Daktronics

Daktronics

Type	Public (NASDAQ: DAKT)
Industry	Audio & Visual Solutions
Founded	1968
Founder(s)	Aelred J. Kurtenbach Duane Sander
Headquarters	Brookings, South Dakota, United States
Key people	Aelred J. Kurtenbach, Co-Founder and Chairman Jim Morgan, President, CEO Sheila Anderson, CFO, Treasurer
Products	Sports Venue Displays Display Marquees Sports Scoreboards Variable Message Signs Display Control Systems Stadium Sound Systems
Revenue	US$489.5 million (2012)
Net income	US$8.5 million (2012)
Employees	more than 2500
Website	daktronics.com

Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays. Founded in 1968 by two South Dakota State University professors, Daktronics grew from a provider of electronic voting systems for state legislatures to one of the world's largest suppliers of electronic signs.

Park Street Station, Boston, Red Line Outbound side platform with Daktronics electronic announcement sign (November 2012)

History

Daktronics was founded in 1968 by Drs. Aelred Kurtenbach and Duane Sander, professors of electrical engineering at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. The company began with the design and manufacture of electronic voting systems for state legislatures.

• 1971 Daktronics developed the patented Matside® wrestling scoreboard, the first product in the company's growing and evolving line.
• 1976 Daktronics scoreboards were first used at Olympics.
• 1977 Sales reached $1 million
• 1980 Scoreboards used at 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York
• 1984 New manufacturing facility built
• 1986 Sales Surpass $10 million
• 1987 Unique mobile scoring system for PGA tour developed
• 1988 First company-owned sales and service office opened in Seattle
• 1992 Daktronics displays used at the Barcelona Olympics
• 1994 Daktronics, Inc. became a publicly traded company, offering shares under the symbol DAKT on the NASDAQ National Market system.
• 1996 80 Daktronics scoreboards and displays used at the Atlanta Olympics
• 1997 Daktronics upgrades the world famous “Zipper” sign in Times Square
• 1997 The first Prostar large screen video displays were installed
• 1999 First NTCIP-Compliant Vanguard VMS System Installed
• 1999 Indianapolis motor speedway installed the first of 18 large Prostar displays
• 2000 Sales surpass $100 million
• 2000 Daktronics displays in the spotlight at the Sydney Olympics
• 2000 Daktronics acquires Keyframe services
• 2000 Daktronics establishes an office in Canada
• 2001 Daktronics installs its first LED video display in Times Square for TDK Financial Services Firm
• 2003 Daktronics establishes an office in Germany
• 2004 Sales surpass $200 million
• 2004 Largest video board in North America installed at Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field) in Cleveland, Ohio by Daktronics
• 2004 Daktronics establishes offices in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom
• 2005 Daktronics system wowed fans at super bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville
• 2005 Daktronics installs multi-million dollar system in Kuwait stock exchange
• 2005 Daktronics acquires Sportsound system designer and manufacturer
• 2006 Daktronics sales surpass $300 million
• 2006 Daktronics completes installation of largest HD LED video displays at LandShark Stadium (now Sun Life Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida)
• 2006 Daktronics acquires Vortek family of products from New York based rigging company Hoffend and Sons
• 2006 World's largest high-definition display installed at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas by Daktronics
• 2006 Daktronics establishes offices in Dubai, Shanghai and Beijing
• 2007 Daktronics establishes offices in France and Macau
• 2008 Daktronics installs world’s largest high definition LED video display for the Kansas City Royals
• 2008 Daktronics establishes an office in Australia
• 2010 Daktronics establishes an office in Japan
• 2012 Daktronics establishes offices in Brazil, Singapore and Spain
• 2013 Daktronics acquires OPEN Out of Home in Belgium.

Major product groups

Design and manufacturing of displays is broken down into four major product groups: video, sport, commercial, and transportation.

Video

Video displays typically use red, blue, and green light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which combine to form one pixel of a video image. These displays vary in size and resolution. Some include 3-dimensional curves such as the Coca-Cola display in Times Square. These displays are commonly found in stadiums, arenas, and video advertising displays. The programs used to control these signs are called the Venus 1500 or Venus 7000 controllers.

Sport

Sport products include scoreboards and sports timing systems. Scoreboards and timing systems are used by all levels of competition from public parks to the Major Leagues. The company also produces in-water, aquatic timing systems for timing competitive swimming events. Daktronics has been supplying scoreboards and video displays for the Olympics for several years. However, the Olympic Games often have contracts with larger corporations, such as Swiss Timing, so the Daktronics name is not often used.

Daktronics has been an influence in NBA rule changes in the 2000s. The company manufactured the first backboard light strips to comply with instant replay rulings, and in 2004, developed a see-through shot clock to improve spectator visibility.

Commercial

Commercial products include displays for businesses, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. Daktronics commercial products division supplies signs for quick-serve restaurants, petroleum marketers, retail outlets, and many other businesses and organizations. The signs supplied to businesses typically have lower refresh rates than full video displays. These displays are typically seen in front of stores, gas stations, casinos, restaurants, and hotels.

Another major revenue-generating component of the commercial products division is the digital billboard division. Daktronics leads the industry in digital billboard installations with more than 500 as of September 17, 2007. In 2007, Daktronics released a new digital billboard product, the Valo OT digital billboard. Daktronics claims the billboard is very popular among outdoor advertisers because of the billboard's "optimized" pixel layout, reduced weight compared to previous models, and lower power consumption compared to previous models.

Transportation products

Daktronics electronic sign at historic Boylston Street station in Boston, Massachusetts (2011)

Transportation products include Variable Message Signs (called Vanguard), which display information about upcoming traffic, weather conditions, and travel time along highways, interstates, and other roadways. Vanguard products use NTCIP, which allows them to communicate with any NTCIP-compliant software, including Daktronics' own Vanguard software.

The Transportation division also designs displays for aviation, mass transit, and parking applications.

Daktronics Audio

The Sportsound product line was acquired by Daktronics, and renamed "Daktronics Audio". According to the company, the division provides high quality sound systems at major sports venues throughout the world. Daktronics Audio consists of an experienced audio technician team involved with over 60 Division I installations.

Its Sportsound 2000 is an all-encompassing sound source for any major sporting event. Like its predecessor the Sportsound 1000, it is a self-contained cabinet with a number of hi-fidelity bass and mid range drivers as well as high frequency horns. Sportsound's products are predominantly single-point source. However, the division is also capable of engineering custom-tailored sound systems for venues such as major arenas, schools, shopping centers, and parks.

Creative Services

Daktronics Creative Services designs innovative, entertaining digital content in HD video, 3D animation and motion graphics, specializing in media networks and large scale LED displays, to evoke an emotional connection with viewers.

Employment

Daktronics currently employs more than 2,500 people between its Brookings, SD headquarters, Sioux Falls, SD and Redwood Falls, MN manufacturing facilities, and more than 50 regional offices around the world.

Major projects

The high definition scoreboard at Kauffman Stadium

Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana, USA (1999) 

Installed in time for the 1999 Indianapolis 500, replacing outdated dot matrix message boards; four Daktronics ProStarä Video Plus screens and three Daktronics ProStarä large screens (one each inside the four turns, one each inside the two shortchutes, and one along the north end of the mainstretch. A year later, the project was completed, and an additional six Daktronics ProStarä video screens were installed along the inside and outside of the frontstretch.

Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri, USA (2008) 

Installed for the 2008 baseball season of the Kansas City Royals; it was, at the time, the world's largest HD display: 105 feet (32 m) tall and 85 feet (26 m) wide for a total of 8,925 sq ft (829.2 m²).

Bell Centre - Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2008)

The display, above center ice, is the largest screen in the NHL.

Citi Field - Flushing, New York, USA (2008)

In August 2008, New York Mets and Daktronics installed 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m²) of video displays.

Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona, USA (2008)

For the 2008 season at center field is a $14 million high-definition scoreboard which is 46 feet (14 m) high and 136 feet (41 m) wide.

Broad and High - Columbus, Ohio, USA (2007)

In August 2007, Daktronics announced that four floors of the company's video boards and one monochrome digital display will wrap the corner of the historic crossroads of Broad and High in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn University - Auburn, Alabama, USA (2007)

Installed before the 2007 football season at the home of Auburn Tigers football is a 30 ft (9.1 m) by 74 ft (23 m) 2,220-square-foot (206 m²) high-definition display in the south end-zone. It is the first HD display in the Southeastern Conference, second in a college football stadium following Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas.

Grand Lisboa - Macau, China (2007)

Daktronics' LED technology is on the exterior of the Grand Lisboa hotel.

Sun Life Stadium - Miami Gardens, Florida, USA (2006)

Two high-definition video displays were installed. The east endzone display was the largest HD LED display in the world at the time of installation. It measures approximately 50 feet (15 m) high by 140 feet (43 m) wide (736x2112 pixels) and contains about 4.6 million LEDs. The west endzone HD display measures approximately 50 feet (15 m) high by 100 feet (30 m) wide (736x1504 pixels). Both displays are capable of displaying 4.4 trillion colors. A third display was installed in July 2006. The 4-foot (1.2 m) by 2,105-foot (642 m) display is primarily used to display advertisements and statistical information.

Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas - Austin, Texas (2006)

The 55-foot (17 m) high by 134-foot (41 m) wide (7,370-square-foot (685 m²)) Godzillatron was the largest video display in the Western hemisphere and was the largest high-definition video display in the world at the time of its creation.

Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2005)

Daktronics replaced the aging Sony Jumbotron at the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Argonauts and Toronto Blue Jays and second home of the Buffalo Bills.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at the University of Mississippi - Oxford, Mississippi, USA (2008)

The home of Ole Miss Rebels football has a 48 ft (15 m) by 84 ft (26 m) (4,032 square feet) high-definition display in the north endzone, installed prior to the 2008 football season. It was, at the time, the largest high definition screen in the Southeastern Conference before the construction of the new scoreboard at Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University. Its $6 million cost was paid for by TeleSouth Communications.

Memorial Stadium at Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana, USA (2010)

The home of Indiana Hoosiers football has a 36 ft (11 m) by 91 ft (28 m) (3,276 sq ft (304.4 m²)) high-definition display in the south endzone, installed prior to the 2010 football season. It is the tenth largest scoreboard in the NCAA and cost $2,062,900 to build.^{[citation needed]}

Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (2009)

The home of the Cincinnati Reds has a 217 ft (66 m) wide high-definition LED display above the left field's bleacher seats. It is the 6th largest in Major League Baseball and the 15th largest in the USA out of all LED screens. The Red's organization spent $4 million for it to be installed, replacing the older one, who's graphics were not in color or in HD.

Mexico City Arena - Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico (2012)

This new venue located in Mexico City has a centerhung which measures almost 80 feet wide and 46 feet tall overall with a number of LED video displays and ribbon displays around the display. The largest displays are two high definition 10mm displays with 1120 lines of resolution high and 2016 columns of resolution wide. The Arena also has an outdoor LED screen which has a total area of 6,500 square meters.

Products also featured at

• Fenway Park, 2000, Scoreboards
• Comerica Park, 2012, Scoreboards
• Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, 2010, Scoreboards/Video Displays

See also

• Aquatic timing system
• Scoreboard
• Colorado Time Systems (Competitor)

External links

• Official website