Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 17, 1993 TAG: 9304170095
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
PHONES FOR DEAF TESTED
Steve Critchfield, president of Tele-Works, thinks he's found his company's "cash cow."The 7-year-old Blacksburg company, which specializes in automated telephone information systems, is in the final testing phase of a system that will give hearing-impaired people access to automated telephone services.
Critchfield figures this soon Critchfield will be Tele-Works' most popular product. Companies and government agencies are having to update their telephone equipment to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Up to now, he said, many local governments have been reluctant to use automated telephone services because they feared it was less personal than having a live voice answer the phone.
This new system, he said, should be more attractive because it provides a fairly inexpensive way for localities to comply with the disabilities act. The hearing-impaired information system will cost $4,995 and include a personal computer and keyboard.
Critchfield said the company expects to begin taking orders next month. Once buyers find out about the product, Critchfield said, he wouldn't be surprised to sell 25 or 30 systems a month.
Tele-Works developed software for the system and installed it on a computer data board made by Microflip Inc. of Glenn Dale, Md.
Rich Clow, Tele-Works account manager, said the only other company with a similar product for the hearing-impaired is ROLM, which specializes in business phone systems.
"That's one of the reasons we want to get this out on the market quickly," he said.
Clow said several localities have already expressed an interest in buying the system. In fact, the president of Texas' municipal league said he's interested in buying it for the state's 50 largest localities. He will visit Tele-Works in May to see the product first hand.
In addition to providing information, the system includes several interactive functions for hearing-impaired users. For instance, callers could have the option of leaving their names and addresses so printed information can be sent to them.
Clow said the new hearing-impaired software can work with a normal system already in place or stand alone. Since opening in 1986, Tele-Works has installed 50 automated telephone services that can be accessed with a touch-tone phone. Each costs about $15,000.