Mobotix beefs ups in North America

NEW YORK—Network video provider Mobotix is adding personnel in North America, a move that is propelled by opportunity in certain vertical markets, according to Steve Gorski, Mobotix GM Americas.

Well known in Europe, Mobotix began a major push from its North American headquarters here about five years ago. “We've gone from five people to 16 people in the past four-and-one-half years, with average yearly [revenue] growth of 20 percent,” he said.

Mobotix does not release exact figures for North America, but Gorski said it was “more than $20 million.” The conventional wisdom, he said, is that sales in Canada should be about 10 percent of overall North American revenues. Mobotix “is close…but has a little way to go with that,” he said.

That's one reason Mobotix decided to hire a dedicated sales person for Canada. Mark Bomas is responsible for the whole country. Previously, three sales people were responsible for portions of the U.S. and Canada. “We felt it was important that we have a dedicated person in that market,” Gorski said. Mobotix works with three distributors in Canada: Graybar, Tri-Ed Canada, and BTI.

Gorski believes Mobotix has the potential to drive revenues in Canada far north of that 10 percent mark.
 
“It's a really important market, and they really like the high-end European product that is Mobotix,” he said. The products are also well suited to “the harsh environment and outdoor applications” and to vertical markets that are big in Canada such as oil, gas and mining. He also said that there is a lot of construction going on in Canada, particularly in Toronto.  

In the U.S., Mobotix hired a new business development person in the Northwest (Derek Martinez), and two new technical sales engineers.

At ISC West this year, Mobotix will be talking about its new thermal camera with two lenses, MX Multiview; a new home automation product that is a complement to its door station product; and its new VMS, which Gorski described as “user-friendly, icon-driven, Apple-ish, and super-intuitive.”