Dear Board, some of us here are taking this negativity much too far. As I have yet to meet anyone with a good working crystal ball, things are what they are. For example, yesterday my brother in law and I decided to move a palm tree that was growing too close to a concrete fence. We figured it would only take a few hours to finish this project, and indeed we got the tree moved in a few hours. But in the meantime we broke the irrigation pipe, no problem, an easy fix. Until today when I started to dig, I learned that the irrigation pipe was laid before the foundation for the wall was poured. Now completion of this project is going to take several more hours.
I realize it is disheartening when the CEO projects a company to have revenue by last September, but then plans changed along the way, instead of having China build the ARBox, we had it built here, then when we got it to the lab, we discovered the lab was not up to code. Stuff happens.
There are no commercial working ARBoxes as of yet, that we know of. Natcore in their wisdom, wanted to get one working here, in our own lab first. There is a good reason for this. Let's say we built and delivered 5 of them last month. And it turns out, there are some small problems. The company who just paid big dollars for them, and has shut down a production line, wants it working no sooner than yesterday. But wait, Natcore has no experienced technicians to send, they haven't been trained yet, most possibly not even hired. Our esteemed scientists can't be expected to travel to China, Italy or wherever else, to be putting out small fires, and fine tuning the ARBoxes.
Hence the decision to get one going here, first, play with it a while, test it, fine tune it, and have engineers who are familiar with it. Then there is a much better chance of the transition in a customers production line going more smoothly. And if problems should arise, we will have some experienced people to send to work out any problems.
Yes, this means a delay in revenue, but it is also good business practice. Once one of these boxes goes online, that company is going to have reduced costs, AND the most efficient product. The company with the ARBox can say, we can sell you these panels cheaper than our competitor, and guess what, they work better too!
Working in the transportation of state of the art machinery for years, I have seen the folly of rushing a project so many times, you can almost expect it. Machines get to the factory before they is ready for them, or other problems arise. Once I delivered a pharmaceutical machine, the fork lift they rented was oh so big enough to lift the machine and move it quickly into place, unfortunately the fork lift, after being totally disinfected with alcohol, turned out to be too high to fit through the loading dock door.... I have great respect for a company that dots their 'i's, and crosses their 't's.
How often have we been told such and such concept car is going to be on the showroom floor, next year, only to wait 3 years for it?
My assessment is that Natcore is doing the right thing. The first install, can be the one that makes or breaks a company, if there are problems, you'll have a irate customer, and word spreads fast, and you're reputation is ruined. Through my life experience it is always better to err on the side of caution, rather than hurry a project and make a bigger mess! I've seen it work both ways, and erring on the side of caution is a tried and true method of doing the job right, and developing a good reputation. Customer satisfaction is not only the key to success, it is the key to survival!
Let's get the machine in our lab, working, with technicians becoming familiar with the process, tben ship them, with confidence, knowing they work, having the technicians available to take charge of the turnkey process, then sit back and watch the revenues flow. Would you buy a Mercedes that hadn't first been taken to the proving grounds, and had the tar beat out of it?
Yes, it is painful to see our time lines pass us by! Yes, the Chairman's recent letter was lame! Yes, it is painful to wait, and wait for that announcement we all want to hear. If and when, this company takes off, and I am leaning more towards the 'when', than the 'if' at this point, those of us that suffered the pain, will reap the greatest rewards.
AI
