Key DD - Shareholder Conference Call of June 4 2015 – my notes taken at the time and my opinion:
The CEO, CTO and Director of US NW & Canadian Markets of Drone Services USA [the latter also being the owner of North American Survival Systems] all spoke and were clearly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the prospects for both companies. In particular, the CTO demonstrated to my satisfaction that he has an in depth understanding of how to engineer and exploit key areas of the burgeoning low-cost drone market that are currently not covered by competitors.
Both the ProSearch and ProCargo products are better engineered than the majority of other small drones as they have been specifically designed for day-in / day-out military or commercial / industrial use (eg pipeline inspections, wind farm inspections, search & rescue etc) rather than for amateur or low-intensity / light use, and this is reflected in the higher cost and presumably higher profit margin. This separates the DSUS products from the majority of others for those customers that require a higher specification.
The proprietary thermal imaging camera produced by partner IRDistro will also be offered for fitment to lower grade drones produced by other manufacturers as the IRDistro camera has a superior alternative specification for those customers who require it. This increases potential sales of the camera. The CEO estimated that just one competitor who offered a thermal camera option on drones built by other manufacturers achieved $10M in sales in 2014 and he now aims to capture a share of that market.
It was confirmed that Peter Villiotis is not an officer of the new company – having resigned as CEO of the former PVEC as already promulgated in official PRs – but that he is a consultant for maritime applications of the company’s products. These are numerous and more varied than some might imagine, including: use of thermal imaging cameras to monitor engineering compartments in ships, use of drones to drop live saving equipment in exactly the right spot during “man overboard” emergencies, use of camera equipped drones to relay images of passing exotic scenery and wildlife to large screens on cruise ships to enhance the customer experience.
The company is developing proprietary software to enable one-way operation of drones (ie no need to land at the launch point and no need to land at the same elevation as the launch point). This will enable customers to continue using their current modus operandi rather than adapting existing work methods to fit the use of drones (eg end-to-end pipeline inspections).
It was confirmed that the Florida manufacturing facility is used to produce the ProSearch drone and that the Texas facility will be used to produce the ProCargo drone.
The Owner of NASS estimated that capacity existed for the production of up to 10,000 LED strobe lights per month. DSUS will receive a 17% margin of LED strobe light sales and so this will be a major revenue producer. The company has a unique patent for LED strobe lights. It is likely that the use of strobe lights on drones will be mandated and many customers will choose the LED option due to the lower power requirements. People at risk of needing to be found in desert or mountainous areas or at sea may wish to purchase a personal strobe light to increase the chance of being spotted by drone-borne cameras. SAR drones need to be seen by survivors so that they can attempt to make themselves conspicuous to cameras by waving, launching a flare or activating a strobe light.
It costs at least $2,500 per hour to operate a SAR helicopter and many are being retired by relevant agencies due to budgetary restrictions. An SAR drone can be bought for the equivalent of 1 hour of helicopter operation and then have negligible operating costs.
I consider myself an “educated customer” in this market as I have a BSc(Eng) in Aeronautical Engineering, served for 36 years as an allied Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and have recent knowledge of US SAR procedures as a volunteer in the USAF Auxiliary.
I’m not offering investment advice or endorsement of any product but I’m happy to state that I will be continuing to hold my investment stake in DSUS (both “old” and “new”) and am excited for interesting developments over the coming days, weeks and months.
For anyone who wants to listen to the entire Conference Call, a recording is available here: https://www.dsusa.us/investor-relations/
The CEO, CTO and Director of US NW & Canadian Markets of Drone Services USA [the latter also being the owner of North American Survival Systems] all spoke and were clearly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the prospects for both companies. In particular, the CTO demonstrated to my satisfaction that he has an in depth understanding of how to engineer and exploit key areas of the burgeoning low-cost drone market that are currently not covered by competitors.
Both the ProSearch and ProCargo products are better engineered than the majority of other small drones as they have been specifically designed for day-in / day-out military or commercial / industrial use (eg pipeline inspections, wind farm inspections, search & rescue etc) rather than for amateur or low-intensity / light use, and this is reflected in the higher cost and presumably higher profit margin. This separates the DSUS products from the majority of others for those customers that require a higher specification.
The proprietary thermal imaging camera produced by partner IRDistro will also be offered for fitment to lower grade drones produced by other manufacturers as the IRDistro camera has a superior alternative specification for those customers who require it. This increases potential sales of the camera. The CEO estimated that just one competitor who offered a thermal camera option on drones built by other manufacturers achieved $10M in sales in 2014 and he now aims to capture a share of that market.
It was confirmed that Peter Villiotis is not an officer of the new company – having resigned as CEO of the former PVEC as already promulgated in official PRs – but that he is a consultant for maritime applications of the company’s products. These are numerous and more varied than some might imagine, including: use of thermal imaging cameras to monitor engineering compartments in ships, use of drones to drop live saving equipment in exactly the right spot during “man overboard” emergencies, use of camera equipped drones to relay images of passing exotic scenery and wildlife to large screens on cruise ships to enhance the customer experience.
The company is developing proprietary software to enable one-way operation of drones (ie no need to land at the launch point and no need to land at the same elevation as the launch point). This will enable customers to continue using their current modus operandi rather than adapting existing work methods to fit the use of drones (eg end-to-end pipeline inspections).
It was confirmed that the Florida manufacturing facility is used to produce the ProSearch drone and that the Texas facility will be used to produce the ProCargo drone.
The Owner of NASS estimated that capacity existed for the production of up to 10,000 LED strobe lights per month. DSUS will receive a 17% margin of LED strobe light sales and so this will be a major revenue producer. The company has a unique patent for LED strobe lights. It is likely that the use of strobe lights on drones will be mandated and many customers will choose the LED option due to the lower power requirements. People at risk of needing to be found in desert or mountainous areas or at sea may wish to purchase a personal strobe light to increase the chance of being spotted by drone-borne cameras. SAR drones need to be seen by survivors so that they can attempt to make themselves conspicuous to cameras by waving, launching a flare or activating a strobe light.
It costs at least $2,500 per hour to operate a SAR helicopter and many are being retired by relevant agencies due to budgetary restrictions. An SAR drone can be bought for the equivalent of 1 hour of helicopter operation and then have negligible operating costs.
I consider myself an “educated customer” in this market as I have a BSc(Eng) in Aeronautical Engineering, served for 36 years as an allied Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and have recent knowledge of US SAR procedures as a volunteer in the USAF Auxiliary.
I’m not offering investment advice or endorsement of any product but I’m happy to state that I will be continuing to hold my investment stake in DSUS (both “old” and “new”) and am excited for interesting developments over the coming days, weeks and months.
For anyone who wants to listen to the entire Conference Call, a recording is available here: https://www.dsusa.us/investor-relations/
Drone Services USA Inc (DSUS) Stock Research Links
"Per Ardua Ad Astra" - "Through Adversity To The Stars"
A very apposite motto for those who trade successfully in the OTC market..
All posts are my opinion - trade at your own risk.
A very apposite motto for those who trade successfully in the OTC market..
All posts are my opinion - trade at your own risk.
