Ever had range anxiety? If you don’t have an electric car, probably not.
Range anxiety is a fear of electric-vehicle drivers that their green machine will run out of power before making it home or to a charging station. It’s also turning into good business for AeroVironment Inc.
Officials in Washington state and Oregon are trying to ease that anxiety, inking three deals over the past few months with the Monrovia company to install its electric-vehicle charging stations along Interstate 5 and other highways.
The company will install 17 fast-charging stations along the interstate between the California and the Canadian borders and 22 more on highways around Portland, Ore. The stations, which are meant to be reminiscent of a gas pump, will charge an electric vehicle in about 30 minutes.
The stations should be operating along the interstate by the end of the year. The states will pay AeroVironment about $4 million, with most of that money coming from federal grants.
The idea is to give drivers of electric vehicles the freedom that drivers of regular cars take for granted.
“It’s great to think about staying here in L.A. and driving your electric vehicle,” said Kristen Helsel, vice president of AeroVironment’s electric-vehicle charging unit. “But eventually I’m going to want to drive to Santa Barbara, and how am I going to do that?”
Chargers will likely be installed at restaurants, gas stations or other businesses located just off the highway.
AeroVironment is better known for the drones its supplies the U.S. Defense Department. They are the company’s biggest business, bringing in $52 million in the quarter ended June 30.
But chargers and related electric-vehicle testing systems are a growing segment, accounting for $9.8 million in sales in the most recent quarter, more than double the same period last year.
Josephine Millward, a research analyst with Benchmark Co. LLC in Washington, D.C., said electric-vehicle chargers, both away from and at homes, represent lots of growth opportunity, especially if more states put chargers along highways.
“It’s important for people to see the charging infrastructure available,” she said. “The idea of putting chargers along long stretches of highway, it’s to show people that electric vehicles are here. It’s to soothe that range anxiety.”
Bang for the Buck
Ovens and stoves rolling off the City of Industry production line of appliance-maker Dacor Inc. used to compete solely with top-of-the-line luxury brands such as Viking and Wolfe.
But a new cook top that Dacor plans to unveil later this month is built to compete with less pricey brands such as KitchenAid and Bosch. And instead of being available only through high-end independent distributors, it will be found at some Sears and Lowe’s stores.
The new cook top is part of an all-new line of products – the Distinctive series – that the 300-employee company has designed and manufactured over the past two years as it fought to keep sales up during the recession.
“Only so many consumers can afford an $11,000 range. We also wanted to make a $3,500 range.” said Steve Joseph, president of Dacor, which has corporate offices in Costa Mesa but designs and manufactures its products in the City of Industry “We made the decision to go out and try to gain a broader base of consumers.”
Dacor is a private company and Joseph wouldn’t disclose detailed sales numbers, but he said distributors who supplied homebuilders used to represent more than 20 percent of the company’s sales. Dacor has seen those sales dwindle, but sales from Sears and other national retailers have helped offset the decline.
So, how do you turn an $11,000 product into a $3,500 one? Joseph said it was all about taking existing luxury products and finding lots of small ways to save, such as using aluminum burners instead of brass.
Security Upgrade
Rapiscan Systems, part of Hawthorne manufacturer OSI Systems Inc., last week announced a $12 million order from the federal Transportation Security Administration to upgrade Rapiscan baggage scanners at airports across the country.
Ajay Vashishat, OSI Systems’ vice president for business development, said the order includes upgrades to software and other related items for machines that scan carry-on luggage at security checkpoints.
Vashishat said he could not disclose more information about the upgrades, including how many scanners will be upgraded.
“We are proud of our role in providing solutions that enhance passenger safety and make the checkpoint screening process more efficient,” he said.
Staff reporter James Rufus Koren can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.
