Rugged Computers for Tough Environments

The Handheld Group, with headquarters in Lidköping in southwestern Sweden, is a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of rugged mobile computers and PDAs, and the fastest growing company in its sector. The company’s products are used in a variety of field applications in demanding environments, including geomatics.

Handheld is a privately held company, founded in 1997 by Jerker Hellström. In 2003 the ownership structure changed when Thomas Löfblad joined as a co-owner. Together, Jerker Hellström and Thomas Löfblad changed the strategy from a Nordic perspective to a focus on international expansion, and started the transformation from a distribution business model to becoming a global manufacturer of rugged PDAs, tablets and PCs. Jerker Hellström and Thomas Löfblad are still actively managing the company today.

Fuelled by strong demand from field users for its rugged mobile computers, including from the geotech market, Handheld has grown rapidly since 2003. The group today has eight local offices, in addition to its headquarters, and more than 450 partners around the world.

“Over the past eight years, Handheld has experienced tremendous growth and has been able to meet the demands of some of the most demanding verticals on the market, the true outdoor users in the geotech market,” says Jerker Hellström, CEO, Handheld Group. “We have been able to achieve this by working closely with our customers and focusing on developing products that clearly fulfil the customers’ needs.”

Current profile and vision
Handheld’s vision is to become one of the leading companies in the world in ruggedised mobile computing. The company’s main business is to supply ruggedised mobile computers to end users together with its business partners in a global perspective.

Handheld has developed a distinct management philosophy, management style and company culture as tools for maximum customer focus and competitive edge. The company’s main focus is always the customer, and what each customer needs to be successful in their respective tasks.

The company’s core values as an organisation are:
• Professionalism
• Honesty
• Courage
• Loyalty
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Teamwork

The Handheld Group comprises a number of local sales organisations with the overall ambition to be as close to customers as possible. Today, the company has local subsidiaries in Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, Italy, German, Switzerland, the UK, Australia and the US – all with the same focus on serving the customers and bringing products to the market with the right features at the right price.

Handheld currently has 41 employees and generated a revenue of USD28 million in 2011.

International and global scope
Handheld’s line-up of rugged PDAs and mobile computers is specifically developed for use in all kinds of tough environments where the user is working outside a protected office environment, such as the geomatics industry, logistics, forestry, public transportation, construction, mining, field service, utilities, maintenance, public safety, military and security. More than 90% of Handheld’s sales come from export.

The focus on customers’ needs and product development has resulted in Handheld being named one of Sweden’s fastest growing and profitable companies for four years running. In 2011, Handheld was also named one of the most innovative technology companies in the world when receiving the Red Herring Global 100 award.

“Since the change of business model in 2003, we have had a truly global perspective on our business,” says Jerker Hellström. “The need for our products varies very little between different regions in the world. The customers all look for the same characteristics: functionality, durability, reliability, low total cost of ownership and also design.”

View on the future
A radical shift is taking place in how people are working in general, and using computers in particular. It is about true mobility, for the first time in history. The increasing need for mobility in today’s working environment, especially outside the traditional office environment, and increasing availability and affordability of wireless broadband is driving market growth of rugged mobile computers and handheld devices.

There is also a trend towards faster processors in rugged computers to offer better and broader use, and the ability to bring desktop functionality out into the field. The new computers of today are much lighter and have much better functionality overall, including better displays and improved ergonomic design – all contributing to an improved user experience.

Handheld aims to keep abreast of these new developments and trends through an increased focus on product development. The recruitment of a new product manager as well as the appointment of a new CTO underlines the company’s commitment to this challenging task. Amalgamating technology with industry trends is seen as key to meeting customers’ demands. Handheld is increasing the amount spent on R&D substantially year on year.

Handheld’s philosophy in dealing with economic uncertainty such as various global financial crises, currency fluctuations and trade deficits is to bring to the market products that its customers want at the right price while at the same time applying solid business sense to ensure that Handheld will be around for decades to come. Even during the toughest year of the latest financial crisis, Handheld developed four new products and continued to grow.

The company is on track to continue its very strong growth and expects to grow on average between 30 and 40 percent annually over the next three to five years, with that growth expected to come predominantly from North and South America as well as the APAC region.