Harman Kardon 2009 Annual Report Download - page 24

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Levinson. We have successfully leveraged these brands across our Automotive, Consumer and Professional
segments. Not only does this provide brand reinforcement and recognition across markets, but it also enables us
to share similar foundational technologies that differentiate us from our competitors.
Innovation and technological expertise
Harman believes that innovation is an important element to gaining market acceptance and strengthening
our market position. We have a history of leveraging our continuous technological innovation that we leverage
across all of the markets we serve. We employ more than 2,500 engineers in strategically located technical
centers around the globe. We have a well-deserved reputation for delivering premium audio and infotainment
solutions across a full spectrum of applications. We believe that our technological innovation, the quality of our
products and our reputation for on-time delivery have resulted in a substantial amount of awarded business. We
have successfully delivered infotainment systems for 13 new product launches during fiscal years 2009 and 2008,
and have a cumulative estimated $8.8 billion of awarded automotive business. We believe this will position us
well for follow-on and new business with these existing customers.
Seasoned management team with extensive global experience
Our senior management team possesses substantial experience leading technology-oriented companies,
promoting profitable growth through continuous value-added innovation and providing guidance, leadership and
cost-discipline through challenging economic conditions.
Our Growth Strategy
Continued growth through innovation
We are focused on the next generation of audio and infotainment solutions that will blend advances in
wireless networking, streaming audio, hands-free connectivity, driver assistance, safety systems and more. Our
advanced software capabilities and acoustic expertise will work together to define emerging standards across all
of our segments.
We believe we can grow our business with automotive manufacturers through an increase in the number of
models offering our audio, navigation and infotainment systems; increases in per-vehicle content through the
provision of integrated infotainment and premium branded audio systems; higher penetration levels of high-level
audio and infotainment systems within existing models; and providing systems that will continue to integrate
advanced driver assist safety measures as they evolve.
We are developing a new mid-range infotainment system that we believe will deliver industry-leading
performance at an affordable price that will allow us to penetrate the emerging mid-range automotive market. We
also are developing, through our GreenEdge initiative, environmentally friendly technologies to reduce power
consumption and product weight, a growing area of opportunity for environmentally conscious customers. We
have also partnered with Lotus Engineering (UK) to develop active noise management applications for both
conventional and hybrid/electric cars. We believe that this technology will be an important component for
conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles in the future.
We believe our innovative networking and control technologies will provide us with significant growth
opportunities across all of our segments. Our HiQnet technology simplifies the interaction of our products and
provides users with an incentive to purchase complete HiQnet compatible systems. We are also playing a leading
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