About TOA Systems Inc.

USPLN- United States Precision Lightning Network

	TOA Systems, Inc. (TOA) is located in Melbourne, Florida, USA and was founded in 2002 with the mission of developing, manufacturing, selling and supporting lightning location networks, and lightning hazard warning sensors and systems. They are totally focused on providing their clients with the most accurate, most affordable and most reliable lightning detection and warning systems available today. The TOA team has more than 20 years of experience in designing, manufacturing, installing and supporting lightning location systems. TOA’s current senior staff members are the very same individuals, who in 1983 developed, patented and marketed the first time-of-arrival technology Lightning Location Systems.

The founder and CEO of TOA is Dr. Rodney B. Bent, who is recognized as the man who pioneered and patented the use of Time-of-Arrival technology in lightning location applications during the 1980’s. This first Time-of Arrival based LDN technology was also the first to be installed across the USA in order to establish a national lightning detection network. The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) subsequently awarded a contract to acquire the data from this network. This lightning location system, known locally as LPATS, for Lightning Position & Tracking System, was also installed in 16 countries around the world and is today still used in the network which covers Australia, as well as in Canada, Germany, Japan and many other countries.

Since the company’s founding in 2002, it has scored major successes in the US and international markets, establishing itself as a credible and effective supplier of Lightning Detection Network solutions worldwide. As a closely held corporation, TOA does not publish financial information, but has in this 5 year period achieved annual system sales which are growing at 30-40% per annum, and data services sales which increase at nearly twice that rate annually. This is what has made possible an investment of over US$2,000,000 in the set-up of the US Precision Lightning Network (USPLN).

Dr. Rodney Bent, CEO and Chief Scientist of TOA Systems, Inc., has over 25 years of experience in atmospheric and space physics, with particular emphasis on lightning detection and protection and atmospheric electricity. Dr. Bent held a senior position with the United Kingdom Government in space physics on lightning investigation and detection, which involved international inter-agency scientific liaison work. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, giving scientific papers and holding discussions with many leading scientists. He has over 80 scientific publications in leading journals. Dr. Bent was a member of the British National Committee for Scientific Radio. 1967-1974, elected member of the International Commission of Atmospheric Electricity, Lightning Subcommission 1970-1975, and elected Secretary of the Lightning and Sferic Subcommission in 1975. Dr. Bent has presented many technical papers to universities and national organizations on various topics of lightning and surge physics. Bent founded his latest lightning-detection company in 2002 with his son, Tim. Along with the system in this country, TOA has brokered deals for lightning tracking systems in 16 countries, including Australia, Asia and many parts of Europe. Bent, whose background is in atmospheric engineering, has had a long history with lightning. In the early 1970s, the British native started a company in Melbourne, Florida. Atlantic Scientific Corp., that designed and built lightning detection systems and surge protectors. He later sold the surge protection part of the business and in 1982 started Atmospheric Research Systems Inc. (ARSI) in Palm Bay, Florida. In the 1990s, ARSI was sold to a technology firm, a Japanese company, and, in 2002, to Finland-based Vaisala Group, which is now TOA's main competitor. After waiting out non-compete agreements, Bent started TOA.