakes, windstorms, or floods)
may damage human lives or prop-
erty. The Amano Group has imple-
mented necessar y measures such
as having employees always carr y
emer gency contact infor mation
cards even during ordinar y times,
relocating file ser vers to external
data centers, and developing a sys-
tem for setting up an emergency
response headquarters to respond
to emergency situations. However, if
offices or sites at sales and produc-
tion bases are damaged or if a situ-
ation arises in which it is difficult for
employees to engage in operations,
business activities may be temporar-
ily suspended.
(v) Overseas business development
The Amano Group has been devel-
oping its business globally in Japan,
Nor th America, Europe, and Asia.
Therefore, there is a possibility that
a situation may arise in which busi-
ness operations are disrupted due
to the application of unique laws, or-
dinances, or regulations or social dis-
order due to political disturbances,
war, or terrorism, etc. in countries or
regions where the Group conducts
business, which may adversely im-
pact the Group’s business perfor-
mance.
Issues to Be Addressed
The Company will take the following steps to achieve the goals set out in its new medi- um-term business plan.
1) Time Information Systems
•Information Systems business
In the Information Systems business, the economic environment in Japan has become positive, and labor authorities have contin- ued efforts to more strictly monitor unpaid over time and long working hours (over- working); potential demand among com- panies for T&A systems, which are used to establish and build labor time management systems, has translated into effective demand in efforts to ensure compliance through ap- propriate working hours management. In addition, against the backdrop of the need to respond to the My Number System and the movement toward applying the extra wage rate to overtime work exceeding 60 hours per month (from which small- and medium- sized enterprises are exempt) as well as the review of the legislation on working hours from the viewpoint of improving labor productivity, demand for both company system updates and systems for using cloud computing and smart devices is expected to increase.Given this market environment, for small- and medium-sized enterprise markets, we will strengthen proposals by adding the mental healthcare system to the 3-in-1 management system, covering T&A, payroll, and human resource management as well as expand the market by offering comprehen- sive solutions including hardware, software, and cloud services. In the medium-sized enterprise market, we will enter the financial accounting market by tying up with CREO CO., LTD. and work to expand operations with the aim of becoming a “mini-ERP ven- dor” by enhancing software for T&A, human resources, payroll, and accounting as well as strengthening our consulting sales activities. In overseas markets, we will expand and improve our cloud services in Europe and the United States. Further, Horosmart, S.A. (France) aims to expand its market into
other areas of Europe, while Accu-Time Systems Inc. (Nor th America) aims to strengthen its customer base by introducing a new series of terminals.
•Parking Systems business
As for the Parking Systems business, amidst the economic recover y, the parking lot- related market has been expanding against the backdrop of the vitalization of the real estate market and the recovery in automo- bile sales volume, etc. In addition to the need for parking lot management cost reduction, ensuring of safety and security in parking lots, and consideration of the environment, the need to propose solutions to improve user convenience has been increasing.
Given this market environment, we aim to become a “parking facility service provider” by further strengthening tie-ups with major parking lot management companies while improving functions and operability of sys- tem equipment as well as providing various services, including commissioned manage- ment services, through our parking lot data center for small- and medium-sized parking lot management companies. In addition, we will strengthen and expand our efforts related to facilities such as security gates, toll roads, and bicycle parking lots in order to expand our business.
As for overseas markets, in the United States, Amano McGann, Inc. will introduce new sys- tems and strengthen solution proposals by expanding and improving peripheral services to expand the market. In Europe, we will accelerate the development of low-cost bar- code systems and expand our business by working on the new commissioned manage- ment service business. In Asia, we will aim to expand our business by strengthening low- end barcode systems and the commissioned management service business.
2) Environment Systems business
•Environment Systems
In the Environmental Systems business, capi- tal investment has bottomed out in Japan as a result of the recovering economy, and Jap- anese-affiliated companies operating abroad exhibit a trend of increasing their capital investment, which has been expanding from
China and Southeast Asia to the Americas. Given this market environment, in Japan we will aggressively capture demand mainly for standard equipment and expand sales in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmet- ics industries, which are expected to grow steadily. We will also work to strengthen our engineering capabilities and comprehensive sales, including that of peripheral equipment, by tie-ups with industrial equipment manu- facturers with the aim of becoming a “global engineering multivendor.”
In overseas markets, we will strengthen our engineering capabilities and ability to offer products and render services to Japanese companies operating outside Japan by tie- ups between our Group companies across Asia and our head office in Japan. We will also expand our local production capabilities in order to enhance cost competitiveness.
•Clean Systems
In the Clean Systems business, while the trend of companies trying to reduce cleaning costs continues, amid the aging of sanitary workers and an increase in the number of inexperienced workers, needs to improve safety and operability of cleaning equipment have been increasing. At the same time, the need for maintaining building aesthetics at low cost has also been increasing.
Given this market environment, in Japan we will strengthen our customer base by intro- ducing into the market polishers featuring a safety device and expanding sales of small scrubbers in response to the opening up of small urban supermarkets and the increase in the number of eat-in areas at convenience stores. With the aim of becoming a “total cleanliness service provider,” we also pro- mote comprehensive proposals, including those for commissioned cleaning services and aesthetic maintenance.
In overseas markets, we will capitalize on the demand of Japanese-affiliated distribution companies opening up stores in the Asian region and expand our business by acquir- ing the wooden floor sanding equipment division of Amano Pioneer Eclipse Corp. in North America.
Time Information Systems
“Mental Healthcare System” Newly Released!
Total support for T&A Management!
September 2013, Amano released a
medical diagnostic software called “Men-
tal Healthcare System Wakaba” and a
stress measuring device called “Lifescore
Quick” targeting the medium to small
business market.
Mental health of employees is becom-
ing a serious social issue as it is believed
that work stress and long working hours
could cause brain and/or heart disor-
ders. Under the Occupational Safety and
Health Act, employers are required to
have its employees who are subject to
long working hours to receive a medi-
cal diagnosis by a physician to prevent
health disorders.
By interfacing the Mental Healthcare
and the T&A system, it will enable the
employer to quickly grasp employees
with excessive work time and the medi-
cal diagnostic software will assist in the
early detection of potential health dis-
orders. In addition, the stress measuring
device will provide objective information
regarding employee stress levels.
With these new systems, Amano will
continue to expand the business by pro-
viding holistic solutions.
Parking Systems
“License Plate Control System” Newly Released!
Digitizing vehicle license plate numbers enter-
ing the facility!
Januar y 2014, Amano released the
“License Plate Control System” which
together with the access control system,
will enable centralized control of “ve-
hicles” and “people” entering and exiting
facilities such as factories and distribu-
tion centers.
The “License Plate Control System”
photographs the vehicle entering the
facility and automatically digitizes the
license plate number images which are
logged and compiled. In the event of
an accident or theft, the photo image
and license plate information will assist
in identifying the vehicle promptly. By
analyzing the compiled information, such
as length of stay per vehicle, and conges-
tion peak hours, it will aid in improving
distribution efficiency. In addition, by
interfacing this system with the conven-
tional ID card access control system for
“people”, it will enable the facility secu-
rity section to quickly grasp “who” and
“what vehicles” are “where” within the
facility in the event of a disaster or an
emergency.
Amano will continue to provide solu-
tions which meet customer needs by
applying the experience and technology
accumulated from the many years in
parking systems to areas such as Busi-
ness Continuity Plans (BCP) and safety
measures to protect “Assets & People”.
Environmental Systems
Standard Dust Collector Lineup Expanded
New product proposal activities, now in full gear!
October 2013, Amano released an elec-
tric oil mist collector the “EM-eⅡ”.
In the field of metal processing and ma-
chining, the prevention of work-related
injuries and accidents has become the
prime focus and hence the demand for
mist collectors equipped with safety fea-
tures such as fire prevention, are growing
stronger. The new “EM-eⅡ” was devel-
oped based on designs focused on safety
without compromising its performance. It
is equipped with newly structured elec-
trodes (patent pending) which prevent air-
flow loss from clogging and uses an elec-
tric charging method with low risk of fire.
It is also adopts a new control method for
stable operation.
In addition to the existing energy &
space saving dust collectors the “PiF
series”, and the “SP series”, the sanitary
models for the food and pharmaceutical
industry, this new model will enhance
Amano’s product lineup to pursue new
opportunities. Amano will continue to
develop high quality products to im-
prove the factory environment and to
meet customer needs.
Clean Systems
Newly Released! Japan’s first Autonomous
Robotic Scrubber!
March 2014, Amano newly released
an autonomous robotic scrubber “SE-
500iX”. The “SE-500iX” is the next gen-
eration of the popular “SE-500 series”
which are widely used in factories and
commercial facilities such as supermar-
kets and shopping malls.
The automatic mode of the “SE-500iX”
is progr ammed by the “Teaching”
method. By actually going through the
cleaning process, this scrubber will re-
cord and memorize the speed, water
volume, pad pressure and the up &
down movement of the suction funnel
for each cleaning area and it can memo-
rize up to 64 patterns. For operational
safety, during the automatic mode, the
“SE-500iX” is guided by various sen-
sors including an infrared laser to avoid
obstacles and steps. It also comes with
voice guidance and a drive recorder as
standard equipment. Robotic scrubbers
will accurately reproduce the cleaning
patterns of a skilled operator thereby
reducing uneven finishes and in addition,
since no human intervention is needed
during the automatic mode, operational
efficiency can be improved by assigning
workers to other tasks. Amano intends
to promote sales of this autonomous
robotic scrubber to position it as one
of its flagship products and continue to
enhance its functions.
Business Activities
Medical Diagnostic Software:
“Healthcare System Wakaba”
Stress Measuring Device:
“Lifescore Quick”
守衛所
The screen of the “License Plate Control System”
Electric Oil Mist Collector
“EM-eⅡ”
SP Series PiF Series
Autonomous Robotic Scrubber “SE-500iX”
Amano USA Holdings, Inc.
AMANO CINCINNATI, INC.
The ACI time division has seen contin- ued growth in the (TIS) time information systems product line. As we evaluate the workforce time management market as a whole, we see sales of traditional time clocks declining slightly. We feel this is a growing trend with small business owners. As more advanced technologies like finger- print and facial recognition become more affordable, we will continue to see growth in this product segment. As proof of this, sales of our biometric fingerprint system combined with Time Guardian software continue to grow. In fact, one of our largest retailers has just confirmed that they will be testing our Biometric fingerprint units in 60 of their locations throughout the US. One of the main benefits of using these advanced employee recognition products as compared to traditional time clocks is it al- lows small business owners to better man- age their employees and eliminate “buddy punching” which increases productivity and eliminates unearned wages. Amano is cur- rently evaluating several facial recognition terminals to combine with its Time Guard- ian software suite.
Amano’s TS-3000i automatic synchroniz- ing web time clock continues to solidify its place in the time validating compliance market. In fact, due to its overwhelming acceptance, some of our competitors are now reselling our product.
This product sets the bar in terms of fea- tures and functionality. It has been sought out by many financial and trading institu- tions to meet their time validation compli- ance needs. One of our recent success stories includes a deployment of over 850 units to a major trading firm with locations in Chicago and New York.
The successful launch of the new version of the PIX-75 was
implemented in the first quarter of 2014. The new clock incor- porates a number of design improvements to increase customer satisfaction and re- duce cost.
ACCU-TIME SYSTEMS, INC.
Accu-Time Systems, Inc. began shipping the PeoplePoint Series of workforce manage- ment terminals in Q4 of calendar 2013. The value-added resellers, independent software vendors, and end-users to whom we sell are developing their software prod- ucts around our new series. The People- Point Series includes large LCD displays, powerful computer processors, and mod- ern industrial designs.
ATS also broadened our product line with the introduction of the TimeCom product in 2013. TimeCom is ATS’ new time clock integration solution for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and workforce man-
agement (WFM) applications. TimeCom includes an ATS time clock, a time & atten- dance terminal-side application, and cloud- based integration middleware. Timecom is offered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product, producing monthly recurring rev- enue for ATS. We expect to see greater adoption of our managed services through- out 2014 which will result in a growing source of recurring revenue.
A n a d d i t i o n a l source of recurring revenue initiated in 2013 was the in- troduction of glob- al cellular-enabled time clocks which can communicate via standard mo- bile networks. The cellular-enabled
terminals allow our products to commu- nicate to host software where standard computer communications are unavailable. As part of our drive to make time clocks available everywhere, ATS introduced its global service provider program (GSPP). The GSPP allows customers around the world to send their damaged clocks to a lo- cal repair depot, saving them time and ship- ping costs.
ATS continues to provide custom-designed and manufactured time clocks to certain partners. In 2013, we initiated three major custom time clock projects expected to generate revenue in 2014 and beyond. These custom time clock projects are with three major global WFM software provid- ers and utilize the latest in ATS computer processing and display technology.
As always, ATS strives to maintain its high customer satisfaction levels. By continuing to offer customers time clocks built to strict quality standards, that can communicate anywhere, and will integrate with a variety of software platforms, we will continue to grow our business.
Amano McGann, Inc.
General
Company Overview
For over 25 years our customers have relied heavily on Amano McGann’s (AMI) industry leading lane devices and software to manage their business. With emerging technology like Big Data, Business Intel- ligence, Mobile Devices, and the Internet of Things, the demand for Cloud Computing will shape the future of our industry. AMI is well positioned for the future.
The 2014 release of OPUSeries® lane devices and OPUSuite® cloud application will allow AMI to maintain and expand its leadership position by leveraging these lat- est tools and technology. Both existing and new customers will improve performance and yield by leveraging the same cloud plat- form that power Skype, Office 365, Bing, and Xbox.
Forrester reports public cloud services con- tinue to drive big changes in the markets for software, hardware, and IT outsourcing, while providing a foundation for age of the
customer innovations. Forrester projects that the public cloud market will reach
$191 billion by 2020, from 2013’s total of
$58 billion. Cloud applications, at $133 bil- lion in 2020, are leading this growth; cloud platforms will generate $44 billion in rev- enue by 2020; and cloud business services will come in at $14 billion. For CIOs, the message is clear: “Shift into the driver seat, or others will.”
OPUSuite and the Windows cloud platform transforms data into business decisions so that our customers can be more agile and responsive. It turns massive streams of data into insight and helps drive unparal- leled productivity. OPUSuite is designed to improve the performance of a single car park or can easily scale-up to address even the largest of portfolios transforming a dis- persed parking operation into a connected team.
Cloud computing is not enough for our business. The parking industry is just as reli- ant on a solid, reliable and flexible hardware platform on-premise. The lane devices must not only provide physical control of the op- eration and revenue, it must also accurately and seamlessly collect and transfer car park data as well as receive information and commands from the Cloud.
AMI’s full-line of robust on-premise devices meets the needs of any application. All are integrated and engineered by AMI to take full advantage of the OPUSuite cloud platform and leverage these emerging tech- nologies to improve business performance, yield, and customer satisfaction.
New Amano McGann Corporate
Headquarters
AMI’s MN headquarters and Minneapolis branch office began the New Year at a new location in Roseville, MN. Over the past several years AMI has seen continued suc- cess and growth resulting in MN employees being split into three different spaces. The relocation allowed for increased space and a more cohesive work environment having everyone back under the same roof. Additional benefits include: triple the amount of conference room space, more open area for product engineering a n d t e s t i n g ,
o f f i c e s p a c e f o r t r a v e l i n g executives, and a d e d i c a t e d training center.
Performing our Masterwork
The Future of Parking Revealed–IPI 2013
Amano McGann’s Engineering department The 2013 International Parking Institute Conference and Expo proved to be a great success and kept the sales team on their toes with countless question/answer sessions and demos making it the busiest s h o w t o d a t e ! The booth was packed to capac- ity with custom- ers eager to get c o n n e c t e d a n d learn more aboutWichita Mid-Continent Airport
(Airport)
AMI was awarded the parking equip- ment replacement contract for the Mid- Continent Airport in Wichita, Kansas in the fall of 2013. Mid-Continent Airport is the busiest airport in Kansas and installation for 33 lanes and 4,566 parking spaces will begin summer 2014 with expected completion in the spring of 2015.
City of Lowell (Municipal / On-Street)
AMI and Metric Parking were awarded the new on-street parking pay station contact for the City of Lowell, MA. One hundred and seventy two new solar-powered multi- space meters plus upgrades to 25 pre- existing units were installed in Q4 of 2013. AMANO PIONEER ECLIPSE CORPORATION I n 2 0 1 3 A m a n o P i o -neer Eclipse Corpora- tion (APEC) grew 12%, continuing a multi-year g r o w t h t r e n d w h i c h started in 2010. The resulting 3 year CAGR is over 11%. APEC’s growth in 2013 was high-
lighted by 33% growth in the United States, a result driven by continued improvements in sales personnel, increased focus in direct sales, and new product introductions. In- ternational sales was also a focus in 2013 with the creation of new sales territories in the UK and Germany. The addition of new distribution partners in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, gave APEC sales in over 45 countries in 2013.
New product development continued to be a driving force in 2013, with the in- t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e
industry’s first 30” battery burnisher, t h e 3 0 0 B U 3 0 X ( 3 0 X ) . T h e 3 0 X u t i l i z e s A P E C ’ s successful Steady- One™ technology
and introduces the patent pending X2™ technology, which provides the 30X with increased battery run time and improved performance at a lower cost than industry competitors. The Research and Devel- opment team was also busy improving A P E C ’ s c h e m i c a l p r o d u c t o f f e r i n g with the launch of a new low cost floor cleaner (NeutraFresh™) and the introduc- tion of OmniGuard™, a 25% solids UHS floor finish designed to provide high traffic retail facilities with a durable, high gloss fin- ish. OmniGuard™ was instantly accepted by APEC’s customers in the U.S., Canada, and Australian markets, making it one of APEC’s fastest growing products.
Amano Environmental Americas (AEA), APEC’s brand of industrial mist and dust collection systems, continued its rapid growth in 2013, with a sales increase of all the products shown in the AMI booth.
Hot buttons in the booth included the new OPUSeries® barcode solution line, OPU- Suite cloud application, AMG Series mag- stripe solutions, Amano Multi-Space Meters powered by Metric, and a video wall dis- playing live video analytics demonstrated by the Amano Security team. All of this drew crowds into the booth from every vertical market and from locations all around the world including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Columbia and Kuwait.
Product Development – eParcSuite
Validation Solutions
Over the last year, AMI has added a pleth- ora of value added solutions to its product portfolio to enhance its core products and attract customers with even more enticing options. One example is the eParcSuite, a family of validation solutions allowing cus- tomers to get exactly what they need out of their validation system and processes. The eParcSuite includes eFlexPrint – a sys- tem allowing facilities the freedom to create custom validations for specified groups or tenants and print them in bulk instanta- neously, eParcVal – a system delivering a ticket based validation solution eliminating the hassle of having to use multiple coupons or tickets, and eFlexPass – a system focus- ing on customers in need of a validation solution for patrons that are only using the parking facility for a short time frame.
Market Success
Over the past year, AMI has seen great success across all of the vertical markets we serve. Each market has its own unique operational needs and AMI is able to ac- commodate these needs with our full range of products, value added solutions and stra- tegic partnerships. A few examples of this success are discussed below.
U n i v e r s i t y o f
Iowa (Education)
AMI was awarded the contract to up- date the Revenue Control System for the University ofIowa’s 30 parking facilities made up of 120 lanes of revenue and access equipment. The University plans to improve customer convenience and facility operations with the addition of AMG Series hardware, FlexScan barcode readers, iParcProfessional Software, Event System, and Click and Park interface.
Fashion Outlets of Chicago (FOC) (Re-
tail/Mixed Use)
AMI installed a state- o f - t h e - a r t P a r k i n g Revenue and Access System at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. The system installation of the 2,800 space, 21 lane parking facility was completed for FOC’s grand opening on August 1, 2013 and was designed to make life more conve- nient for the center’s shoppers.510%. Founded in just 2011, AEA has quickly grown to represent 15% of APEC’s total revenues. AEA has successfully estab- lished relationships with large automotive industry manufacturers who are actively expanding their production capabilities throughout the Americas, which should al- low AEA to continue its growth path going forward.
In 2013, APEC also com- pleted the acquisition of Clarke American Sanders, purchasing the wood floor equipment manufacturer from Denmark’s Nilfisk- Advance A/S, on March 31, 2014. Clarke Ameri- can Sanders manufactures the world’s leading line of wood floor sanding equip-
ment, with product offerings designed for both the professional contractor market and the small-tool rental industry which caters to do-it-yourself customers. The acquisition of the Clarke American Sanders product line gives APEC a market leading position in the wood floor care industry. The addition of floor sanding equipment to APEC’s broader equipment line offers the business near-term growth opportunities in several global markets, while also providing APEC new sales outlets in North America for its chemical product offering.
APEC consolidated plant operations under a new VP of Operations in an effort to ac- celerate production and process improve- ments throughout the facility. Operational improvements made in 2013 included adding quart bottle capability in the chemi- cal processing line, improved piping infra- structure to reduce batch processing time, and an improved bottle conveyor system to deliver bottles directly to the bottling production line. In the machine production facility, both manufacturing lines were rede- signed with improved workflow layout to drive one-piece flow and create a reduced and more consistent TAKT time.
Amano Europe Holdings, N.V.
Amano Europe, N.V.
In 2013 Amano Europe continued to grow both revenue and profit in the main busi- ness segments; parking solutions and time and attendance.
The X-Parc parking solution has now been installed successfully in 25 different coun- tries, including Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, India and some African countries. With X-Parc Amano Europe is able to of- fer a robust, flexible and network centric solution based on barcode tickets that suits global market needs. Ease of integra- tion, low cost of ownership and fast time
to market are t h r e e o f t h e several great and innovative b e n e f i t s t h i s system offers.
Amano Europe also successfully installed its first ticketless parking solution in the airport of Vilnius – Lithuania, based on the X-Parc solution.
With Astrow Cloud, the next version of the proven T&A software solution for small and medium sized businesses with an installed base of more than 5.000 customers in Eu- rope, Amano Europe resolutely goes for a business model based on recurring revenue. With iTR-100, launched in 2013, Amano Europe will keep its strong position in the time recorder market. iTR-100 not only stretches on the typical time recorder func-
tionality by offering new and compelling cloud services but can also be seen as the entry point for a further upgrade to- wards Astrow Cloud. Horoquartz:
During 2013 Horoquartz observed a growth of its activities in its three busi- ness lines. An increasing demand has been noticed for advanced scheduling software. Major successes have been achieved in the retail and services field. This trend confirms that customers are now focusing more on operational efficiency improvement than on HR administration performance. The Horoquartz solutions are now available on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to improve flexibility and reduce cost for end-users. 4 new partnerships have been signed with companies specializing in the HR solutions field in order to enlarge the Horoquartz ecosystem. HQ Resources, a new scheduling solution has been launched to help customers to deal with service con- tinuity constraints; it is particularly aimed at local authorities. The P2S security solution has experienced significant growth in 2013, particularly in industries subject to strict standards and safety requirements. Manuel Valls, who is now the French Prime Minis- ter, inaugurated the first P2S installation in the Ministère de l’intérieur (French Police Ministry). The Easy’ID identity and card management solution is now expanding in the private sector after having been suc- cessfully implemented in the French educa- tion field, where today approximately /500 000 French students using cards produced with this technology.
Scopus Omnibadges Scopus Omnibadg- es is a manufacture, print and personal- ize plastic cards, specialized on small and medium quanti-
ties. Their main markets are multi-application cards for large firms, private payment cards, identification cards and school catering cards. They also provide personalization systems for some of the largest companies in France. Scopus Omnibadges have focused their 2013 operation on margin improvement and cost
reduction. Despite a slightly reduced sales level, EBIT soared by 34% and reached over 21% of turnover.
AMANO TIME & PARKING SPAIN, S.A. In the Spanish market, our service ability, quality and attitude to take care of custom- ers have been highly appreciated and it has built up a higher reputation of AMANO among our customers. At the same time, our X-Parc machines, thanks to their functionality and quality, have been well acknowledged in the market. These facts are bringing us new customers with new projects.
In the year of 2013, we installed the X-Parc machines in two truck parkings. The truck parking for us was a new sector, to which we had never penetrated. One customer, who is an engineering company and special- ist for truck parkings, came to us, catching the reputation of AMANO. After having each other’s technical understanding, we started to work with that customer and we obtained two projects in 2013. One truck parking is located in the southern part of Spain and another
one in Barcelona. They are very satisfied with the X-Parc machines i n s t a l l e d b y u s . T h e pictures show the latter truck parking.
We will continue to EXPAND our area of activities with excellent service and product.
Amano Korea Corporation
“Lighting Control System utilizing omni-
directional cameras” NEW!
Intelligent LED Lighting Control System
The social environment is becoming com- plex and diverse and at the same time, it is also becoming green. More and more environmentally friendly and energy efficient products are appearing on the market and amid this situation, AKC has discovered growth potential in LED products. Since 2010, AKC has been engaging in extensive market research including the tracking of Government policy trends and concluded that LED’s, combined with parking man- agement services could become a growth business. In order to be successful, AKC initiated the ESCO* Agenda but what be- gan as an energy savings initiative using LED lighting, the system grew and expanded into security business when coupled with omni- directional cameras.*(ESCO: Energy Service Company. A compa- ny that provides a broad range of energy solu- tions including design and implementation) The “Intelligent LED Lighting Control Sys- tem” automatically controls brightness and lighting range using the images captured by omni-directional cameras which are capable of 360 degree photography. The system will sense vehicles and/or people, the speed of
movement and the surrounding illumination levels and light up the area at appropriate levels. If the object is moving, an appropri- ate distance ahead will be lighted depending on the speed.
AKC is developing (i) a Parking Space Con- trol System and (ii) a Parking Facility Secu- rity System.
(i) The Parking Space Control System moni- tors 6 spaces and it includes a LPR func- tion which can be used to provide posi- tion information and vehicle guidance. (ii) The Parking Facility Security System is
a low cost security solution by utilizing a minimum number of omni-directional cameras.
By installing this system, it will deter acts of crime such as theft, kidnapping and violence within the facility. The omni-directional camer- as can be used for continuous video recording and can be monitored when linked to a NVR (Network Video Recorder).
Major features of this system:
1. It maximizes energy efficiency by lighting at 100% only after detecting movement. 2. By pre-setting a detection range of 10m
and 20m radius on the omni-directional cameras, it will record the objects enter- ing that range. This will eliminate blind spots to maximize video security. In ad- dition, the 2 mega pixel video will ensure high quality images which can be submit- ted as evidence in the event of accidents and/or other incidents requiring legal intervention.
3. The 360 degree image taken by the om- ni-directional camera can be divided into 4 even images, each image representing an image taken by a single camera. There- fore, by installing one omni-directional camera it is equivalent to installing 4 con- ventional cameras thereby saving installa- tion costs.
4. By applying HOG (Histogram of Gradi- ent) technology on the image captured by the camera, the direction of move- ment can be predicted.
The core of the “Intelligent LED Lighting Control System” is the dimmer unit. AKC has designed this dimmer unit to function with a PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation) controlled stable DC 5V which is powered by a separate SMPS (Switched-mode Power
Motion Movement
Detection Image Scanning LED Lighting Control (Considering Speed 20-30m Ahead)
Batch control of lightings based on direction of movement detected by the motion sensor
100% 100% 100% 50% 20%
20~30m 20m
20m
20%
When motion detected lighting auto adjusts to max brightness and image shooting mode
0°
180°
270° 90°
10m 10m 20m
20m
10m 20m
