Key Tronic Pins Hopes On Scanner Company Begins Shipping Fingerprint Scanning Device
Key Tronic Corp. has begun shipping one of the new products that company officials hope will eventually help stabilize profitability.
The company has created a line of finger-image scanning devices which could “significantly reduce fraud and unauthorized access for an array of computer-based transactions.”
Developed in cooperation with The National Registry Inc. (NRI), the scanners are integrated into a computer keyboard, or offered as stand-alone units. The company says widespread adoption of this technology could eliminate problems associated with password and personal identification number methods now used to authenticate users of networks and computer systems.
In recent interviews, Fred Wenninger, Key Tronic’s president and chief executive officer, has singled out fingerprint scanner products and “smart card” products as two new technology products that could be major contributors to future profits.
As prices for computer keyboards are continually pushed down by the highly competitive global computer hardware market, Key Tronic has searched for strategies to help it rebuild consistent profitability.
Wenninger is pushing the company into new product areas, including “engineered devices” that may have nothing to do with keyboards, and precision plastic molding.
But a key part of his strategy is expanding the company’s computer input device technology. And Wenninger believes fingerprint recogni tion devices have great potential.
Key Tronic and NRI are now shipping the first keyboards to several hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville, Fla., operations, for ongoing pilot programs dealing with protecting the security of medical reports.
The Key Tronic hardware, combined with NRI’s software, is priced below $500, company officials say.
That is less than half the cost of scanning devices currently used by the federal government and military security operations.
“This lower cost expands the applications for fingerprint recognition and should enable corporations to enhance the security of every desktop PC connected to its network or corporate intranet,” Craig Gates, Key Tronic’s general manager of new business development, said in a news release.
Spokane-based Key Tronic is a major independent producer of keyboards and other computer input devices. Its customers include Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Toshiba and other leading computer hardware manufacturers.
, DataTimes