I guess that was partially directed towards me.
You're right it is a complex sale. It's a long sale cycle. The defence and security industry is quite specialized and the ultimate customer for our equipment is government. So what we've had the benefit of, in Washington, D.C., in particular, is a trade commissioner focused on defence and security. We have had Rich Malloy and then Angela Dark and a successor since then.
We've essentially had a two-pronged attack with them that has been somewhat successful. One is that the commission there organized several partners-in-security trade missions with symposiums and events at the Canadian embassy. Those were very helpful, very productive. Part of the market intelligence that we received from the trade commission was that a small Canadian company like ours was going to have real difficulty with a sales process to government in the U.S. Effectively, the message was that it's not realistic.
We were given help in identifying U.S. channel partners. That's exactly what this partners-in-security trade mission was about. To establish credibility in the U.S., it is wonderful going in with the Canada brand and hand-in-hand with someone representing the Government of Canada. But there's more to it than that. For my technology, we need credibility on the technological side as well as the security side. The staff in Washington organized several meetings with members of the Department of Homeland Security domestic nuclear detection office. That has been very helpful and they have since visited us in Ottawa and seen our installation here. It has led to simple and easy conversations when we meet potential new clients in the U.S., who ask, do you know so and so? Yes, we have four contacts in DNDO. They know all about us, because we met with them in Washington. It's been very effective.