There is no doubt that the future will change many things, but one thing is guaranteed, headsets will remain one of the most important pieces of equipment for air traffic control officers. The German headset manufacturer Imtradex is following its mission – command and control. The goal is to continue to develop the ultimate headset for professional air traffic management.
Imtradex was founded in 1996 and is a world leading manufacturer of headsets, handsets and push-to-talk buttons (PTTs) for special applications. From R&D, production to sales and service, everything takes place in Dreieich, next to Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
Engineering excellence
Imtradex has a strong technical foundation, which enables it to build and maintain products with safety, quality and integrity in manufacturing and service. This is exactly what customers from the air traffic management sector need and expect from a developer of communication products. Meaning engineering excellence has always played a special role for Imtradex from the very beginning.
Excellence in engineering will continue to be a high priority, but it must be combined with some other components. Closer cooperation with customers is becoming increasingly important in such a fast-moving and dynamic world, as well as flexible and dynamic processes to respond immediately to the changing requirements of the globalized world.
Vladimir Sitnikov, senior engineer for voice communication from Aeronavigatsiya Yuga says, “We chose the Imtradex headsets for our new VCS during FAT procedures at Frequentis premises in 1999. Our Air Traffic Control Officers [ATCOs] find them the most comfortable from all the other accessible at the moment. That was the first approach.
“And in 2013 we set up for our ATCOs a blind testing of eight types of headsets from different manufacturers, like Sennheiser, Plantronics and others. The winner was an Imtradex AirTalk. It was a summary of independent engineer estimation, with first place for Imtradex for construction reliability, repair ability and overall quality and ATCO`s estimation – first place for Imtradex for comfort and sound quality.”
Customer centricity
Collaboration and customer’s focus are the most important aspects to the future of the industry and to the development of the ideal headset for professional air traffic management. Imtradex combines more than 30 years of experience and innovation along with a close partnership with its customers. The company works very closely with customer requirements and learns from direct feedback from ATCOs. This is the only way it is possible to develop the perfect headsets, handsets and other voice communication equipment for the future of air traffic management. Therefore, dynamic processes and flexibility are indispensable. Imtradex creates these flexible structures by having all departments inhouse, from R&D, production and quality management to sales and service. This means in every phase of each product Imtradex knows who is responsible for every aspect of the work. Each employee, including supplier partners understands his individual responsibility and is personally accountable for the work done by Imtradex.
The “Made in Germany” brand is also very important for Imtradex. Therefore, the company works together with local suppliers and manufacturers in Germany – this way, the company can demand and guarantee high quality standards. Every single step and every single product are individually manufactured and tested at the Imtradex headquarters in Germany. Imtradex is known for German quality products that meet the needs of professionals with a high degree of responsibility.
Individuality
Since its foundation, the uniqueness of customers is the main focus for the development of Imtradex products. The German company offers a wide range of options and can therefore perfectly meet the individual requirements of each customer. Imtradex works for a demanding environment, where the safety of people is at stake – a standard headset solution would not do justice to this.
The customization options include connection and pin assignment to the voice communication system of the customer choice, cabling and length to different types of push-to-talk buttons within different applications, such as tower or area control center (ACC). Furthermore, it covers customized electronics, various functions and headset types, such as monaural or binaural versions with headband or neckband fitting and optional splitting, meaning two channels in a binaural headset. Imtradex also offers different microphone types, such as omnidirectional, bidirectional or directional types with noise reduction functions, achieved with electret and dynamic microphones to be suitable for any voice communication system and any application. In addition, the headset developer and manufacturer offers the option of printing customers’ company logos or different coloring on the headsets, handsets and push-to-talk buttons, including white label packaging for OEM or any other needs.
The growing challenge
It is a never-ending process of developing along the fast-changing industry needs. Imtradex believes in a steady and continuous development process. Today’s requirements change incredibly fast and so the development and further improvements must never stops. The latest headset of Imtradex’s popular AirTalk series is called AirTalk 5000, which was released in August 2020 and is the result of more than 30 years of experience and continuous development starting with the German Air Traffic Control Agency DFS in the 1990s. As it was back then and still is, one of the main goals to be achieved from the ultimate headset is the ability to transfer voice in the highest quality and clearest tone possible to enable the highest level of understanding. In meeting these difficult requirements, the priority is voice recognition, which delivers the highest user acceptance at duty. In addition to customer centricity, the main priorities for the advanced developments of headset, handset and voice communication equipment for Imtradex are safety, efficiency, scalability and flexibility.
“The AirTalk series, is the proof that a robust work equipment does not have to subordinate itself to ergonomic and weight criteria. The AirTalk series is uncompromisingly designed for high stability combined with maximum comfort,” says Ralf Kudernak, CEO of Imtradex.
AirTalk 5000 benefits
The new AirTalk 5000 is designed to meet the future needs of customers and further improve performance, efficiency and safety for air traffic control officers (ATCOs) around the world. The AirTalk 5000 offers more benefits than any other headset on the market. Designed to fully meet the needs of air traffic controllers, it is incredibly lightweight and yet very stable. The rotating suspension ensures a perfect fit even with strong and abrupt head movements. The robust steel wires of the headset ensure reliable communication and a long-life cycle. With the newly developed flexible headband, the headset fits any size and head shape. In addition, the AirTalk 5000 is supplied with a removable, comfortable spacer, which ensures a perfect fit as well as a pleasant pressure compensation. Combined with ear cushions made of CoolMax fabrics, the new headset ensures optimum comfort throughout the shift. As usual, various microphone types are available for the AirTalk 5000, such as short or long gooseneck, electret and dynamic versions, including noise cancellation. The microphone can be used on both sides. As with all Imtradex headsets, customers can choose the PTT and connectors for the best selection for any VCS.
Equipment performance
The entire portfolio of Imtradex provides the ability to have one single supplier for the voice communication external equipment for the ACC and the tower application. The different PTT buttons for any application and the respective headsets support the ATCOs in any environment, even while training they use the same headset with USB for connection to the simulator – one world with a single choice.
Even the other equipment such as the handset HS3 is commonly used all over the world and brings superior quality and reliable performance. Furthermore, the hand microphone HT2 or HT2-Base supports the tower application with different options for a fully blown performance.
The different ergonomic and robust PTT buttons, the well-known PTT-19 and the PTT-13 are used worldwide connecting the AirTalk headsets to the respective VCS system. The champions for matching the best performance.
Service and support
Imtradex promotes continuous improvement in every aspect of its business and works to maximize the value, it offers their customers while minimizing waste.
From the connector to the VCS via the PTT buttons to the headset, nearly every single item is service and repairable. This means a long-term tool to be used in the daily routines of the ATCO’s worldwide with one of the highest return on invest rates. Imtradex also offers different options for service and repair of its headsets, such as repair contracts or service options on site.
Imtradex attaches great importance to offer its customers an individual and personal service. The German company is known for its good service and support and offers the right service model for each client. Whether service directly at the customer’s location, service contracts for a sustainable customer management, individual service contracts, carefree full-service contracts – there is the right one for every customer’s requirement. Additionally, Imtradex offers service and repair training, because the longevity and sustainability of the products are in the foreground. Every single part is exchangeable and repairable.
Again, service and support plays an important role and provides a huge advantage in-house at Imtradex and the company has created competence centre through interdepartmental know-how and cooperation. The company can guarantee a quality of service of the highest levels.
“Our ATCs choose to use Imtradex headsets over other headsets as they are found to be very reliable and comfortable to wear, with good sound quality. Lately we have ordered and received four more AirTalk headsets for other airports,” says Mr Sangay, head of CNS, ANS, from the department of air transport at Paro International Airport, Bhutan.
Communications and ATC in the future
The next step of the future begins with the brand-new AirTalk 5000, the next generation of high performing headsets for use in any ATM environment, such as ACC, approach or elsewhere. Imtradex’s future lies in further improving and strategically strengthening the ecosystem around its strong product portfolio that supports any tower application and simulation or ramp application. One thing is for sure, competence center with cross-departmental know-how and cooperation are all key factors for taking communication into the future.