Iteris Appoints New Director of North American Truck Sales to Focus On Lane Departure Warning Systems
ANAHEIM, Calif.--Jan. 14, 2003--Bill Patrolia to Focus On Development of Strong North American Sales Channel and Furthering the Company's Commitment to Growth in the
U.S. Truck Market
Iteris Inc., a subsidiary of Odetics Inc. , today announced that Bill Patrolia has joined the company as director of North American Truck Sales to focus on the company's lane departure warning system for the U.S. truck market.
In his new role, Patrolia is responsible for managing the lane departure warning system sales and marketing efforts for heavy trucks in North America. With more than 15 years experience in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Patrolia brings extensive sales and software engineering leadership to his position at Iteris. Patrolia's experience will further support the company in accelerating its growth strategy in the North American truck market.
"Members of the trucking industry are increasing their focus on the safety of their drivers and vehicles," said Francis Memole, vice president, business development & marketing for Iteris.
"Iteris is committed to reducing the incidence of trucking accidents related to inadvertent lane departures, and bringing Bill Patriola on board to focus solely on the trucking industry is another important step in this process."
Patrolia joins Iteris from Siemens Integrated Local Government, a division of Siemens AG that specializes in advanced voice and data communication systems where he served as director, sales and marketing. Prior to Siemens, Patrolia spent several years as business development manager for Rockwell International Transportation Systems Group, a startup system integration business that develops infrastructure for Intelligent Transportation Systems.
"Over the years, my work in the ITS community has provided me the opportunity to meet many potential Iteris customers," said Patrolia.
"I was impressed with the company's focus and diligence toward delivering solutions that will improve driver safety on America's highways. With sound technology solutions and a customer-focused mission, the company has built a strong rapport with its customers. I am truly excited to be leading Iteris' efforts in the truck market."
Iteris' Lane Departure Warning technology has been successful in the European commercial truck market since 2000 when Mercedes began installing the system in its Actros trucks. MAN Trucks, also based in Europe, now offers the technology as optional equipment on its new trucks.
The leading heavy truck manufacturer in the United States now offers its customers Lane Departure Warning technology (known as Lane Guidance in the trucking industry), developed by Iteris as a factory-installed option on several of its models. Cargo Transporters and Praxair Inc. are currently specifying the Lane Guidance technology on all new truck purchases. Cargo Transporters has already reported an improvement in safety and driver satisfaction as a result of using Iteris' Lane Guidance technology system.
According to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 18,000 fatalities in the United States alone are related to unintended lane departures. For a family, an injured or lost family member can be devastating. For a trucking firm, the loss of a single rig can cause more than a $1 million in losses, including people, equipment, cargo and lost time.
By detecting unintentional departures, Iteris Lane Departure Warning technology gives drivers more information at a time when they may be distracted or otherwise unaware of the impending departure, ultimately saving thousands of lives.
About Iteris Inc.
Iteris, a subsidiary of Odetics, is the technology leader in Systems and Sensors that optimize the flow of traffic and enhance driver safety. Iteris has combined outdoor image processing, traffic engineering, and information technology to offer a broad range of transportation and safety solutions. If you are interested in viewing more information on Iteris, visit the Web site at http://www.iteris.com.
About Odetics
Odetics products address the security and data management needs of the transportation, defense, facility security, and broadcast industries. Odetics is a market leader for video-based sensors used for surface transportation, a developer of integrated systems for facility security and trace detection of dangerous chemicals and explosives, and is a provider of automation systems to the broadcast industry. Odetics is also a leading provider of equipment built around specific government mandates for secured communications. Odetics has headquarters in Anaheim. Investors are encouraged to contact the company at 714/774-5000, or at www.odetics.com.
Important Notice
This news release contains statements that may be deemed to be forward-looking. These forward-looking statements may include statements about new orders, revenue growth, and other statements relating to the operating results of Odetics or its subsidiaries. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors such as: short product lives, technological shifts, current technical issues that cannot be resolved on a timely basis, component availability, competition (including new and directly competitive products from others), pricing pressures, incorrect assumptions regarding market demand, the significant uncertainty of market acceptance of new products by both distributors and end-user customers, unanticipated capital requirements, retention of key personnel, general economic conditions, and other factors identified in the Odetics' Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Investors are strongly encouraged to review the risk factors set forth in the Odetics most recent SEC filings.