In recent years, the automobile industry has gone into a tailspin. The market demands a never-ending stream of new models and the competition is phenomenal. A new model in this industry usually records 80% of its revenue in the first eighteen months on the market, after which it already looks outdated. This situation creates tremendous pressure on vehicle manufacturers to shorten the process from drawing board design to presentation to three years, while adhering to ever stricter standards of safety, reliability and pollution control. It is no wonder, therefore, that the pressure on vehicle designers, assembly line builders and workers is phenomenal, and there is no room for errors.
CogniTens Ltd. is an Israeli industrial technology company that has targeted this market. The company, which produces non-contact measurement solutions, was founded in 1995, but for the first three or four years of its existence, it focused on the development of algorithmic measurement systems, rather than on a specific industry. “When we first started out, we had the usual teething problems, of a product that was trying to adapt to too many markets,” recalls head of marketing and business development Tal Vagman, “It was only when we realized that we had something that we could offer the automobile industry in particular that we began to focus on it, learn, and create a niche in which we stood out. Today, our comprehensive knowledge of the automobile industry is one of our key advantages.”
The first stage of the construction of the chassis of a vehicle is the building of a prototype for each component, and this is then used to design a mold which can cost as much as $1 million. Therefore, the prototype must be measured precisely to ensure it conforms to the original design. Any changes must be documented. Likewise, those designing the prototype must verify that the production line is producing a uniform product that resembles the prototype. “The parts never behave the way you want them to,” says Vagman, “sometimes the iron returns to its original form or bends too much. You have to carry out measurements during the process too.”
There were already measurement devices on the market when Cognitens arrived, but most were not available to, or accessible by, the production floor, and a large part of the measurement work was carried out manually. Vagman shows a picture, from just two years ago, of a hood on which the designers had marked with a felt tip pen the points where there were deviations from the model, or that needed correcting. “This doesn’t happen any more in the automobile industry today, certainly not at the places that we work with,” he says proudly.
Cognitens’ product is actually a flexible robot which can photograph the product from all angles, analyze the image and use it to build a precise three dimensional image. The system can provide precise measurements of the part that are accurate to the millimeter, even when the shop floor is vibrating or in differing conditions of light, shading and so on. “When we build the final model on the computer, we know if the iron has bent too much or too little, if the parts fit well without too large a gap, and can ascertain that no recesses have formed in the component during production,” explains Vagman. “We input the information back into the production system to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made. Likewise, we can record all the versions and changes, so that we can carry out a reverse engineering process and build molds and models for other factories.”
$10 million sales in three years
CogniTens’ management team includes some of the most famous names in Israel’s high-tech industry. The company was founded by Prof. Amnon Shashua, who later founded MobilEye Vision Technologies Ltd.. The company’s chairman, and first investor is Harel Beit-On, general partner at Carmel Ventures, former chairman and CEO of Technomatix (sold to UGS Corp.) and incoming chairman of Lumenis Ltd. (Pink Sheets:LUME.PK). CogniTens’ president and CEO is Ofer Sandelson, formerly CEO at medical device companies Instromedix and Lifewatch (both of which were sold to Card Guard in 2000), and joint president of Orbotech (Nasdaq: ORBK) PCB division.
CogniTens has raised $35 million to date, from Walden Israel, Vertex Venture Capital, Yozma Venture Capital, Pitango Venture Capital, Israel Infinity Venture Capital, and Challenge Fund - Etgar. It raised most of its money before it found its focus, but since it began focusing on the automobile industry it has acquired leading customers from the sector. The company did not have sales until 2003 but its sales for 2006 will exceed $10 million.
Globes: What is it that differentiates your measurement device from others on the market?
Vagman: “The devices available today do not measure by way of photography but by sensors or lasers. These products are extremely accurate but they have to come into contact with every single point. The device must be kept in a separate room where there is full control over movement and noise, and it is not suitable for use on the shop floor. You also need manpower to operate it, whereas our product is automatic.
“In 2003, we signed a collaboration agreement with Tesco Measurement Solutions, a subsidiary of the Detroit-based engineering consortium, Tesco Group (not to be confused with the UK supermarket and insurance chain of the same name). The collaboration was made possible with the help of Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F), which provided a $1 million grant. Tesco is a leading designer of and builder of automotive systems, and it made a significant contribution to the development of CogniTens’ product and its penetration and distribution in the industry.”
BIRD-F executive director Dr. Eitan Yudilevich added, “BIRD considers this project to have been a great success. I believe that CogniTens’ will have sales worth tens of million of dollars in the coming years.”
CogniTens has now set its sights on new fields within the automobile industry, as well as other markets. It is now planning to develop methods for measuring and modeling vehicle interiors, engines and plastic components. It is also moving into the aeronautics and space technology fields. With successful activity in the US and Japan already under its belt, it expects to expand further into South America, Europe, China, and Korea. “I think that we have found the route for us, because we realized that what was needed was a solution tailored specifically to the automobile industry, rather than just another shelf product,” concludes Vagman. “Our goal is not just to send off the system and then forget about it, but to become part of the process. It’s the difference between being a nice product, an add-on, and a product that is indispensable.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2006
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