Longevity Question

QUESTIONS: What guarantees that Dasher Lawless Automation will be a viable company in 15-20-30-50 years? What guarantees that AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit can be maintained in 15-20-30-50 years? What guarantees that companies providing maintenance services of the system will be around in 15-20-30-50 years?

To answer this fundamental concern consider the following points:

1. Automation and power distribution equipment for AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit are all off-the-shelf, industrial components from Siemens an $85B global company that has been in business for well over 100 years. Any of these components are readily available from any authorized Siemens Distributor worldwide.

2. The base technology was harvested from the auto industry and then modified to solve commercial applications (parking, boat storage, container storage) more efficiently using automation. The technology is ubiquitous with factory automation and is used in a vast number of vertical markets from automotive, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, packaging, to material handling. When an AUTOParkit System, AUTODockit, or AUTOStorit system is installed, it is more than an alignment with one company, Dasher Lawless Automation, it is an alignment with the entire factory automation ecosystem. The number of companies that are well versed in factory automation ranges from massive tier-1 suppliers (e.g. automobiles, airplanes) to specialized OEMs. There is not much left in this world that is not directly affected by some type of automation.

…it is more than an alignment with one company, Dasher Lawless Automation, it is an alignment with the entire factory automation ecosystem.

3. Dasher Lawless Automation established a separate company, GarageFloor24, that specializes in the maintenance and monitoring of industrial equipment deployed in commercial applications (e.g. AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, AUTOStorit). We team with the vast Siemens network of distributors, integrators, OEM, and application engineers to augment our team to provide local and remote services. Our goal is to be the preferred provider for maintenance and support for every system we install, but we realize clients have choices. With that said, any Siemens authorized distributor, integrator, OEM, or application engineer is more than capable of providing maintenance/support to an AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, or AUTOStorit System.

4. We established AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit on the notion that the future is difficult to predict. And we had to ensure that AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit had to endure regardless of the status of Dasher Lawless as a company. This is also one of the reasons that the source code that runs the entire system is provided. While you are not authorized to re-sell the source code it is there for ongoing support and you are not beholden to Dasher Lawless for upgrades. The longest-running AUTOParkit system, over a decade, has never had a software upgrade. Why? Because the AUTOParkit System is performing the same task today that it was commissioned to complete 10+ years ago – parking and retrieving cars.

5. Industrial Components have a much longer life cycle (10-20-30 years) as compared to commercial products. Companies will normally announce years in advance when products will be discontinued to allow the market to adjust accordingly. It is more often the case that they introduce products that provide the same form, fit, and function for a lower price.

6. AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit is not Hydraulic nor Robotic. It is categorized as standard control which is widely known within the industry and is normally one of the first things control engineers learn. Our goal was to keep the AUTOParkit, AUTODockit, and AUTOStorit systems simple using standard controls to allow for the majority of engineers to understand and support each installation.

While no one can guarantee the future, it is a safe bet that the factory automation ecosystem will be thriving for generations to come.