Five Questions With: Cheryl M. Zimmerman

CHERYL ZIMMERMAN IS the CEO of FarSounder  Inc., a high-tech marine electronics manufacturer which sells navigation obstacle avoidance systems. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MATTHEW HEALEY
CHERYL ZIMMERMAN IS the CEO of FarSounder Inc., a high-tech marine electronics manufacturer which sells navigation obstacle avoidance systems. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MATTHEW HEALEY

Cheryl M. Zimmerman, CEO of FarSounder Inc., talked with Providence Business News about the company’s 2015 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which it received last month in a ceremony at the White House. FarSounder, a high-tech marine electronics manufacturer which sells navigation obstacle avoidance systems, was among 23 small businesses, six individuals and three supporting organizations recognized. She also discussed the company’s beginnings and how she thinks all passenger vessels, such as cruise ships and ferries, should be required to use the company’s navigation systems due to the large number of people being transported.
PBN: Tell me how FarSounder began. Also, is the technology used by any particular kind of vessel more than others?
ZIMMERMAN:
FarSounder was incorporated in April 2001. The technical founders were already working on the forward-looking sonar technology in more of a lab setting. Then FarSounder was formed to commercialize the technology into products.
The first few years were spent developing our navigation and obstacle avoidance product line from a series of prototypes. Looking back, we went from an 80 meter maximum range prototype to a 330 meter first commercial product. Our systems now have a range of 1,000 meters – or over a half nautical mile, as well as with amazing software displays of our data. And we have done this while keeping the system safe for marine mammals and fish as well as benign to the ocean.
Our early customers were owners and operators of high end superyachts – often many of the largest in the world. This is still an important market, though our systems are now found on all sorts of vessels ranging in size from 20 meters to over 200 meters. We believe passenger vessels such as cruise ships and ferries should be required to use our systems due to the large amounts of people being transported on these vessels. Nothing is more important than preventing collisions and groundings, when so many lives are at stake.
We have an amazing staff with many of them having their roots at local area universities such as [ the University of Rhode Island].

PBN: What was it like to attend the SBIR awards ceremony?
ZIMMERMAN:
This was quite a unique and awesome experience. I think until you entered the room for the presentations, met and spoke with some of the other awardees, and then heard all their stories, you could not grasp just how much innovation this room represented. All these companies are located in the U.S., and partially funded through the SBA SBIR/STTR [Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer] programs. Eleven government agencies were represented, from [National Institutes of Health] to [Department of Defense], and everything in between. It was quite an experience.

PBN: How has the company used SBIR funding?
ZIMMERMAN:
The SBIR that was the root of the honor was under the Department Of Homeland Security’s HSARPA program, and was focused on an underwater threat detection system. (mainly for detecting and classifying unfriendly divers). However, the advances that were made were carried over and directly helped all our product lines, including many future ones.
The unique aspect of the project was that it, unlike most DOD and other SBIRs, was not attached to an acquisition program of the government. Therefore, after the R&D project ended we productized the technology for a market sector that we chose ourselves. We focused on our expertise in marine surface ships and our customer base, who already looked to us for advanced navigation solutions. It helped us secure our first shipboard security projects.
In the long run, I see our systems as a revolutionary technology increasing the general public’s safety on ships, just as earlier generations of marine navigation such as radar and electronic charts using GPS were also revolutionary. Ours is the 21st century next step in marine safety.
I also believe that our products help the U.S. economy and the balance of trade by our successful export program, where we currently have almost 85 percent of our sales being exported. The world looks to the U.S. for many of the advancements in technology. We do create high quality careers for our staff, which is positive for Rhode Island.

PBN: Where do you see the company in five years?
ZIMMERMAN:
In five years I expect that our navigation products will be well integrated into the navigation bridges of the U.S. and global commercial fleets, and fully integrated into the products of many of the largest manufacturers of these bridges.
We will also have expanded our product lines into many new areas, geographically and application-wise. Forward-looking sonar is a relatively young new technology. It is only the beginning for FarSounder and our products.

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PBN: Why do you think the company is better known in Europe?
ZIMMERMAN:
I think we were foresighted in understanding the desires of our first customers. We understood strategically that those private yacht customers who were looking to European shipyards for their reputation for high quality construction and prestige, were the type of early adopter customers who could afford our systems.
They were also looking to America for technological innovation and new products. The strong Euro at that time also helped make their decisions easier. From there, our reputation grew as did our customer base.

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