OTTAWA, Dec. 5, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG), reported today that Venezuela's Insituto National de Aviacion Civil (INAC) has selected the company's Search and Rescue (SAR) system in a contract worth approximately $2.9 million.
"We are very proud to have the opportunity to work with INAC in Venezuela, significantly expanding SAR capabilities in South America," said Steven Edgett, vice president, EMS SATCOM Emergency Management Products Group. "The project is comprehensive, embracing a complete SAR solution provided by EMS SATCOM's family of SAR products. Upon completion, Venezuela will have a robust SAR system that will provide state-of-the-art search and rescue technology and resources."
Under the terms of the contract, which is part of INAC's civil aviation airport expansion program, EMS SATCOM will provide Venezuela with its SARMaster rescue coordination center (RCC) automation systems throughout Venezuela, LEOLUT 600 low earth orbit satellite ground stations, and the company's OCC 200 mission control center (MCC).
"We are extremely pleased to have been selected," said Dr. Neil Mackay, general manager of EMS SATCOM. "We believe this is clear recognition of our leadership in the search and rescue field, and it is gratifying to see Venezuela join Argentina, Brazil, and Peru as South America countries that benefit from some of the most sophisticated and up-to-date SAR technology available in the world.
"SAR capability is an important part of our airport expansion program," said Rolando Esser De Lima, Lt. Colonel, INAC Venezuela. "We are pleased to be working with EMS SATCOM to develop this capability in our country."
More About How the SAR System Works:
EMS SATCOM's SAR systems works with the Cospas-Sarsat satellite constellation to receive and locate distress beacon activations worldwide, forwarding the data received to RCCs and other national MCCs for action, anywhere in the world. LEO and GEO satellite ground-earth stations receive, decode, and process distress alerts detected by Cospas-Sarsat satellites to determine the location and identification of the vessel, aircraft or person in distress and then forward the data to SAR authorities via the MCC. So far more than 16,000 lives have been saved by the Cospas-Sarsat system.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) is a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of wireless, satellite and defense solutions, and focuses its unique range of advanced technologies on the needs of broadband and mobile information users. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, has approximately 1,400 workers worldwide, and operates manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Ottawa, Montreal and Brazil.
EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, is based in Ottawa, Canada and specializes in the design and development of satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical, land mobile, maritime and emergency management markets. Since 1978, and the industry's earliest beginnings, EMS SATCOM has been a pioneer in the development of Search and Rescue (SAR) applications. This is reflected in the number of the company's systems deployed worldwide. The company is also leader in developing and supplying high-speed data communications equipment for delivering e-mail and Internet capabilities to aircraft cabins.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.emssatcom.com.