A GROWING NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FUEL GROWTH OF RUGGED KEYBOARDS/KEYPADS

VDC: The North American market for rugged keyboards and keypads is expected to reach approximately $206 million by 2008, . Growth will be driven by high demand for rugged keyboards and keypads in several fast-growing application markets, many of which were irrelevant to rugged products years ago.

Significant trends that are shaping growth patterns for rugged keyboards/keypads in various applications include:

• Medical equipment. Growth in consumption in medical markets will be fed by increasing demand for rugged keypads used in diagnostic instrumentation, imaging equipment, and other smaller devices used for the often mobile workforce.

• Military/aerospace. Due to the high level of environmental and human abuse that products are subject to in this sector, almost a quarter of all keyboards and keypads currently used in the military market are ruggedly designed, and this will continue to rise through 2008.

• Industrial controls/process automation. The wait-and-see attitude that many OEMs in this market held in 2003-2004 due to political uncertainty no longer exists. Many manufacturers are investing a lot of resources into new projects, which will drive strong demand for rugged keyboards/keypads through 2008.

• Instrumentation. Concerns over quality assurance, safety, and security and protection have continued to increase, calling for more precise tests and measurements in virtually all vertical markets.

• Commercial/retail equipment. Growth of rugged keyboards and keypads in this market will be driven by the demand for advanced features and peripherals (e.g. biometrics, RFID) in several security/access control applications.

Demand for ruggedly designed products will continue to increase as long as there are applications that require them. Five years ago, these applications may have consisted of military and industrial. Today, however, they have expanded to include many more commercial and consumer applications as well. This trend will likely continue as these applications increasingly call for products that can survive and last longer under those environments. RUGGED KEYBOARDS/KEYPADS