Wi-Fi device maker Sysgration Ltd (系統電子) yesterday said it is working with US pet tracking firm Whistle Labs Inc to sell wearable devices for pets, to explore new revenue sources.
Sysgration chairman Mark Lee (李益仁) told a news conference that the companies had jointly developed a new device called Tagg GPS Plus, which is being produced at Sysgration’s local factory.
Whistle cofounder and chief executive Ben Jacobs yesterday said the company has shipped 10,000 Tagg GPS Plus units since its launch two months ago in the US.
“There is a big need to track dogs where they go. In the US, one of three dogs will get lost in their lifetime,” Whistle cofounder and chief operating officer Steven Eidelman said.
In the US, 180 million pets become lost every year, mostly dogs, the company said.
Jacobs declined to give a forecast about device shipments, but said the company has sold more than 100,000 units of its previous-generation model.
Tagg GPS Plus is a location tracker that attaches to a dog’s collar and sends notifications to the owner when the dog breaches a predetermined safe zone.
It can also measure the duration and intensity of a pet’s activity, as well as its temperature.
Any abnormal situation generates a multimedia message from the device. Pet owners can check the whereabouts of their dogs and their health status via an app on their smartphone or tablet.
The device is priced at US$79.99 per unit and carries a monthly subscription fee of up to US$9.95 for notifications and an Internet connection, in collaboration with telecoms.
Sysgration, which has posted losses over the past four years, said it is hoping its new ventures turn things around.
Analysts said the pet tracker would deliver 40 to 50 percent in gross margin for the company, while the firm expects batteries for electric vehicles to be another growth driver.
The company has secured an order from a Chinese automaker to supply 300 battery units for garbage trucks this year and 10,000 units next year.
Gross margin for such batteries averages 25 percent, much higher than the 10.73 percent gross margin the company posted last year, it said.
This year, Sysgration expects to get a boost from non-operating gains to return to profitability.
The firm expects to book NT$750 million (US$24.15 million) in income by selling a piece of land in China.
Its quarterly loss widened to NT$81.46 billion last quarter, from a loss of NT$49.59 million at the same time last year.
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