Datasouth Computer Corporation ("Datasouth"), Bull Run's wholly-owned subsidiary, designs, manufactures and markets heavy-duty dot matrix and thermal printers for industrial applications. Datasouth sells its products through a network of approximately 60 distributors worldwide and direct to high volume major accounts primarily in the transportation/travel, healthcare and manufacturing/distribution industries.
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Datasouth has historically targeted the heavy-duty, multipart forms segment of the serial matrix impact printer market. These printers are used primarily for forms such as invoices, purchase orders, bills of lading, customs documents, insurance documents, travel documents and patient admission forms.
In December 1997, Datasouth's DS Travel Automation Group began shipping its new Automated Ticket / Boarding Pass Version 2 ("ATB2") printer, "Journey" to The SABRE Group, the Company's largest customer. Journey establishes a new price/performance benchmark for ATB2 printers, which provides excellent value to travel agencies and city ticket offices. Journey will primarily be sold to Computer Reservation Systems ("CRSs"), such as The SABRE Group, and airlines worldwide. It is an excellent complement to Electronic Ticketing, and, priced at under $2,000, it makes satellite ticket printing a more feasible and cost effective option.
Datasouth acquired Vista, California-based CodeWriter Industries, Inc. and its affiliate, CW Technologies, LLC, in January 1998. CodeWriter designs and manufactures a line of direct thermal and thermal transfer desktop and portable bar code label printers. Datasouth will manufacture CodeWriter products at its Charlotte facility, but is retaining a presence on the west coast to offer service repair, product distribution, and label conversion. The acquisition enables Datasouth's Printer Products Group to provide its customers a broader line of industrial printers.
Datasouth's manufacturing capabilities provide a strategic advantage over most competitors. Focusing on customer response time and high quality customer service, Datasouth can provide quick, on-time product delivery while maintaining low finished goods inventories by scheduling product configuration each day to meet changing order requirements. Raw materials and assemblies, including PC boards assembled by Datasouth, are pulled through to replenish stock consumed, thereby eliminating unnecessary inventories and scheduling. Datasouth's warranty expense is well under 1% of revenue, evidencing Datasouth's quality workmanship and designs.