Point Geomatics Ltd., Calgary, AB, received the first Leica HDS6000 laser scanner delivered in Canada. Chris Tucker, president of Point Geomatics, tells us the roughly 250-fold increase in capture speed over his HDS3000 is the most important advance in the new instrument. Point Geomatics is a professional surveying and geomatics engineering firm specializing in 3D laser scanning, and is registered with the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association and the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.
Peter Hettstedt, vice president and general manager of Leica Geosystems Canada, reports Queens University in Kingston, ON has also ordered an HDS6000.
Multiple sources around the industry confirm that HDS6000 lead times are as much as six months – demand for this instrument currently outstrips supply. No doubt this is inconvenient for service providers and other users who need to ramp up capacity, but their willingness to wait is a marker of high expectations of the value delivered. Of course ramping up production is a challenge facing laser scanner manufacturers today. Not only does the manufacturer have to increase its capacity; so does the attendant supply chain.
UPDATE: After publishing this note we heard from Leica that HDS6000 lead times have now been halved to three months. The company confirmed that unexpectedly high sales volume early in the year resulted in lead times as long as six months for machines ordered in the first quarter. In response, Leica says production capacity was ramped up threefold during the second quarter, and it hopes to reduce the current three-month wait time still further.
