Just a little update on MKRS:By: tddorsey 20 Jun 2006, 09:32 AM EDT Msg. 5819 of 5833 Jump to msg. # MKRS Meeting~
I met with management yesterday afternoon at their Fort Washington office. As my wife and I walked into the conference room Chuck Bristow was "chasing a bug" in the ADEPT system that was sitting on the company's conference table. We then met with Tom Meaney, Trish Kapp and Dave Bryan, and they gave us an hour and a half of their time. They were very cautious in what they said, but were more than willing to educate me on the "process" of bringing ADEPT to market. There is a maze that must be navigated. Developing the system is a threefold process.
First is to show the Navy the need (SBIR). Then they assist the Navy in securing the funding from Congress. Finally they work on developing ADEPT with the Navy and its personnel. Functionality within the confines of the ship is a monster task. Developing the software to make it user friendly, and comply with the Navy’s quirks is a balancing act. You are moving people from using 30 year old technology into the 21st century with this system.
ADEPT timeline is unknown. Mikros is ready, but the Navy has not made a ship or ships available for the test. Dave Bryan has been working on this since October/November. It will happen, but has not happened yet. Hopefully July. The good news is the number of units per ship, and the application to other systems to utilize additional ADEPT systems continues to grow. Their focus is the Navy, and that would be a monster fleet insertion. Tom Meaney showed me a large poster in the conference room that showed all the Navy ships, and started pointing to different classes of ships saying three here, two here, and they could not hazard a guess for what a single carrier might need.
TM is very conservative, and called himself a "cash nazi". They have no debt, and he has balked when approached by investment groups. There will come a time when funds will be needed for production, but that is not on the radar at this time. HE did say that licensing the technology is an option, and they confirmed that once the last SBIR contract is completed Mikros owns the rights for I believe five years. IF the Navy wants it they have to go through MKRS. Mikros is also securing patents as the product is developed.
As for stopping the preferred shareholder dividends. It is an off the balance sheet liability to the company, and TM does not like liabilities. They are working on a plan to convert (not known yet), and did not want to create any additional liability to the company.
Annual meetings. It cost about $40k to have a shareholder meeting including filings, proxy etc. To hold one, and in TM's mind waste capital better used for developing ADEPT is not warranted at this time. Everything they can say they include in the SEC filings.
The RWSE (Wi-Fi) SBIR is moving forward. The NAVY recognizes the need to deal with this issue, and Dave Bryan appeared confident Mikros can develop a solution.
As for the company they currently have seven employees. They are very close to Lockheed and DRS. They have the connections with Navy brass and Congressmen, and are becoming more "adept" (pun intended) at navigating the bureaucracy to move their product forward.
I believe TM, Dave Bryan and their team are straight shooters, and have what it takes to make ADEPT a HUGE winner for them and us as shareholders. I also think unfortunately that the timeframe is going to be longer than I had hoped. They are very conservative. The need is there, and Mikros has the solution. Getting there is the unknown. I hope this helps.
PART 2********************************************* a MKRS follow up:To: GARY P GROBBEL who wrote (54093) 6/21/2006 10:57:04 AM From: Tom Dorsey Read Replies (2) of 54107
Gary~ MKRS
I do not want to appear that I "drank the kool aid", but my visit reinforced my belief that this company IS going to be a huge winner. The "Father" of the Aegis class warship ships sits on the company's BOD, Rear Admiral Wayne Meyer (ret), and Congressman Murtha, who is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee is a personal friend.
The timeline calls for "sea trials" then fleet insertion. Sea Trials should be completed this summer (July hopefully). Units should be marketed between $50 and $70k with three units for Ticonderoga class and two for the Arleigh Burke. With margins expected to be about 60% the numbers are staggering. This is only the tip of the iceberg as the additional monies awarded in March are to broaden the application of ADEPT. All this without leaving the Navy. It may take some time yet, but ultimately this is going to be a huge winner (IMO).
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