Reflecting on 2017, Looking Forward to 2018
As the New Year approaches, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all Hikvision North America customers and employees for making 2017 our very best year to date.
In the past 12 months, we have had many noteworthy achievements in North America: significant revenue growth, expanded customer base, and great elevation of our human capital. We've made significant investments in cybersecurity defense, and we will continue to work internally, with our partners and with the industry on this important issue.
This year our team grew to more than 420 dedicated employees, including over 20 researchers and developers currently working at the Hikvision R&D Centre in Montreal. Hikvision employees serve customers from our facilities in Los Angeles, Montreal, and Miami, and we are on the ground in key markets across the US and Canada. In 2018, we will continue to expand our team and build on our track record of seeking and attracting top talent.
It's an exciting time to work for Hikvision. In addition to being the world's largest video surveillance provider, Hikvision is rapidly expanding into cutting edge products, and is a leading provider of artificial intelligence, machine learning, AI Cloud, robotics and other emerging technologies.
We're backed up by our extensive and highly skilled R&D workforce and world class manufacturing capabilities, but we enjoyed a winning year in 2017 because we support and collaborate with our integrator, technology and industry partners. To Hikvision employees, thank you for your hard work and unwavering commitment to our partners. That's how we earn trust and business. Partnerships are the key to our success.
It is important to note that Hikvision, along with other security industry manufacturers, distributors, and integrators, is at the forefront of fighting criminal and terrorist activity. As I have shared with you before, we have had a fantastic run over the last 10 years in the US and Canada. But it is simply not enough. We must work with our partners to make our communities safer. Our families deserve a safer environment. Our children deserve safer places to grow up. We deserve a safer life.
We have many reasons to celebrate 2017, and I'm looking forward to an even better year in 2018.
Kind Regards,
Jeffrey He
President, Hikvision USA Inc., Hikvision Canada Inc.