Tiandy exports lowlight cameras
Editor's Note: In this ongoing series on the birth and growth of privately owned Chinese companies that are redefining innovation, China Daily profiles Tiandy Digital Technology Co Ltd, one of the largest privately owned suppliers of video surveillance solutions in China that exports its innovative lowlight cameras.
Tiandy Digital Technology Co Ltd, one of the largest privately owned suppliers of video surveillance solutions in China, plans to roll out two production lines to double its sales in 2017 driven by surging demand.
The Tianjin-based company pioneered a surveillance camera requiring minimum brightness, equivalent to one star, to function. It is able to capture color photographs in true high definition even at night.
The private company started to develop the Starlight series cameras five years ago, and launched the second-generation camera at the beginning of 2016. Revenue in the first half of this year exceeded 800 million yuan ($120 million), up 37 percent from a year earlier.
The cameras gained popularity when launched earlier this year. They were set up beside all 12 playing fields in France during the European Cup this summer, and were shipped to the US for use in parking systems. Its sales in the European Cup project were 10 million yuan.
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“We are the first in China to develop cameras with innovative technology that can shoot color photos even when the objects are 5 meters away, lit by candle light. The camera weighs only 0.6 kilogram,” said Zhang Zheng, brand director of the firm.
It is estimated that global revenue for security equipment and services will exceed $170 billion, of which the Asian market will rise to $60 billion, 35 percent of the total, according to Dongxing Securities Co Ltd.
To meet the increasing demand, Tiandy’s research and development team is accelerating the pace of technology innovation to grab bigger market share in the industry. “We see R&D as a must. The company spends, on average, 20 percent of its revenue exploring new opportunities,” Zhang said. “We will invest more in the future.”
The firm came to an agreement in April with a contractor to manufacture Super Starlight parking surveillance cameras in the US. “Under the agreement, the contractor will give our products first priority when they need cameras. The firm has begun to supply the order,” Zhang said.
A scarcity of technical talent and low brand awareness are creating a bottleneck for the future development of the private company. In most of its previous overseas orders, the company produced on-contract for global brands.
To cope with the challenges, the manufacturer is hiring more young professionals in the R&D team to achieve technical breakthroughs.
“For the overseas markets, our goal is to build brand reputation by participating in industry exhibitions and developing independent distribution channels,” Zhang said.
Tiandy Digital Technology Co Ltd’s revenue in the first half of this year
Wang Ying contributed this story.
Contact the writers at zhangmin@chinadaily.com.cn and jingshuiyu@chinadaily.com.cn
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