History

Barcode Automation, inc. was founded in 1997 by a few former employees of LazerData Corporation.  We had worked with the Model LD7000 Barcode Scanner for several years, knew the problems with it and the Corporate lack of interest in fixing them.  We knew there had to be a better way to build a product, and a better way to run a company.

So with life savings, a big garage, and 80-90 hour weeks, we set out on a mission.  Within 5 months we had a working prototype, and within 9 months the original BA-200 was in production with a total development cost of only tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands or millions that LazerData had projected.  We kept the cost down by concentrating on the task at hand, which was making a product that would do (very well) the job it needed to do and nothing else. We kept product reliability very high by designing it to meet the worst case environmental conditions that could be encountered.  The BA-200 will work anywhere from the +120 degree desert in southern California to the -20 degree weather in Northern Maine.

In mid 1998 we discovered that sources for the special decals needed for Vehicle Access Control were very slow, overly expensive and delivered marginal quality.  So we were off on another mission, researching, testing, rejecting, more researching, testing, etc... until we found the perfect source for decals.  A source that delivers in 4 to 6 days, not 4 to 6 weeks, at a much lower price, and near perfect quality.  Armed with the BA-200 Reader and excellent quality decals we worked diligently to become the leading manufacturer of barcode equipment for Automatic Vehicle Identification.

In early 2001 we introduced the BA-300 Card Drop reader for tracking visitor access to gated communities and commercial businesses.  Using our proven barcode technology to read inexpensive drop cards, this unit controlled an unattended exit for visitors.

Onward we marched into early 2002 and introduced many more barcode decal colors.  Not only do we now offer more colors than any other barcode reader manufacturer but we also have the only reader that can read multiple decal colors without making special adjustments.  This works well for Universities and other sites that like to color code certain parking areas, or Toll Bridges that use one color for private vehicles and another color for commercial vehicles.

In mid 2003 we started development on a new generation of barcode readers to eliminate the potential Sun problem, and we discontinued the BA-300.

In mid 2005 we finally unlocked the secret to the Sun problem and began the final design phase.  By late 2005 we started field testing prototypes to confirm that the Sun problem could indeed be solved.

In early 2006 we started shipping readers with improved technology designed to eliminate any problem with the Sun.

In mid 2007 we released the BA-220 DualBeam Barcode Reader and discontinued the BA-200. The BA-220 DualBeam is the product of a 10 year research and development effort to eliminate the potential for sun related problems and make significant improvements in performance and long term reliability.

In 2008 we continue our research and development efforts, looking for ways to improve performance and reliability for our products. Who knows what we'll find next?.