Page 40: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2007)

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Sonardyne International Ltd. 11210 Steeplecrest Drive, Ste. 360

Houston , Texas 77065

Tel: 281- 890-2120

Fax: 281-890-7047 [email protected] www.sonardyne.com

Chairman: John Partridge

Managing Director: Barry Clutton

VP Americas: Spencer Collins

Marketing Director: Rob Balloch

Engineering Director: Simon Partidge

Square Footage: 70,000 sq. ft.

No. of Employees: 200

Annual Sales: $58,000,000

Within the offshore and oceano- graphic industries, the name

Sonardyne has been synonymous with pioneering solutions for subsea navigation, positioning and commu- nications for over 30 years.

Established in 1971, Sonardyne

International's manufacturing, research and development headquar- ters are located in Yateley, 40 miles south-west of London, UK.

Operating subsidiaries in Singapore,

Aberdeen, Brasil, Norway and

Houston provide global sales, field engineering and customer support.

With more than 200 employees and an engineering team of over 65,

Sonardyne invests heavily in new technology. Its core expertise centers on ultra-low power subsea processing systems combined with robust mechanical construction and reliable acoustic communications. In recent years this core capability has expand- ed to include inertial navigation, dig- ital signal processing and composite sonar technology.

Examples of how this core capabili- ty is being applied can be seen in two of the company's most recent prod- uct launches. Sonardyne's Tsunami

Detection System is being deployed across the Indian Ocean to provide valuable early warnings to coastal communities of an approaching tsunami wave. In the area of home- land security, Sentinel is a new, light- weight Intruder Detection Sonar designed to counter the threat of underwater attacks against ships, har- bours, coastal industrial installations and offshore oil platforms.

Sonardyne equipment is in use across the globe and is the system of choice for demanding applications in the world's harshest subsea environ- ments. Sonardyne continue to focus on its core capability and develop innovative world class solutions for the subsea market. Investment in people, processes and techniques is leading to a substantial period of growth for this family owned busi- ness with strong principles of dedicat- ed customer support that is second to none

Products

Sonardyne offer a complete family of acoustic positioning and naviga- tion products ranging from very shal- low water to full ocean depth.

Compatt 5, the workhorse of the company's subsea transponder family will achieve a major milestone in 2007 with the shipment of the 2,000th unit. New developments include a system that tracks divers as they carry out the inspection of a ship's hull and Av-Trak 2, a com- bined acoustic positioning and com- munication instrument for installa- tion onboard AUVs.

Sonardyne has recently completed the development of the innovative uComm technology platform that enables robust, high speed acoustic communications. The first product to use the new platform was shipped in June 2007.

Sonardyne acoustic releases are relied upon by many of the world's leading oceanographic institutions for the recovery of equipment and data. The company offers a wide range of acoustic releases to meet a diverse market requirement including heavy loads up to 50 tonnes, remote switch actuation and dual redundant for critical applications.

Subsea target marking and reloca- tion is another core capability. In 2006, the company's ROV-Homer was deployed to the Black Sea where it was successfully used to relocate a crashed airliner's 'black-box' flight recorders within 24 hours of begin- ning its search.

Behind the scenes, the company has been busy adding new depths to their established capabilities. The Lodestar

Inertial Navigation system that was launched earlier this year is one such example. Starting with a blank piece of paper, Sonardyne took the unique approach of combining both a true gyro-compass algorithm and INS algorithm in the same unit. This allows the unit to act as a stand alone north seeking AHRS system or as a fully aided inertial solution. Tightly coupled subsea positioning solutions will start delivery in early 2008.

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