KIS was awarded the contract for the HR/Human Resource kiosks for the US Postal Service.
Kiosk mailed a good deal
Louisville firm's contract with U.S. Postal Service may yield company $4.1 million
By Matt Branaugh, Camera Business Writer
July 26, 2003
Kiosk Information Systems, a small, Louisville-based company, has won a contract to make interactive kiosk terminals for the U.S. Postal Service, a deal potentially worth up to several million dollars in business.
The 10-year-old company will produce 310 machines for placement in postal distribution centers nationwide. Netkey, a separate business, will provide the software for the KT-125 kiosks made by KIS.
Should all go well, the agreement contains an option for up to 300 more terminals, placing the deal's potential value at $4.1 million.
The machines will provide human resources information to postal workers who don't have access to a computer during the day. They'll feature a privacy filter on the monitor so that sensitive personal information viewed by the user is protected.
"It's a pretty big (deal)," said Francie Mendelsohn, who follows the kiosk industry for Rockville, Md.-based Summit Research Associates. "This was not a gimme by any means."
Several other industry players bid for the postal service contract, she said.
"This was a sweet bit of business for us," said Pete Snyder, KIS' senior enterprise manager. "It's quite a feather in our cap."
KIS, which designs and makes kiosks, public Internet stations and other self-service information terminals, has found good business with HR-related applications, Snyder said. The company produces HR kiosks for The Walt Disney Co., among others, he added.
The privately held KIS was founded in 1993 in Broomfield. The company moved to Louisville last year and employs 65
people there.
Both revenue and the number of kiosks deployed have doubled from last year, Snyder said. In the past, the company has made various fast-growing lists picked by national publications and groups, due to its sizable revenue jumps.
Kiosks, already big in the airline industry, are beginning to catch on with a variety of other sectors, Mendelsohn said. Machines are becoming more popular for settings involving quick-service restaurants, digital photography and, like USPS, human resources.
Business in the industry is up 30 percent over last year, she said. KIS is among the top players, she added.
"They're clearly the leader of the pack, no doubt," Mendelsohn said.
Contact Matt Branaugh at (303) 473-1363 or [email protected].
Posted at September 2, 2003 03:21 PM