'Small fish in a big pond' holds its own

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 17, 2002 by Kropf, Annemarie

SKANEATELES FALLS - Though the company's annual revenue is $150 million, Patricia Curry says Hand Held Products, Inc. (HHP) is a small business compared to its competitors.

"We're a small fish in a big pond," says the marketing-communications manager. "We have to act like the big guys and just get in everyone's face. We have to get the deals."

At a trade show that the company attended in the fall of 2001, competitors had large booths and signs advertising their companies. HHP took them up on that challenge. "We spent the money," Curry says. "It gave the perception that we are bigger, and it worked."

HHP manufactures barcode-scanning devices. "We don't manufacture the software," Curry says. "It goes into our products."

Products HHP makes include "transaction terminals," which capture a customer's signature electronically at the check-out line, rather than on paper; mobile and wireless computers; check readers, which don't verify if an account has enough funds, but rather read the font on the bottoms of checks, to reduce fraud; and magnetic-stripe card readers.

The company's products are used in a variety of industries. In the airline business, HHP's products are used in baggage tracking. In health care, the company is working with hospitals to track newborns. "The health-care market we don't play a huge portion, but have roles, in it," Curry says. HHP products can be found in all aspects of the retail industry. Whether it's in the front end of a store, where merchandise comes in, or on the store floor, where customers come in and purchase items, or in the warehouse checking inventory, Curry says HHP products can track data.

HHP has gone through a series of name changes during its history. In 1960, Welch Allyn had A data-collection division, aptly called Welch Allyn Data Collection. In 1999, that division became a separate company, called Welch Allyn Data Collection, Inc. Later that year, the company acquired Hand Held Products, a North Carolina-based business. The name of the company then became "Hand Held Products, a Welch Allyn affiliate."

"When we acquired Hand Held Products, we were only a $70-million company," Curry says. "We are now a $150-million company. We have grown and continue to grow."

In January 2002, the company acquired a new logo and branding, and it is now simply known as HHP. The legal name of the company is still Hand Held Products, Inc., Curry says. She says that in a few years, the name will be legally changed to HHP, but adds that right now it doesn't want people to get confused with the Hewlett-Packard HP logo.

Dropping the "Welch Allyn affiliate" part of the company's name and focusing on branding it as HHP is a smart business move, Curry adds. "Welch Allyn in the data-collection business is not well-known," she says. "Welch Allyn is well-known in the medical business."

William Allyn and Miles Smith own the privately held company. Allyn is also the chairman of the board of directors. Smith originally owned Hand Held Products prior to Welch Allyn Data Collection Inc.'s acquisition.

"The only thing [of Welch Allyn's] that we're using is benefits," Curry points out. "We're a company of Welch Allyn. It's like they're the mother and we're one of the children."

During the first week in July, HHP will move from its present headquarters of 75,000 square feet to a newly built 110,000-squarefoot facility located right down the road. Marketing, sales, and manufacturing all will be located in the one-story building, Curry says. HHP owns the building.

"We have one goal and we work together to obtain that," she asserts. "The goal is to be the best leader in image-based technology while serving our customers with integrity."