8/10/2004 8:31:00 AM
Wireless Computer With Head-Worn See-Through Display is Increasing
Repair Revenue and Technician Retention at Classic Chevrolet in
Grapevine, TX
BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 10, 2004–
Microvision Inc. (Nasdaq:MVIS) announced today that its Nomad
Expert Technician System is in use at Classic Chevrolet, Grapevine,
TX, the 18th largest auto dealer in the country. The Nomad System is
the world’s first wearable, wireless computer with a head-worn,
head-up display, providing automotive technicians and service advisors
with hands-free access to online vehicle history and repair
information while they work on vehicles or consult with customers.
Service personnel can provide faster, more accurate service and
repairs with critical information superimposed in their vision as they
work. With 70 service bays, Classic is the fourth largest Chevrolet
dealership in the United States and one of seven large dealerships
owned by the Durant family in the Dallas, TX area.
According to Tom Sanko, Microvision VP of Marketing, the auto
dealers participating as Nomad Reference Accounts have agreed to share
their experience with the Nomad Expert Technician System with other
dealers and the media. “We are also getting ‘before and after Nomad’
productivity and quality metrics to demonstrate the effectiveness of
the Nomad installation,” Sanko said. “Classic Chevrolet is the first
reference account for the Nomad System. Classic is strategically
important to us because of their size, their reputation for innovation
and service quality, and because of their visibility and influence
with other dealers in an important market. The Dallas metroplex has
the ninth largest population of any metropolitan area in the country
and is a major automotive market. Microvision is in the process of
standing up seven additional reference accounts in other major
automotive markets throughout the U.S. over the next two months.”
Mike Zorn, Service Director for Classic Chevrolet stated, “We
started about a month ago with five technicians, to see how the Nomad
Expert Technician System would work in our shop. We were able to
connect very quickly to General Motors’ TIS 2000 web-based service
information system. All five techs picked up on very quickly on the
Nomad system, and have been using it since that time on a regular
basis. Now the other technicians want one. We have been able to
improve our production time and we believe the Nomad system will
actually help us retain quality technicians. So far Nomad has proven
very useful and we’re still discovering new ways to use it. Anything
we can do to help our technicians increase their earning potential and
provide better service – like adopting the Nomad System – will help us
keep a leg up on the competition.”
The Nomad Expert Technician System enables automobile dealerships
to increase service revenue and profitability as well as improve
service quality and customer satisfaction – equally important, as more
than 50% of a typical dealer’s gross profits come from service
operations while high customer repair satisfaction is directly
correlated with customer retention.
“In the typical automobile dealership, service techs and service
managers spend a lot of time commuting from their service bays to
computer terminals for repair information and printouts,” stated Chris
Johnston, Microvision Marketing Manager. “The Nomad Expert Technician
System eliminates this wasted time by instantly providing the
information the techs need where they need it while they work,” said
Johnston. “Our customers are also finding additional uses for this
versatile information tool, such as interfacing with diagnostic
testers, ordering parts and checking order status, picking repair
parts in the warehouse, and enabling service advisors to talk with
customers at their vehicles.”
According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association the
service portion of the automotive aftermarket is estimated at $132
billion in 2003, with roughly $59 billion of that coming from labor.
Sales of tools used in aftermarket service and maintenance were
estimated at $7.9 billion for the year.
There were 25,200 separate new car dealer franchises listed in the
1997 U.S. Economic Census. Worldwide there are an estimated 73,000 new
car dealerships, 3,200 heavy truck dealers, 448,000 Repair Shops, and
48,000 tire dealers. In total these enterprises employ more than 1.37
million technicians, with 875,000 technicians employed in the U.S. by
new car dealers and aftermarket repair shops.
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the world
leader in the development of high-resolution displays and imaging
systems based on the company’s proprietary silicon micro-mirror
technology. The company’s technology has applications in a broad range
of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer products.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release, including product
applications, establishing reference accounts and potential market
opportunities are forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected in the company’s
forward-looking statements include the following: our ability to raise
additional capital when needed; market acceptance of our technologies
and products; our financial and technical resources relative to those
of our competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological
change; our dependence on the defense industry and a limited number of
government development contracts; government regulation of our
technologies; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights
and protect our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain
additional contract awards; the timing of commercial product launches
and delays in product development; the ability to achieve key
technical milestones in key products; dependence on third parties to
develop, manufacture, sell and market our products; potential product
liability claims and other risk factors identified from time to time
in the company’s SEC reports, including the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K filed with the SEC.
CONTACT: Microvision Inc.
Matt Nichols, 425-415-6657 (Media)
Brian Heagler, 425-415-6794 (Investors)
SOURCE: Microvision Inc.