SATIR’s 20 Years
– Witness of the Development of China’s Infrared Camera Industry
Jiping WU
SATIR Chairman of Board
The time zips by， with the most uncommon years and months of SATIR’s life. 2011 is the 20th anniversary of SAT and its brand SATIR, and the celebration was held in China National Conventional Centre in Beijing on Oct.27th.
Over the past 20 years, SATIR crew dared to pursue high technology without hesitates. By their aggressiveness and innovation, SATIR found a unique way to walk through infrared camera industry, leading and witnessing the development and transition of China’s infrared camera industry.
1. SATIR mastered the pyroelectricity technology, daring to be the pioneer.
In the early 1990s, China''s reform and opening up was in the ascendant, and economic construction was in full swing. However, China was not able to manufacture the thermography camera, a safety detection instrument used for detecting industrial overheating fault. Such products from Sweden, the U.S.A., Japan, and some other developed countries flooded the market. Because of the high price, the difficult mastering, the ineffective after-sales service, and some other bondage of the imported products, such high-tech product can only be imported in small amount, and used in minority areas.
When China’s industry was moving into top gear, heavy accidents happened repeatedly for the outmoded safety detection method. People’s lives and property have been threatened. It’s extremely urgent to make a change. But it’s a shame that the infrared experts of the state’s scientific research institute were so busy with the development of defense industry and basic industry, that they had no time to attend such a blank field.
The blank was a golden opportunity. In August of 1991, a team lead by Mr. Jiping Wu, the founder of SATIR started researching infrared camera, setting up the project of developing SAT-9101, the first commercial industrial inspecting infrared camera. SATIR was the first manufacturer that introducing thermography technology into commercial industry.
When SAT-9101 succeeded in developing, the power companies of Tanggu, Tianjin and Jining, Shandong were too impatient to purchase the sample. SATIR entered the domestic infrared market.
Since 1995, the state’s safety department of power office, and China Electricity Council issued many documents to impel the use of SATIR’s camera in the electricity power system of the whole country. The government held a promotion conference especially for SATIR’s product, which was unique never and ever. Mr. Jiping Wu firstly raised the lofty dream that having SATIR became the safety warder of 9.6million square kilometers. SATIR has taken the responsible to provide the domestic camera to the whole China.
2. SATIR accomplished the pyroelectric infrared camera, holding aloft the torch
SATIR’s infrared camera had attracted science and technology commissions of Beijing and the state, a serious of follow-up investigation started after that. Some encouraging policies were provided to SATIR, which enhanced SATIR crew to march forward, and felt happy and proud of the primary success.
However, there was obvious gap compared to the international advanced products. The gap showed in the production scale, production environment, technical support and after-sales service. All these issues pushed SATIR to set up a further and higher goal.
The only way to campaign with other national and international powerful manufacturer is to produce high level product through industrialization.
When SATIR crew was trying to search the way to change, SATIR’s products were approved to be set up in the Torch Program of the state’s science and technology committee.
3. SATIR broke away from workshop-based manufacture , attaining industrialization
On July 7, 1998, Beijing SAT Infrared Technology Company cooperated with Guangzhou Power Company. Both companies invested 30 million Yuan, purchasing 15-mu land in Guangzhou Economic and Technology Development Centre, and establishing Guangzhou SAT Infrared Technology Co., Ltd. The construction of the first manufacturer for commercial infrared camera in China started, and the Torch Program initiated.
In October of 2000, a manufacturer with 10,000m2 building area has been built. SATIR started its industrialization and scale production here.
With the people-oriented value, SATIR pools talents together. The crew is lead by infrared experts, and full of various employees who are young and well educated. This is a world-level team that will be public known in the international infrared filed not long.
The first ten years of SATIR was from 1991 to 2000. During those ten years, they moved from thermography technology to infrared thermal imaging technology. SATIR’ camera has reached the world level for the valuable experience. The Palm Housing design, Duo-Vision which combined the thermal and visual images, and the digital temperature displaying on the screen，were SATIR’s innovation technique, and which have been widely used in infrared camera industry. The mature technique and the successful subrogation have laid a good foundation for SATIR to catch up with and surpass the world’s advance levels.
4. SATIR ascended further, becoming the first Chinese FPA infrared camera supplier
In the 21st century, VOx（Vanadium Oxide）、 A-Si（Amorphous Silicon） detectors largely entered the market, causing the transformation of the global infrared technique. SATIR’s themography cameras got close to eliminatation in a short time.
Not to advance is to go back. SATIR took action when others in the same business discussed whether to introduce FPA technology or not.
In March 2000, SATIR signed an agreement with Sofradir, introducing FPA detectors.
In April of 2002, SATIR attend the SPIE in Orlando, the U.S.A., releasing HY6800, SATIR’s FPA camera. The camera became the lightspot in the exhibition, and achieved highly appraisal from people in the same business and the competitors. From then on, China’s infrared camera industry entered into the international market.
5. By taking the quality as important as life, SATIR’s standard has escalated into the state’s standard.
When finished the transform of industrialization, summarized the 10-year experience and, referred to the state’s military standard, SATIR has drawn up the effective enterprise standard for Industrial Inspecting Thermal Imagers. The standard was implemented during manufacture, and hence the product percent of pass had a substantial increase. SATIR has made the right decision at that time.
In January of 2001, SATIR submitted the standard to Guangdong Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision.
In November of 2003, SATIR applied setting up a project that to have the enterprise standard become the state’s standard. The National Standardization Management Committee approved the application in February of 2004, and made a decision that to draw up a state standard base on SATIR’s standard.
The expert team from China National Measuring Science Research Institute and some other professional organizations modified the draft 4 times. The state standard Industrial Inspection Thermal Imagers was publicized by the National Standardization Management Committee on September 9, 2005, and has been implemented from April 1st, 2006.
The standard became guideline and rule for R & D of domestic infrared camera, and accelerate the application in variety of industries.
Besides, SATIR successfully co-drafted the Power Industry Standard of Application Rules of Infrared Diagnosis for Live Electrical Equipment, the Public Safety Standard of Firefighting Infrared Camera, and the National Criterion of Building Industrial Infrared Camera.
6. By reaching the domestic lever, SATIR’s dream has come true
The high, med and low end of industrial inspecting thermal imaging camera such as HY 6900, G90 and S160 were launched, after the advent of infrared camera 6800; also, the products which include GF-3000A for fire fighting, YRH250 for coal mining and HY600E for security &surveillance occupied the markets successfully.
SATIR’s new unique style, UP-Right styling thermal imaging camera series of S180, S280 and S380 have been developed successfully and released to the market with excellent reputation. The complete series products of an enterprise to be granted as the state’s key new product by State Scientific and Technology Bureau, the State Commerce Department, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China, and the Bureau of Environment Protection of China.
So far, the products from SATIR are selling to more than 30 provinces in China. “To be responsible for popularizing, promoting and applying infrared technology within the area of 9.6 million square kilometer of China”, is quoted from Mr. Jianping Wu, the president of SATIR, at the promotion event of new product on February 1995.
7. By marketing the product abroad, SATIR has turned into a world-renowned brand name
In June of 2004, SATIR firstly participated the exhibition in Yokohama, Japan. Many Japanese infrared camera users and manufacturers paid great attention to SATIR’s low-end, mid-end and high-end products. NEC-AVIO, the renowned infrared camera manufacturer eventually signed an agreement with us. SATIR entered the Japanese market by exporting SAT-S160 through OEM.
The cooperation with NEC means a lot to us. The attitude of work, the quality control system, the management and some other aspects of such a world-renowned enterprise were luminous to SATIR. SATIR product quality has been increased, and S160 has been granted the certificate from Japanese quality department. Thousands of pieces of S160 entered Japanese market, becoming the main stream industrial inspecting product at that time.
After exploiting the markets in Japan, France and Germany, SATIR signed agreements with more than 30 countries which included UK, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Russian, Brazil, Australia, Korea, and etc. Thousands of SATIR cameras are exported to these countries every year. Currently 80％ products are exported. SATIR evolved as one of the most prestigious infrared camera manufacturers after FLIR and NEC.
8. By establishing a manufacturing center in Europe, SATIR has composed a new chapter abroad
In 2006, followed with the state’s appeal of Go Abroad, SATIR was invited to Ireland to make an on-the-spot investigation in November.
On May 21, 2008, the opening ceremony of SATIR Europe (Ireland) Company Ltd was held in Dundalk. The vice prime-minister attended.
Facing the huge European market, establishing a manufacture base in Ireland at the right time can help SATIR to attain manufacturing overseas, sales indigenously, training directly and serving directly. This way can not only help SATIR to have the same condition to compete with other manufacturers, but provide a Chinese brand for users. Nowadays, it has been 3 years since the establishment of SATIR Europe (Ireland) Company, and notable performance has been achieved.
After the establishment of SATIR Europe (Ireland) Company, a R & D Center has been set up in Paris in June 2009, and a trade center in UK in July 2010. SATIR has successfully composed a new chapter abroad.
The technology of thermal infrared camera will be developed extremely fast in the following decade. It will be highly applied to different domains of our life.
The ASDAS for night driving;
The new generation of thermal imaging camera for security and surveillance system is combining the most advance thermal imaging technology and information and communication technology;
Sooner or later, the pyrometer is being replaced by the thermal imaging technology, which is an important tool to be highly applied in our daily life for multiple industrial domains.
Recently, the demand of the thermal imaging camera is increasing significantly. It indicates the period of “Universalize” of thermal imaging technology has been coming.
We may have already imagined the future for thermal imaging technology how it is popular in each domain by various models.
It’s an excited moment which accompanies challenges to market. However, SATIR is full of confidence to walk through this new age as its 20-year’s dedication for thermal imaging technology, various and completed series of products with full equipments in factory.