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 The History of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.
Introduction: The Sixth Decade
As the original light hovercraft manufacturer, Neoteric moves into its sixth decade as one of a very few hovercraft manufacturers in history with 50 years of experience and expertise. In addition to its manufacturing and engineering experience, Neoteric has trained and certified rescue, recreational, commercial and military hovercraft pilots during that time. Neoteric’s exclusive Hovercraft Pilot Training program is the most comprehensive light hovercraft pilot training course available.
As an ambiguous testament to the one-of-a-kind engineering and design of the HoverTrek™, Neoteric has in recent years been exploited by individuals/companies intent upon committing industrial espionage and theft of trade secrets in order to counterfeit Neoteric’s patented and trademarked designs. Of great concern is the fact that hovercraft are increasingly utilized in rescue operations; counterfeit rescue hovercraft pose a threat to the lives of first responders and to the lives of those they are tasked to save. With assistance from Federal and international agencies, Neoteric and the World Hovercraft Organization continue to prosecute and attempt to put a halt to such unlawful offenses.
Neoteric Hovercraft are not mass-produced; each craft is custom manufactured by hand. As factory production increases, Neoteric must strive to maintain this hands-on attention and, at the same time, increase manufacturing efficiency. Much of Neoteric’s engineering effort over the past several years has been devoted to this challenge. The NeoTechnology section of the Neoteric website describes this process in greater detail, with photos.
Also on the technology front, Neoteric engineering team Rob Wilson and David Atkins, both founding members of the company, continue their work in Australia on the new high speed two-person performance hovercraft with the goal of establishing the World Speed Record for light hovercraft. This goal will be accomplished by reintroducing Neoteric technology that was actually conceived during the early 1970s.
A Photo History of Neoteric Hovercraft, 2010-2019
Jan. – Dec., 2010 |
In its research and development of alternative hovercraft power plants, Neoteric canceled its 3-year evaluation of the Rotamax Rotary engine. Research and development continues on 3-cylinder, 4-cycle powered machinery module. |
18 February, 2010 |
Chris Fitzgerald conducts rescue hovercraft pilot training for the Crosslake Fire & Rescue Department, Crosslake, Minnesota USA. The department purchased their Neoteric Rescue HoverTrek™ after receiving an anonymous $23,000 donation. |
March, 2010 |
Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald travels to Sweden to conduct a week-long training course for a team of hovercraft pilot instructors from the Swedish Sea Rescue Society, Svenska Sjöräddnings Sällskapet. The organization utilizes two Neoteric HoverTrek™ Rescue hovercraft. Read more … |
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8 March, 2010 |
Neoteric learns that Keltic Marine Group, Nova Scotia, and Hi Tech International S.r.l. in Italy, operating as“HTI America”, have joined forces to market in North America the hovercraft that HTI counterfeited from the patented Neoteric HoverTrek™ through economic/industrial espionage. Neoteric continues its legal actions in coordination with national and international agencies to halt HTI’s unlawful activities. |
April, 2010 |
Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald traveled to Australia to visit Ross McLeod of Airlift Hovercraft, and Gary Ashton of Mariah Hovercraft, two manufacturers who are building hovercraft for the South Korean Coast Guard. Airlift Hovercraft is located in Surface Paradise, Queensland AU; Mariah Hovercraft is located in Hastings, Victoria AU. |
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In April 2010, Neoteric developed a new gull wing cabin door. |
25 April, 2010 |
Eight Neoteric hovercraft performed the closing spectacular of the Indian Premier League (IPL3) 2010 Cricket Championship in Mumbai, India - one of the six largest sporting events in the world. Neoteric was chosen because of the stylish design and maneuverability of the HoverTrek™, the only hovercraft on the market able to pirouette, travel sideways and in reverse, and hover in place to perform a choreographed routine – and hovercraft are the only vehicle that will not damage a fragile cricket field. |
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See IPL3 hovercraft videos; read Hoverin’ Around the World and read the inside story From Indiana to India. |
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23 June, 2010 |
Chris Fitzgerald conducts hovercraft pilot training for the Winous Point Marsh Conservancy, home of the oldest duck hunting club in America. The Conservancy preserves a 5,500-acre marsh and maintains a wildlife habitat on the shores of Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay in Point Clinton, Ohio USA. Read more… |
6 July, 2010 |
Neoteric serves Hi Tech International S.r.l. with a Cease and Desist Order. The Order requires that a) HTI remove from its websites the material it plagiarized from the Neoteric website; b) HTI remove Neoteric’s trademarked business name from the meta tags on their websites; and c) HTI cease the manufacture and sale of hovercraft illegally pirated from Neoteric through economic/industrial espionage and theft of trade secrets by Matteo Passoni/HTI. |
7 July, 2010 |
Neoteric serves Keltic Marine Group with a Cease and Desist Order. The Order requires that a) Keltic Marine remove from its website the technical diagrams HTI plagiarized from the Neoteric website; b) Keltic remove all false and misleading statements from its website; and c) Keltic, operating as “HTI America”, cease the manufacture and sale of hovercraft illegally pirated from Neoteric through economic/industrial espionage and theft of trade secrets by Matteo Passoni/HTI |
16 July, 2010 |
After HTI ignores Neoteric’s Cease and Desist Order, Neoteric files a DMCA Complaint against HTI with all major global search engines for its repeated violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Google immediately finds that more than 700 URLs on the HTI website violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and unlawfully infringe upon copyrighted/trademarked material from the Neoteric website. Google immediately bans each of those pages from its search index. |
2 August, 2010
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Keltic Marine Group complies with Neoteric’s Cease & Desist Order by removing from its website the copyrighted illustrations plagiarized from Neoteric’s website, and removing the false statement that HTI has been manufacturing hovercraft since 1995. However, Keltic continues to operate as “HTI America”, manufacturing/marketing hovercraft that were illegally counterfeited from Neoteric through economic/industrial espionage and theft of trade secrets committed by Matteo Passoni/HTI.
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Neoteric continues to work with the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI and other national/international governmental and private agencies to protect its intellectual property and trademarked products from espionage committed by Hi Tech International S.r.l. |
7-10 August, 2010 |
Neoteric was honored by a visit from John Talmage, the company’s very first customer, and his wife Carol, who were instrumental in the launch of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. in the 1970s. Talmage, a pilot and farmer in Long Island, New York, built his own hovercraft in 1965. In 1976, he financed the first hovercraft produced by the newly-founded Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.
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The Neova 2, the first hovercraft manufactured
by Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. |
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October, 2010 |
Neoteric completed an upgrade to its manufacturing facilities, including the addition of a flexible storage building as well as refinishing the loading dock and all outside storage containers. |
November, 2010 |
Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald is invited to South Korea and China to demonstrate the Neoteric Rescue Hovertrek™ to military officials and rescue agencies. On November 23, as a demonstration to the South Korean Navy was about to begin, North Korea launched an attack upon South Korea 25-50 miles from the demonstration site. Navy officials were recalled to their bases and the demonstration was postponed. |
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Fitzgerald with South Korean military officials just Fitzgerald describes Neoteric's unique reverse thrust
prior to the attack by North Korea. system to the Xiamen, China Fire Department. |
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See the complete photo gallery: Neoteric Hovercraft in China and South Korea |
December, 2010 |
Keltic Marine Group (see 8 March 2010 above) informs Neoteric that Keltic has severed all business relations with Hi Tech International S.r.l. and Matteo Passoni “due to very questionable business activities including evidence of counterfeiting and forgery in his business dealings”, including but not limited to:
- “behavior unbecoming an Officer and Director of the Company”
- “refusal to meet financial obligations and ethical responsibilities”
- “continuing inflow of evidence of inappropriate business activities”
- “most distasteful business dealings”
- “Trying to open false E-bay accounts in the company name … is certainly not indicative of someone who is legitimate.”
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| Jan. – Dec. 2011 |
The popularity of the Hovertrek™ continued in 2011, during which Neoteric custom manufactured rescue, recreational, commercial and military hovercraft for clients in the following nations:
- Canada
- China
- Finland
- Kuwait
- Russia
- South Korea
- Sweden
- Thailand
- Ukraine
- USA
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| Jan. – Dec. 2011 |
For more than five decades, Neoteric has been globally recognized for innovation in technology and artistry in design; the Hovertrek™ is the most thoroughly tested light hovercraft on the market. This meticulous evaluation was amplified during 2011 and included classified Wind Tunnel testing in Australia at the prestigious Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SAMME). The RMIT Wind Tunnel is used to advance the development of new vehicles for such manufacturers as Audi, Bentley, BMW and Rolls-Royce. This wind tunnel aerodynamics modeling is paving the way for a technological leap forward: a futuristic limited edition Neoteric hovercraft, Model 6153, that will break world speed records and capture global headlines. |
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Rob Wilson, President, Neoteric Engineering Affiliates, Ptd. Ltd. (left rear) and David Atkins, Design Engineer, Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. (right rear), appear with School of Aerospace research personnel and a 1/3 scale model of the Neoteric High Speed Hovercraft inside the RMIT industrial wind tunnel.
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In 2011, the company's dedication to constant improvement applied not only to Neoteric products and designs but to procedures, systems, marketing materials and vendor products as well:
- Chad Steimel, Vice President, Engineering, refined AutoCAD drawings, organized manufacturing data, and upgraded the company’s hovercraft operations instruction manuals.
- Ryan Dagey, Information Technology Director, advanced Neoteric’s web-based manufacturing system and developed programming for both existing and future web sites, including a new site for the Neoteric Hovercraft Pilot Training program.
- In 2011 Neoteric neared completion of a major project: the digitizing of an extensive collection of hovercraft histroy, which includes documents, films, videos and slides. During 2012, the collection will be added to the Neoteric web site's comprehensive History of the Hovercraft.
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| Jan. – Dec. 2011 |
International, national, regional and local media covered the activities of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. as well as the accomplishments of its clients, particularly those involving rescue operations: Neoteric Hovercraft in the News |
| February, 2011 |
Neoteric contracted with an Indianapolis agency to produce a new logo and web site for the company's Hovercraft Pilot Training program. The finished products, however, did not meet the company's high standards. Similar difficulties were previously experienced with another Indianapolis agency who was commissioned to upgrade the current Neoteric web site; the agency's design was deemed to pose a risk to Neoteric's excellent search engine rankings. |
| March, 2011 |
Emergency responders from Fire District 19 and the Stillagaumish Water Rescue Team in Silvana, Washington USA complete rescue hovercraft pilot training at Neoteric. |
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| April, 2011 |
Neoteric Military HoverTrek™ LCAC Trainer was introduced was introduced to U.S. and South Korean Generals during a joint military exercise in South Korea. See video and photos of this military hovercraft which is engineered as a training apparatus for LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) pilots and navigators. |
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| May, 2011 |
Filip Przybysz, Vice President, Marketing, joined the company to develop new marketing directions and to oversee the expansion of the Neoteric Hovercraft Pilot Training program and web site |
| June, 2011 |
Rescue personnel from the Utah Test and Training Range at Hill Air Force Base completed a week of specialized military hovercraft pilot training at Neoteric, including night rescue operations. Prior to the Air Force purchase of two Neoteric hovercraft, emergency response times could take more than three hours, but their hovercraft now allow them to reach victims in minutes.
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The Roswell Fire Department, Roswell, Georgia USA completes pilot training in their new Neoteric 6-passenger rescue hovercraft, which was purchased with a Homeland Security Grant. Fire Chief Ricky Spencer states, "There are 13 miles of the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, with lots of shallow areas. Rescue boats just didn't meet our needs." Full story with hovercraft video and photos … |
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| July, 2011 |
Engineers, mechanics and marketing personnel from Freeway Technologies Co. Ltd., Xiamen, China, completed a week of hovercraft flight training and maintenance instruction at Neoteric's USA headquarters. Freeway, Neoteric's distributor in China, specializes in the design, manufacture and international trade of aviation and rescue equipment. |
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See a photo gallery of Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald's previous visit to Xiamen, China to train Freeway Technologies' hovercraft mechanics. |
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| August, 2011 |
Officials from the Government of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, and China Pacific Marine, Ltd. visited Neoteric to conduct stringent performance testing on the Fire Department's newly manufactured 6-passenger rescue hovercraft prior to its shipment to China. Neoteric met and surpassed all the specific governmental standards. China Pacific Marine, Neoteric's Hong Kong agent, has been a provider of marine products to both government and the private sector for more than four decades. |
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Firefighters from the White River-Hazleton Volunteer Fire Department, Hazleton, Indiana USA complete rescue hovercraft pilot training at Neoteric's headquarters in their new 6-passenger rescue hovercraft. Read the full story with rescue hovercraft videos and photos … |
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The U.S. Department of the Interior credits a Neoteric hovercraft for 17 different water rescue operations in one week on Wisconsin's St. Croix River that brought 98 people to safety. The hovercraft is owned and operated by the St. Croix Tribal Police. Full story with hovercraft photos and news coverage … |
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| October, 2011 |
WealthTV, the exclusive cable television network, selected the Neoteric Hovertrek to be featured on its popular program Boys Toys. The show's host, TV host/actress/model Jenn Barlow, brought a crew to Neoteric's headquarters to film the Boys Toys episode, which will air in early 2012. |
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Also in October, Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald traveled to the Dominican Republic to consult with a client on the establishment of a tourism business and to conduct on-site specialized commercial hovercraft pilot training on the Atlantic Ocean. The client subsequently launched a new venture offering hovercraft passenger tours along the shoreline of Punta Cana in his new 100 hp 6-passenger Hovertrek. |
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Sebastian and Ghislaine van Berkom of Montreal, Canada complete recreational hovercraft pilot training in their new Neoteric Hovertrek. Their craft will be used for transport to an island in Canada when ice prevents the use of any other vehicle. Full story with photos of their hovercraft … |
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First responders from the Perry-Clear Creek Fire Department, Bloomington, Indiana USA complete rescue hovercraft pilot training and maintenance instruction in their new 6-passenger Rescue Hovertrek. See a photo gallery of their pilot training … |
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Dirk Lohry, a private airplane pilot from McCook Lake, South Dakota USA, completes recreational hovercraft pilot training at Neoteric. Lohry lives on a lake, and the hovercraft he is building from a Neoteric partially-assembled kit will let him navigate the lake over thin and broken ice for the first time. Read Lohry’s advice on piloting a hovercraft … |
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| November, 2011 |
Francesco Musorrafiti, Chairman and CEO of EPS Corporation, accompanied by the company's Chief Counsel, its Senior Vice President for Business Development and its Corporate Aircraft Pilot, visited Neoteric to discuss a joint business venture. EPS Corporation's global operations provide services and products to governments, civilian agencies and commercial entities. The company manufactures the EPS M10 100- passenger hovercraft as well as the Slingsby 20-passenger composite diesel powered hovercraft, and is interested in adding Neoteric's light hovercraft range to their product lines. Also in November, President Chris Fitzgerald, accompanied by Neoteric Flight Instructor Steve Stafford, traveled to Hong Kong to conduct six days of challenging hovercraft pilot training and maintenance instruction for the Hong Kong Fire Services Department in their 6-passenger rescue Hovertrek. The hovercraft is an essential vehicle, particularly for water rescue operations, in Hong Kong, where rivers, canals, channels, drainage ditches, estuaries and fish farms proliferate. |
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Leaving Hong Kong, Chris Fitzgerald then traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to conduct pilot training at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple and the Dhammakaya Foundation in their two 6-passenger Neoteric rescue hovercraft. The Temple monks are using the hovercraft for water rescue operations in the current flood crisis – the worst flooding in Thailand in more than 50 years. The training took place on the flooded roadways surrounding the Temple. |
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| March, 2012 |
Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald traveled to Bubiyan Island, Kuwait to conduct five days of pilot and maintenance training for Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. personnel. Hyundai E&C is using a Neoteric six-passenger Hovertrek™ in the construction of the controversial Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port on the Khor Abdullah waterway, a project that has raised tensions with Iraq. Full story/photo gallery … |
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| April, 2012 |
First responders from the Norman Township Fire Department, Wellston, Michigan USA complete rescue hovercraft pilot training in their new Neoteric rescue hovercraft, which was funded by a government grant. One asset of the hovercraft will be to replace “ice rescues done the old fashioned way: with rope and ice rescue suits,” the officers state. Full story with photos of their rescue hovercraft … |
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