Sonar firm reels in Japanese investor to boost R&D

Electronic Navigation's products are used by commercial, leisure and scientific vessels. Photo / APN

One of New Zealand's largest marine electronics firms says a major investment it has secured from a Japanese technology manufacturer will help to boost its research and development work and grow sales in export markets.

Furuno Electric Co, best known for its fish finder systems, has purchased a 10 per cent stake in Electronic Navigation, owned by the Hodson family.

The Westhaven-based firm, founded in 1945, is the exclusive distributor of Furuno products in this country and also develops sonar systems used for a range of applications - including commercial fishing, leisure and scientific research vessels - that are sold in 30 countries.

Its annual revenue is understood to be between $15 million and $20 million.

Managing director Gareth Hodson would not disclose how much Furuno had paid for its stake.

But he said it was the Japanese firm's first investment in the Southern Hemisphere and the capital raised would allow Electronic Navigation to increase its R&D team and expand sales of its WASSP sonar systems in export markets, which include Europe, North America, China and Australia.

"We've already doubled the size of our R&D since 2011 and we're hoping that this capital investment will help speed up that [process]," Hodson said, adding that the company invested 50 per cent of its export turnover in product development.

He said Furuno's investment would also accelerate a number of joint R&D projects the two companies were working on.

There was potential for the Japanese firm to increase its stake in Electronic Navigation, which employs 50 staff, but Hodson said his family wanted to retain a majority shareholding.

The Japanese company's New Zealand investment comes hard on the heels of the sale of Navman founder Sir Peter Maire's Fusion Electronics to the United States navigation device maker Garmin.