Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
GENERAL
Kewaunee Scientific Corporation was founded in 1906, incorporated in Michigan in 1941, became publicly-held in 1968, and was reincorporated in Delaware in 1970. Our principal business is the design, manufacture, and installation of laboratory, healthcare, and technical furniture and infrastructure products. Our products include steel, wood, and laminate furniture, fume hoods, biological safety cabinets, laminar flow and ductless hoods, adaptable modular and column systems, moveable workstations and carts, epoxy resin worksurfaces, sinks, and accessories and related design and engineering services.
Our products are sold primarily through purchase orders and contracts submitted by customers through our dealers and commissioned agents and a national distributor, as well as through competitive bids submitted by us and our subsidiaries in Singapore, India and China. Products are sold principally to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, industrial, chemical and commercial research laboratories, educational institutions, healthcare institutions, governmental entities, and manufacturing facilities. We consider the markets in which we compete to be highly competitive, with a significant amount of the business involving competitive public bidding.
It is common in the laboratory and healthcare furniture industries for customer orders to require delivery at extended future dates, as products are frequently to be installed in buildings yet to be constructed. Changes or delays in building construction may cause delays in delivery of the orders and our recognition of the sale. Since prices are normally quoted on a firm basis in the industry, we bear the burden of possible increases in labor and material costs between quotation of an order and delivery of the product. The impact of such possible increases is considered when determining the sales price. The principal raw materials and products manufactured by others and used by us in our products are cold-rolled carbon and stainless steel, hardwood lumber and plywood, paint, chemicals, resins, hardware, plumbing and electrical fittings. Such materials and products are purchased from multiple suppliers and are typically readily available.
Our need for working capital and our credit practices are comparable to those of other companies manufacturing, selling and installing similar products in similar markets. Since our products are used in building construction projects, in many cases payments for our products are received over longer periods of time than payments for many other types of manufactured products, thus requiring increased working capital. In addition, payment terms associated with certain projects provide for a retention amount until final completion of the project, thus also increasing required working capital. On average, payments for our products are received during the quarter following shipment, with the exception of the retention amounts which are collected at the final completion of the project.
We hold various patents and patent rights, but do not consider that our success or growth is dependent upon our patents or patent rights. Our business is not dependent upon licenses, franchises, concessions, trademarks, royalty agreements, or labor contracts.
Our business is not generally cyclical, although domestic sales are sometimes lower during our third quarter because of slower construction activity in certain areas of the country during the winter months. Sales for two of the Company’s domestic dealers and our national stocking distributor represented, in the aggregate, approximately 37% and 34% of the Company’s sales in fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively. Loss of all or part of our sales to a large customer would have a material effect on our revenues and profits.
Our order backlog at April 30, 2020 was $100.9 million, as compared to $100.8 million at April 30, 2019 . Based on scheduled shipment dates and past experience, we estimate that not less than 90% of our order backlog at April 30, 2020 will be shipped during fiscal year 2021 . However, it may reasonably be expected that delays in shipments will occur because of customer rescheduling or delay in completion of projects which involve the installation of our products.
SEGMENT INFORMATION
See Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information concerning our Domestic and International business segments.
COMPETITION
We consider the industries in which we participate to be highly competitive and believe that the principal deciding factors are price, product performance, and customer service. A significant portion of our business is based upon competitive public bidding.
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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The amount spent and expensed by us during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 on research and development activities related to new or redesigned products was $1,816,000. The amounts spent for similar purposes in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019 was $1,550,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
In the last two fiscal years, compliance with federal, state, or local provisions enacted or adopted regulating the discharge of materials into the environment has had no material effect on us. There is no material capital expenditure anticipated for such purposes, and accordingly, such regulation is not expected to have a material effect on our earnings or competitive position.
EMPLOYEES
At April 30, 2020 , the Company had the following number of full-time employees:
623 (Domestic); 289 (International).
OTHER INFORMATION
Our Internet address is www.kewaunee.com . We make available, free of charge through this website, our annual report to stockholders. Our Form 10-K and 10-Q financial reports may be obtained by stockholders by writing the Secretary of the Company, Kewaunee Scientific Corporation, P.O. Box 1842, Statesville, NC 28687-1842. The public may also obtain information on our reports, proxy, and information statements at the Securities and Exchange Commision ("SEC") Internet site www.sec.gov . The reference to our website does not constitute incorporation by reference of any information contained at that site.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
Certain statements included and referenced in this report, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could significantly impact results or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices, as well as prices for certain raw materials and energy. The cautionary statements made by us pursuant to the Reform Act herein and elsewhere should not be construed as exhaustive. We cannot always predict what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. In addition, readers are urged to consider statements that include the terms “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “plans,” “objectives,” “anticipates,” “intends” or the like to be uncertain and forward-looking.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
Included in Part III, Item 10(b) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.