Psion Teklogix, the pioneering mobile computing company that traces its roots back more than 40 years in the field, continues to be a leader in rugged, hand-held mobile computers and secure wireless networks -- and its American home is in Hebron, Kentucky.
Psion Teklogix products are being used in 80 countries worldwide on factory floors and shipping offices of top companies like Goodyear, BMW and Hertz Rent-a-Car. They're also in use in Iraq and Afghanistan, tracking bullets and medical supplies for U.S. troops.
A hybrid of its precursors Teklogix Inc., formed in 1967 in Canada, and British company Psion PLC, which started working with mobile computing in 1980, Psion Teklogix began its new life following a 2000 merger and has not looked back. Headquartered in Canada, with offices in 23 different countries, it racks up more than $200 million in sales annually.
A large part of that business finds its way to the company's new 60,000-square-foot office in the Riverview Business Park in Hebron, a 200-acre business development near the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The location, with around 135 employees, serves as the North American center for repair, service and marketing of Psion Teklogix products. The company moved to the development in 2007, but has been in the area since 2000, drawn by a "savvy and educated workforce."
Among many uses, its products, mainly handheld high-quality PDAs with expanded functionality, help track shipments of supplies for their clients and organize the movement of supplies and staff. Wireless networks also mean the tracking is done in real-time for increased efficiency.
The company's products are also designed to be rugged to survive hard use in the field, which is proving invaluable to U.S. troops on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. "The military's using our products in several ways," says Bree Rosen, a creative specialist with the firm. "One of the ways is tracking shipments of bullets, bandages and medicine that they need in the field. We also have vehicle-mounted computers that they're using to keep track of where those vehicles need to go, and what they need to deliver. It's a tough environment."