With a hectic pace always seeming to be the norm, it is potentially easy to take for granted the truly global nature of our business. Yet when we take a moment to think about it, we realize how amazing it really is. We are involved in a very specialized, niche business, yet we have delivered equipment to customers in more than 100 countries since more than 50 years ago. Every single day we are engaged in providing technical suport to customers on several continents. Every single day we are communicating with customers in multiple time zones who are planning new projects.

All of this worldwide activity represents what we do and, of course, what we need to do to support our customers and to continue to build our business. However, what really makes it all worthwhile and so rewarding are the relationships that we establish. It is well understood that in many cultures relationships are an essential prerequisite to any meaningful business activities. I can honestly say that relationships are an absolute requirement for us with every customer in every part of the world; and it is through the building of close relationships that we gain the ability to truly understand what is important to our customer's success.

I am personally visiting customers around the world about 50% of the time. To have the opportunity to see customer's operations first-hand, to have the chance to discuss real needs that may go well beyond a specification, and to be able to establish a direct connection with people who's trust we must earn is an invaluable experience. Through this process I am continually learning and developing a better understanding of where we need to go as a business and how we can provide more value to our customers. Hopefully, through this process we are also providing our customers with a high level of confidence that they can rely on us to meet all of their expectations.

So, it is interesting that as large as the world may seem, and as impressive as it may be that we are active in so many places, it still becomes a matter of building close relationships one by one to achieve meaningful results. We highly value all of the relationships that we are working continuously to maintain and we are always looking forward to starting the next new relationship somewhere in the world.

And, as always, we welcome your comments, inputs and suggestions, and wherever you are located, we welcome the opportunity to continue to be of service.