El Paso Company Touts High-Tech Radar Device

June 27, 2003

Rocky Mountain Radar, which manufactures radar detection equipment for personal automotive use, has developed a new device that it touts as

Though people driving on Doniphan may not notice the small, stark white building that houses Rocky Mountain Radar, the El Paso company said its location is one of the few things drivers will miss after the creation of its new radar detector.

The company, which manufactures radar detection equipment for personal automotive use, has developed a new device that it touts as "The Perfect Detector."

"The biggest gripe people have is false alarms," said Michael Churchman, chief executive officer, said. "Not only does it pick up, without exception, every type of radar in use today, but also it does so with greater accuracy and convenience than any other product available."

The D250, which was introd! uced in January and is now being distributed, is one of eight models of scanners and scramblers produced by the company.

"It is the most advanced radar detector in the world today," said Roland Hoeffener, who runs TIPMRA, an Internet site that sells radars. "If I had to choose one out of all of them, it would be the D250. It's a third of the price of a Valentine and twice as good."

Products range in price from $100 to $200 and are carried by companies such as Radio Shack all over the world.

Rocky Mountain Radar, which has 10 employees, manufactures more than 100,000 units a year through production done in and outside the United States. The amount of work done in El Paso ranges from 10 percent to 100 percent of each unit, depending on the device, Churchman said.

Radar detectors are illegal in Virginia and the District of Columbia, but they are legal in most other states, including Texas and New Mexico.

Texas is Rocky Mountain's top sales market, perhaps because o! f the vast stretches of open land in the state, Churchman! said.

While the devices are legal, police don't encourage drivers to use them.

"We have no say in whether people use them or not," said Daryl Petry, spokesman for the El Paso Police Department. "Our concern is that it may give people a false sense of security. Speed limits are set not for cat-and-mouse type games but so that the road can be maneuvered and operated safely. Besides, radar detectors don't work. They usually just confirm that someone has been caught."

But Churchman, who has been in the business for 13 years, said the success of his business is based on quality products.

"We are not in the business for the sake of how many units we can sell," he said. "In this industry, there is a constant battle to either see how cheap or how sensitive they can make a product. Coming late into the business has allowed us to find a balance between the two."

The company, which Churchman said has sold 60,000 units this year, expects to sell 150,000 by the end of the y! ear, a number that would make it the fourth-leading manufacturer of radar devices.

Hoeffener said he sells only radar detectors from the company to his clients.

"I've tried other brands and they are not worth my hassle," Hoeffener said. "I am happy with Rocky Mountain Radar for the price and for the fact that it actually works. The only people that I think don't like it are its competitors and the police."
(Note: Hoeffener is Roland Hoeffener, author of the Tipmra)


-- Zahira Torres, El Paso Times