Interview – FinScan’s Carlo Khamu

When was the company founded?

We’ve only been going since July 2008,
very recent.

How many people do you have working at Fin Scan?

At the moment in any capacity we have about five or six people working for us. I’m in a partnership with Simon Matthews, we own half the business each. He looks after the finance area of the company and I look after development and sales.

How did it come together, did you have a background in this type of technology?

Yes, my background is a software and hardware developer in security products, and I’m an enthusiastic boater as well. There was an opportunity for a product that I saw, which didn’t exist in the market, so I took that idea and developed it first with some prototypes, concept tested it, and then based the business on it.

How long did that process take?

That process probably took about 18 months prior to 2008.

How does your product actually work?

All of FinScan’s products have a fingerprint sensor to identify an individual as someone who is allowed to operate the vessel. So, once someone is authenticated, by touching the fingerprint sensor on our devices, they can enter the boat, switch the power on and start the engines. Our products eliminate the key so the security part of it is managed by the fingerprint sensor. It manages fingerprints as files in its memory, and currently can store up to 1000 fingerprints in each device.

Are there similar products in cars?

Yes there are, but they are more immobilisers, they act as an electronic kill-switch. In most cases, they will still have a key for unlocking the steering and starting the engine. They are also more an aftermarket accessory to integrate with the vehicles existing systems, where as we have made ours to be a complete keyless solution with start and stop buttons built in and ready to go. We’ve also made it plug and play with most of the engine brands because we understand the issues people face trying to connect it to various engines. Customers tell us what engine it’s for and it gets delivered with the correct plug for simple “plug in” installation.

Are there any issues with reliability?

No, we’ve had our original test units going in the field for quite some time, and our first production boat installation was just under 12 months ago with no issues, and many installations have occurred since then. Biometric sensors, where the technology is today, work quite well. And no doubt they are going to be much better again in 12 months time. We are working with a company at the moment that has developed a new type of technology that reads fingerprints in a whole new way, that will suite the marine environment even more than what we are using today. The next 12 months will be very exciting as we integrate the technology.

And you’re the only company that’s doing this?

Yes.

Has anyone else caught onto the idea?

Not that we know of. We are in a very specialised field when it comes to biometrics on boats, it’s not something you can decide to just start doing without the right experience and knowledge. Our products are evolving already, and are also going through the patenting process, so that will help in protecting our intellectual property.

You started in mid 2008, only months before the economy slowed, how did you find starting a business during this time?

Well I can say with confidence, that it can’t get any worse than it has been. We found it very hard launching a new technology into a new, untested market. It’s been slow setting up distributors during a financial crisis, but we expected, and budgeted for that. On the other hand, from our production side, and development side, it has been very good, as we’ve been able to ease the product into the market and refine it without the pressure of too many units going out. In the past 12 months we have been getting the product speced into helm designs around the world. No doubt you know about Mustang using our product. All the hard work that we have put in over the past 12 months should come to fruition over the next year and Mustang, for example, is rolling out its new models featuring the FinScan product as standard fit. Mustang are forward thinkers, and realised the benefits of our technology as soon as we showed it to them. They are a flagship brand for us to showcase our products on.

Are any other boat companies using your products?

Yes, Whitley has it on the option list on its new 2800, and we are talking, I won’t name any of them at the moment, to some premium European boat builders who are interested in using the product. These things take time, but there is a lot of interest in our products from boat builders.

What about the aftermarket side of the business?

We’d like to enter that market, we’ve mainly focussed on OEM until now. Aftermarket is something that we know has huge potential, especially in the US. We went to IBEX 2009 and tested the market there, which has resulted in us now having a manufacturers rep on the ground, and some potential distributors.

At the moment our focus is on supplying the best possible OEM solutions and service to boat builders and engine manufacturers.

How was the recent METS show in Europe?

Excellent, we had a really good METS. We have two or three distributors we are working with and expect that we should make an announcement in the first few months of 2010 confirming the distributors. They are good high profile distributors that work on the ground with boat builders in Europe. We were very impressed with the interest in the products. There was no negative feedback. Going there was definitely worthwhile and we will be back in 2010.

Was the overall vibe of the show more upbeat this year?

Absolutely, the show was fantastic, with the volume of quality people coming through. All of the other Australian companies there with AIMEX were reporting good strong leads. The other guys were busy and a few of them have already signed up new distributors from the show.

How were the Australian boat shows for you in 2009?

The Australian boat shows were a great launching pad. We went to Sanctuary Cove last year where we officially launched our products, and began talking with Seapower Australia, who are now our Western Australian distributor. Seapower displayed our products at the 2009 Mandurah Boat Show and will continue to market the FinScan products in 2010 . This year we will be on board the Mustangs on the marina display, and we may be displaying with an Australian distributor at Sanctuary Cove 2010. Mustang will have all of its new boats on display at Sanctuary Cove, which will collectively have our Bio eStart Solo, Duo and Trio units on board. We will also be in a hall with one of our distributors.

What are your predictions for 2010?

We are very optimistic for 2010, as we have bedded in all our designs over the past 12 months and have units rolling out consistently, which as expected, have been working well. We will be ramping up our production this year to support our new distributors. I believe there will be stronger activity during 2010, as new boat demand increases, especially from the US where exhausted dealer stocks are replenished. We have so much ground to cover as there are so many boat builders and so many retailers and outlets. We are in a unique position, we want to grow sensibly. FinScan will grow during 2010 due to the overwhelming acceptance of our technology by the market, we are a small company, but I can see that changing over the next two or three years.

Are there any new products in the pipeline?

Yes, apart from our exciting new Fingerprint sensor technology coming in 2010. We are releasing, for Sanctuary Cove, our Bio eStart Solo single engine unit. The beauty of the Bio eStart Solo, which has been installed on the recently launched Mustang 2850, is that it has integrated fume detection and blower control for gasoline installations. This is the first boat in the world to have this safety feature with fingerprint ignition. Integrated with our keyless ignition, fume detection, and blower control – the unit onboard the Mustang 2850 will guide the operator into a controlled engine starting process that will greatly reduce the chance of the operator causing an accidental explosion due to incorrect engine starting procedure.

Thanks for your time, Carlo.

Thanks.