Some news from Spike Reed

Hi all 1972’ers

I’m sorry I was not able to make the reunion but the thought of having to travel for 50 hrs round-trip was enough to put me off! I travel a lot for work so I try to avoid long haul flights like the plague.

Like most others, I went to the Army in Jan ’73 in Voortrekkerhoogte. Did basics and was selected for officer’s course. Completed officers course in June and the Army asked me to provide 3 preferred postings. My choices were Grahamstown, PE and Oudtshoorn. They posted me to Greeffswalt which is about 80 kms west of Messina (now Musina, I believe), on the Zimbabwe border. Thanks!

I did various things but eventually came into my own in 1981 when I was introduced to computers and have never looked back. I developed software for various customers from ’81 till ’97. A lot of the development involved barcodes and track and trace systems. During that time I developed a keen interest in barcodes.

I moved to England in 1997 and worked for a company that developed and sold specialized (American spell checker!) barcodes. I was offered a job in the USA in 2004 and took up the opportunity. The US company specializes in computerized vision inspection systems using high end industrial cameras and powerful PC’s. Our primary emphasis is on measuring the quality of barcodes at very high speeds; up to a around 1000 per second. I am currently in charge of R&D and have a bunch of hardware and software engineers reporting to me. I also serve on the AIM Global Technical Symbology Committee. The committee sets international standards for barcodes and comprises around 25 barcode experts from around the world.

I have been very fortunate during my working life and have been able to travel to over 30 countries around the world plus about 40 of the 50 US states.

I live in Peachtree City, Georgia which is just south of Atlanta. It is a beautiful, planned city with around 30,000 residents. The city has 160 kms of golf cart trails and you can get all over the city in a golf cart. I even drive a golf cart to work. The Americans think I’m crazy because I choose not to even own a car; I just rent one when I need one.

Some during the next year or so I will be relocating to the Philippines. I will relinquish my responsibility of supporting the entire world and concentrate on Asia. My area of responsibility will be from India to the International Date Line, both Northern and Southern hemispheres. I can’t wait!

Below are a couple pictures showing what I look like (Dec ’11)now as well as the reason I have chosen to support my proposed region out of the Philippines over, say, Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia. Both pictures were taken in Cebu, Philippines.

Cheers