ROBERT TARINI - MARKLAND TECHNOLOGIES INC (MKLD)
CEO Interview - published 02/03/2003

DOCUMENT # SAD631

ROBERT TARINI, Chairman of the Board of Markland Technologies,
Inc., has over 20 years of experience in the areas of acoustic
remote sensing and product development with scientific customers
within the United States government and Pacific Rim countries. He
has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and has been involved
in numerous successful past and ongoing United States government
logistics support and product development programs. 

Sector: security & protection services

TWST: Could you give us a general picture of Markland
Technologies to begin with?

Mr. Tarini: Markland Technologies is a blend of logistic support
services and innovative technologies that have been brought
together specifically for opportunities in the homeland security
marketplace. We've essentially been at this for the better part
of four or five years and just adjusted our focus as a result of
what occurred on 9/11.

TWST: What are the things you're going to be targeting?

Mr. Tarini: I will describe what we've worked on to this point.
In the area of logistic support we've been providing services to
the INS and Customs at five ports of entry in the United States
at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, El Paso, Detroit and Buffalo. Those
services are essentially maintenance and evolutionary
improvements to a system that had been installed some years ago
called the Dedicated Commuter Lane.

TWST: Can you explain what that is?

Mr. Tarini: The Dedicated Commuter Lane is a system that has been
devised to allow for what would essentially be an express lane
crossing of the border for 'trusted travelers.' The premise of
the system is that registrants need to undergo a pre-screening
process where they provide all personal information and all
vehicular information. They allow their vehicles to be inspected
regularly and they provide personal information that would allow
the system, using biometrics, license place readers and other
technology, to effectively screen them as they're passing through
an express lane, so that the there's a guaranteed match that the
individual and the vehicle that have been screened are in fact
the individual and the vehicle that are crossing the border. It
gives a significant measure of additional security to the process
and also expedites the crossing so that, in fact, rather than
waiting one to two hours, someone who travels regularly across
the border can make it across in 10 minutes or less.

TWST: Are there any other technologies that you're involved with
now?

Mr. Tarini: As a function of what we call the evolutionary
improvements of the systems at the border, there are significant
additional capabilities that are going to be brought into play by
the US government in the coming years for border security, and we
have four 'solutions' based on our technology that can help them
with cargo containers at the port, primary screening at the
border, and exit/entry at Department of Defense bases. The INS
and Customs are implementing significant enhancements in
technology that automate and make the border much more secure.
One of those is a device we've been working on in conjunction
with INS called the vehicle stopping system. It is intended to
prevent unauthorized entry into the United States. In the past
that has been done to people who were smuggling drugs and/or
illegal aliens, but in the future it could also incorporate other
types of potential threats.  Unauthorized entry, up to this
point, has been a process that has been hard to stop. If someone
is really bent on getting across the border, given the logistics
and processes at the border, it can be done at the moment,
particularly with vehicles. One of the last areas to prevent
entry is tire shredders.  That technology has been circumvented
by puncture-proof tires and other types of commonly available
technology. So really, the government has had a tremendous need
and desire to come up with something a lot more foolproof, but
yet, somewhat humane and safe. This is a system designed to stop
a vehicle up to speeds of 65 miles an hour, but to do it in such
a way that it's safe to the occupants of the vehicle and,
therefore, doesn't present an imminent health threat to them, nor
does it necessarily present a threat to the INS and Customs
agents because the system not only stops the vehicle, but
prevents exit from the vehicle in a convenient fashion. So it's
really a safety mechanism to prevent unauthorized entry by people
who are trying to circumvent the system at the border.

TWST: Can you describe it to us?

Mr. Tarini: The system, in some sense, is somewhat simplistic.
It's a net and a braking system. The braking system is
significantly advanced. It is capable of stopping a vehicle
actually much more efficiently than the braking system of the
vehicle itself. So it works on the same premise as the braking
system of the vehicle, ABS technology, as we know it today, but
it actually works more effectively. In our testing it has stopped
vehicles at 50 mph or greater in less than 100 feet without, in
any way, shape or form, displacing the driver of the vehicle.
Literally, in film footage that we have on our Website you'll see
that the driver's vehicle does not move at all forward. Our
requirements really were to stop the vehicle and apply less than
1G of forward force to the occupant of the vehicle. So, at no
time is there a potential health threat to the driver. And it has
worked extremely well. It has worked, as I say, in my mind,
better than the actual brakes on the vehicle itself.

TWST: Where are you now, in terms of adoption and use?

Mr. Tarini: We've done testing at government facilities to adapt
and modify the system over the past six to nine months and now
we're prepared to install the system at a test lane at San
Isidro. It will be effectively used in field trials; it will be
an operational lane; and will be evaluated on a daily basis
against port runner threats. So, within some period of time, we
will have real-world results and we expect that once that is
completed successfully, that the government will be coming back
and requesting production quantities of a device to be installed.
We expect, ultimately, at every lane traversing both northern and
southern borders that it will become a standard piece of
equipment in all the exit/entry systems in the United States.

TWST: Is the vehicle stopping systems your main thrust at the
present time?

Mr. Tarini: Actually, it only happens to be one element of
product development. We are also, and have been working on for a
few years now, two or three embodiments of a remote sensing
technology that is also capable of being used at the border and
also capable of being used within the transportation system in
the United States and at various facilities that need to be
secured. We have an ongoing arrangement, a CRADA it's called,
with the United States Air Force that's a cooperative research
and development agreement. That is intended for us to refine our
remote sensing technologies, which is based on acoustics, to be
capable of finding explosive threats in cargo and in vehicles.
The United States Air Force is concerned about air cargo. Many of
the packages it moves back and forth across the world are coming
from places or going to places that are potentially not friendly
locations to the United States. Also, with respect to the
military facilities, both overseas and in the Untied States,
they're looking to protect their facilities by being able to
screen and locate potential explosive and other weapons threats.
The technology that I'll make a reference to has been trademarked
as Acoustic Core. The premise of the technology, which has been
worked on for over a decade, is that, using acoustic energy we
can analyze the signature of materials and make a determination
as to what the material actually is, in order to classify the
material. We've done a lot of laboratory research under
government supervision and, at this point, we're working toward
commercializing the technology in two or three embodiments. The
needs of the Air Force are particular to their environment, so
those technologies that we would be looking to create in three-
dimensions for the Air Force for screening cargo and screening
vehicles would be different from, say, the needs of the
department of transportation. The FAA has needs to screen humans
in real time for significant threats beyond just metallic
threats, but all types of threats, such as explosive threats made
out of plastics, things such as ceramic knives, things such as
plastic guns and so on. Right now humans are only being screened
in airports for metallic threats, which leaves an enormously
broad category of potential weapon threats that are not being
screened for at all in the FAA environment.  We've got a product
under development called APTIS, which stands for Automated Portal
Threat Inspection System.  It is in stages of testing right now
to do exactly what we've described. It's integrated with a
capability to find metallic threats, such as a conventional metal
detector, but we're also simultaneously screening for non-
metallic threats using acoustic core technology. So it would be a
single device that an individual would walk through, as they do
now a metal detector, but it would be capable of screening for
all types of threats simultaneously in real time, so that you can
maintain good traffic flow through an airport. So it's a primary
screening tool that works in real time, is automated, so it
doesn't require human interpretation, and is very much a
disruptive technology with respect to changing the marketplace
for screening of humans. We've also worked on two other
embodiments of the technology, one for screening vehicles. We
developed a system for use by Customs at the border to screen gas
tanks for contraband. As the vehicles themselves are crossing the
border, we would be able to scan the gas tank using acoustics and
make an automated determination as to whether there might be
anything else other than gas in the gas tank. Presently, that is
done only with random search and only with dogs. And, at this
point, random searching, statistically, is problematic because it
means that the vast majority of vehicles and, in the air cargo
business, the vast majority of containers are not being inspected
at all. So this remote sensing technology is predominately being
focused at what we call the primary screening functions in the
marketplace to be able to screen all containers, all vehicles and
all humans with a device that has a 95% probability of detection,
a 5% or less probability of false alarm, that works in real time
and that is automated. It's also non-intrusive, non-intrusive in
the sense that, unlike X-rays and unlike other radiated energy
technologies that are out there, it is not perceived to be a
health risk, so there don't have to be inordinate precautions
taken. So if you're going to be exposed on a daily basis, there's
no need to be concerned about health risks. The other
technologies that are in the marketplace for secondary screening
work well and could be utilized in combination with ours, but
they do have what I'll call a number of potential encumbrances.
They're not necessarily automated, nor do they work in real time.
One other thing I may add is that our technology is leveraging a
lot in the way of what's available in consumer electronics, so
it's extremely cost-effective. For example your conventional
metal detector right now is being sold at somewhere around
$3,000-$5,000 dollars. We're looking to target the APTIS device,
which is integrated metals and non-metallic threat detection, at
retail at somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000. What that means
is that there's a strong influence going forward where the
government can adopt these technologies readily because of the
cost effectiveness.

TWST: Are there any other products that you wish to discuss?

Mr. Tarini: I've mentioned the gas tank device; I've mentioned
the APLIS portal device for humans; I've mentioned the project
we're working on for cargo and vehicles with the Air Force; but
there's a last embodiment that has particular interest overseas
and in Israel in particular. It's a device that's a hand-held
standoff threat detection device that can work from up to 100
feet. It would give the Israelis the opportunity to be able to,
in a clandestine fashion, single out the potential for either
suicide bomber threats or other similar type of threats that
unfortunately they've suffered from in the last few years.
Because of the logistics of neutralizing that type of threat,
it's very important to be able to do that from a standoff
distance. So we're working in conjunction with a very large US
COD contractor and coming close now to finalizing something that
could be very good for that particular market need.

TWST: Could you tell us about the competitive landscape and how
you make your way within what I would guess is a very competitive
situation?

Mr. Tarini: There are a number of offerings out there from
companies that have been established in the marketplace for years
and they've done a good job at creating technology that has
suited the country's needs up until 9/11. Since 9/11 the
country's needs have dramatically expanded and those technologies
are good for filling certain of those needs, but there is so much
that has yet to be dealt with. Where we are predominantly
focusing ourselves and positioning ourselves in the marketplace
is for finding the opportunities that are associated with primary
screening. What I call primary screening is if you look at the
technologies that are out there right now, primary and secondary
screening are really night and day kinds of descriptions of the
problem. Primary screening is that you need to look at each
human, each vehicle and each cargo container and ascertain, to
the best of your ability and with some high degree of confidence,
that it may or may not potentially present a threat to you. Then
you follow that on with secondary screening, which could be
physical inspection, additional screening using more invasive
techniques and technologies that require more time and more
interpretation to make a decision. For example, I'll give you a
secondary screening technology that has worked extremely well in
airports, which are the sniffer devices that are used on human's
shoes and/or carry-on possessions that can detect trace amounts
of explosives. Those sniffer devices work extremely well but,
because they're time-consuming, they're only applied right now to
randomly selected individuals. A primary screening tool would be
a tool that could identify a potential threat and screen all the
people in such a way that if a primary potential threat was
detected then they would move over to secondary, which would be
this application of the sniffer device. So there really has to be
another more basic level of screening that, in many applications,
just isn't being done at all and we believe that we're well
positioned to deliver the tools to do that kind of screening. To
some extent, yes, others have had a presence in the marketplace
for 10 years or more, but we feel that with the remote sensing
technologies that we have we're extremely well positioned to take
advantage of today's opportunity and we're positioning ourselves
to work with those who are already in the marketplace. From a
business standpoint, we've been working for nine months or longer
now trying to develop joint relationships that can help us
leverage our position. I won't mention the companies, but they're
Fortune 100 companies that are well placed into the market. And
we're hoping that, in the short term, that we can finalize one or
two of those arrangements.

TWST: Could you tell us about your own background and that of
your colleagues, as well as how the company came into existence
and matured?

Mr. Tarini: Markland Technologies, in and of itself, has just
recently been reborn into this configuration. My background is
essentially as an engineer in remote sensing and product
development for approximately 20 years. I've managed small
businesses for growth and have developed a fairly extensive
network of consultants who are experienced in the marketplace.
For example, in the security marketplace we have two or three
very key consultants who have worked in that marketplace for over
25 years each, delivering goods and services to the US government
and, in one or two cases, are retired government employees who
have really understood the problem extremely well for decades and
are now assisting us in providing solutions to the marketplace.
We have an extensive and in-depth base of human resources that we
can utilize. We're not building a large organization before we
actually establish the market opportunities. We have contracts
right now that should generate a minimum of $2 million in the
next year's revenue, but we're also looking to make acquisitions
and to establish additional revenue foundations as we attempt to
continue the process of commercializing our technology.  So the
human resources and the management infrastructure we're putting
together are being built for the long term and helping to nurture
what is essentially a startup.

TWST: Can you mention a few milestones that you expect to be
passing in the next few years that investors might want to know
about?

Mr. Tarini: As I say, we're taking a two-pronged approach to
developing the market. We're attempting to grow a revenue base
through what I would call a more tried and true technique, a more
conventional technique, which is organic growth, utilizing our
existing government contracts to expand our presence at the
border and in regard to cargo entering at the ports. Then we also
want to go through selected acquisitions that will help us grow
in highly focused areas with innovative technologies and products
that could be delivered to the marketplace and have been
delivered to the market. So we combine those two things and we
establish a solid footing for the company financially. In
parallel, we continue to pursue the commercialization of these
very unique and extremely attractive remote sensing technologies,
knowing that the market tends to work at its own pace in adopting
new technologies. Therefore, we've got a solid financial
foundation, as we continue to follow the path. Those innovative
remote sensing technologies can be a huge hit, but we have to
follow the course and it's hard to predict whether it's going to
be six months, nine months or longer before we can see the
revenue benefits from those technologies. We have to work at the
base that the government wants to work at. Whether it's with the
U.S. Air Force or whether it's with INS or Customs or the
Department of Transportation, they take a while to adopt new
logistics and new products and services into their system, so
we've got a two-pronged approach here.

TWST: Are you in pretty good shape for cash right now?

Mr. Tarini: Yes, we've actually raised enough money to do well in
the short term. We're probably going to be looking to raise some
additional funds to fuel capital needs, but right now I think
we're in a fairly good position and what we would like to do for
those in the marketplace who are interested is to be able to tell
the story in a very rational way that allows them to make a good
judgment decision on whether they're interested in wanting to
invest in the company. But really, what we would like to do in
the next two to three months is add significantly to the business
plan by executing on some of the things I've just described. And
in that process, I think we will help to build a greater interest
in those who may be interested in investing.

TWST: What specific steps are you taking to get the investment
message out?

Mr. Tarini: We're taking some of the conventional roads, which is
just, number one, doing what it is we do for a living and letting
those in the marketplace know that we've accomplished certain
things. For example, we are presently in discussions with two
companies that have existing revenue bases focused on homeland
security activities and we're close to, I think, hammering out
some very good acquisition deals with them. And as they, in the
next two to three weeks, mature, we can bring those revenues on
board and demonstrate to people that we have a focus in this
market and we have a focus in actually generating revenues, but
doing it by distinguishing ourselves. These two companies I'm
describing are delivering right now extremely innovative goods
and services into the marketplace that are patent protected and
could be enormous business opportunities. They're just looking
for the infrastructure to assist them in doing that and they're
willing to essentially hand us that baton and let us run forward
into the marketplace with it. And when we close those deals it
will be obvious to investors in the marketplace that, if the
principles in those companies had that kind of confidence in us,
then it would probably behoove the investor to pay a little bit
more attention as well going forward.

TWST: Could you give us the three or four best reasons why the
long-term investor in particular should look closely at Markland?

Mr. Tarini: One of the reasons is that we've developed what I
consider to be a unique blend of resources that spell success.
They're both human and intellectual property resources and good
business management that is focused specifically and solely on
homeland security with no other distractions.  Two is that we've
got a business plan that essentially has been in motion for the
last three years, so that we've made significant progress and
will close on significant business milestones in a very short
period of time.  I would say that the third thing is that we
distinguished ourselves in the marketplace, with respect to the
good services and technologies Markland is currently providing.
In many instances, we, in fact, at this point, really have no
competition to speak of in the niche of the market we have
focused on. That may change later, but competing technologies in
this venue that I've described, primary screening are few and far
between, so there is a pretty enormous wide open playing field in
front of us right now. It's a pretty exciting time and I think
we've got the right ingredients to succeed.

TWST: Could you discuss the fact that you're a small company and
about the importance of your relationships with government?

Mr. Tarini: I believe, as I said, that you've got to be close to
the customer and the government is the customer in virtually
every instance in this marketplace. So the importance of what
we're doing here is not just providing unique intellectual
property or unique goods and services. The importance here is
providing a turnkey solution, an integrated solution, and one
that makes the customer feel comfortable that it is the right
solution for them and the right decision to make. And that's
based on personal relationships that need to have already been
established, and that's the key thing. The companies that will do
well in this marketplace will have already had established
relationships with the government going back many years.  To that
extent, we have the capacity to work with some of the other,
larger and better established company to give them some unique
resources that they may not have, but they clearly will have the
advantage of prior established large-scale working relationships
with the government. So the advantages that they have because of
those prior relationships shouldn't be ignored. As in any other
business, long-term success is based on the relationships you
have with the customer.

TWST: Do you visualize yourself as being acquired by a larger
company at some point along the way?

Mr. Tarini: I think what we want to do in the first year is to
establish a solid foundation, to execute on our business plan and
to develop relationships that are more along the lines of joint
ventures with one or two larger, well-positioned companies that
are already in the market. Then, once we've done that, I think
anything is possible. We'll obviously have to demonstrate our
capabilities and once we've done that, we and our shareholders
will enjoy the benefits.

TWST: Thank you. (MC)

ROBERT TARINI
 Chairman
 Markland Technologies, Inc.
 54 Danbury Road
 Suite #207
 Ridgefield, CT 06877
 (866) 730-1151
 www.marklandtech.com
 e-mail: markland@marklandtech.com

Copyright 2003 The Wall Street Transcript Corporation
All Rights Reserved


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