Garmin 2009 Annual Report Download - page 49

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thatareintendedforinstallationintypecertificatedaircraft.Totheextentrequired,certificationisanexpensive
andtime‐consumingprocessthatrequiressignificantfocusandresources.Aninabilitytoobtain,orexcessive
delayinobtaining,suchcertificationscouldhaveanadverseeffectonourabilitytointroducenewproductsand,
forcertainaviationOEMproducts,ourcustomers’abilitytosellairplanes.Therefore,suchinabilitiesordelays
couldadverselyaffectouroperatingresults.Inaddition,wecannotassureyouthatourcertifiedproductswillnot
bedecertified.Anysuchdecertificationcouldhaveanadverseeffectonouroperatingresults.
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Ourbusinessmaysufferifwearenotabletohireandretainsufficientqualifiedpersonnelorifweloseourkey
personnel.
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Ourfuturesuccessdependspartlyonthecontinuedcontributionofourkeyexecutive,engineering,sales,
marketing,manufacturingandadministrativepersonnel.Wecurrentlydonothaveemploymentagreementswith
anyofourkeyexecutiveofficers.Wedonothavekeymanlifeinsuranceonanyofourkeyexecutiveofficersand
donotcurrentlyintendtoobtainsuchinsurance.Thelossoftheservicesofanyofourseniorlevelmanagement,
orotherkeyemployees,couldharmourbusiness.Recruitingandretainingtheskilledpersonnelwerequireto
maintainandgrowourmarketpositionmaybedifficult.Forexample,insomerecentyearstherehasbeena
nationwideshortageofqualifiedelectricalengineersandsoftwareengineerswhoarenecessaryforustodesign
anddevelopnewproducts,andtherefore,ithassometimesbeenchallengingtorecruitsuchpersonnel.Ifwefail
tohireandretainqualifiedemployees,wemaynotbeabletomaintainandexpandourbusiness.
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Thereisuncertaintyastoourshareholders’abilitytoenforcecertainforeigncivilliabilitiesintheCayman
IslandsandTaiwan.
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WeareaCaymanIslandscompanyandasubstantialportionofourassetsarelocatedoutsidetheUnited
States,particularlyinTaiwan.Asaresult,itmaybedifficulttoeffectserviceofprocesswithintheUnitedStates
uponus.Inaddition,thereisuncertaintyastowhetherthecourtsoftheCaymanIslandsorTaiwanwould
recognizeorenforcejudgmentsofUnitedStatescourtsobtainedagainstuspredicateduponthecivilliability
provisionsofthesecuritieslawsoftheUnitedStatesoranystatethereof,orbecompetenttohearoriginalactions
broughtintheCaymanIslandsorTaiwanagainstuspredicateduponthesecuritieslawsoftheUnitedStatesorany
statethereof.
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AshutdownofU.S.airspaceorimpositionofrestrictionsongeneralaviationwouldharmourbusiness.
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FollowingtheSeptember11,2001terroristattacks,theFAAorderedallaircraftoperatingintheU.S.tobe
groundedforseveraldays.InadditiontothisshutdownofU.S.airspace,thegeneralaviationindustrywasfurther
impactedbytheadditionalrestrictionsimplementedbytheFAAonthoseflightsthatflyutilizingVisualFlightRules
(VFR).TheFAArestrictedVFRflightinside30enhancedClassB(a20‐25mileradiusaroundthe30largest
metropolitanareasintheUSA)airspaceareas.TheAircraftOwnersandPilotsAssociation(AOPA)estimatedthat
theserestrictionsaffectedapproximately41,800generalaviationaircraftbasedat282airportsinsidethe30
enhancedClassBairspaceareas.TheAOPAestimatesthatapproximately90%ofallgeneralaviationflightsare
conductedVFR,andthatonly15%ofgeneralaviationpilotsarecurrenttoflyutilizingInstrumentFlightRules(IFR).
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TheshutdownofU.S.airspacefollowingSeptember11,2001causedreducedsalesofourgeneralaviation
productsanddelaysintheshipmentofourproductsmanufacturedinourTaiwanmanufacturingfacilitytoour
distributionfacilityinOlathe,Kansas,therebyadverselyaffectingourabilitytosupplynewandexistingproductsto
ourdealersanddistributors.
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AnyfutureshutdownofU.S.airspaceorimpositionofrestrictionsongeneralaviationcouldhavea
materialadverseeffectonourbusinessandfinancialresults.
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ManyofourproductsrelyontheGlobalPositioningSystem
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TheGlobalPositioningSystemisasatellite‐basednavigationandpositioningsystemconsistingofa
constellationoforbitingsatellites.Thesatellitesandtheirgroundcontrolandmonitoringstationsaremaintained