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No Dummies Here
Studies Yield Important Savings for Vehicle Safety Manufacturer
 THE COMPANY
Founded in 1974 by Robert A. Denton, Denton ATD, Inc. contributes heavily to improved vehicle safety. Its transducers and load cells gather and transmit force and impact data from anthropomorphic crash test dummies. Among its first products, Denton produced neck and femur load cells. As test dummies evolved, so did Denton ATD’s technology. The company designed and produced transducers and load cells for a variety of dummies and in other specialized areas of force measurement. In fact, Denton ATD has designed virtually all the load cells used in today’s anthropomorphic test dummies.
Though they work primarily within the automotive industry, Denton ATD also services the aerospace, aviation, biomechanics and recreation industries as well as other areas in science and research. With manufacturing facilities in Rochester Hills, Mich., and Milan, Ohio, Denton ATD’s mission continues to be taking innovative, reliable and industry-leading approaches to the design, development and manufacture of force transducers and related systems — which, in the end, saves lives.
THE CHALLENGE
In 2006, Denton ATD had just switched accounting firms. They began working with Clayton & McKervey, P.C., whose diligent accountants saw great potential for the company to recover funds it should have been getting back or not paying at all. They urged VP-Controller Ann Cirner to talk to Hull & Knarr.
That summer, after reading some literature on the IRS’s Research & Experimentation credit, Cirner made the call — and was glad she did. Hull & Knarr conducted a retroactive study for both Denton ATD, Inc. locations for 2002 through 2005.
THE SOLUTION
“Last year [2006], after coming in, talking to us and letting us know we were definitely eligible for the credit, Hull & Knarr took care of all the ‘nasty stuff,’ going back as far as they could,” she said. Then, in the winter of 2007, Denton ATD, Inc. engaged Hull & Knarr to conduct a current-year study for the R & E credit. That study’s success convinced Cirner to begin a second current year study in January 2008.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Because Hull & Knarr only charges a fee if they find credits, and because Cirner has worked with the same people during each of the three studies, she said she considered it a win-win situation.
“Last year, Patrick Donahue trained our engineering group on the best way to track their time and projects,” she said. “This time, he was here for an hour and it was done, which was great because I don’t have the time to sit down and go through the whole process again.”
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