Industry News
Texas Instruments has signed a definitive agreement to purchase National Semiconductor in an all-cash transaction of about $6.5 B. This merger will unite two industry leaders who have a common commitment to solving analog needs. Both companies will operate independently pending close of the acquisition that is expected to take six to nine months.
API Technologies Corp., a provider of secure communications, electronic components and subsystems, and contract manufacturing services to the global defense and aerospace industries, and Spectrum Control Inc., a designer and manufacturer of custom solutions for the defense, aerospace, industrial and medical industries headquartered in Fairview, PA, announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement providing for the cash acquisition of Spectrum by API. Upon closing of the transaction, Spectrum will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of API. Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement, API will acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding equity of Spectrum for $20.00 per share for a total purchase price of approximately $270 M.
AML Communications Inc. announced that it had signed a definitive agreement and plan of merger with Microsemi Corp. and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsemi. Microsemi shall acquire AML for $2.50 per share in cash, subject to the terms and conditions of the Microsemi Merger Agreement. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of AML Communications’ stockholders, and is expected to close around the end of June, 2011.
Ducommun Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding stock of LaBarge Inc. LaBarge, with revenue of $324 M for the 12 months ended January 2, 2011, is a supplier of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) operating across many high-growth industries. The acquisition will nearly double Ducommun’s revenue base, improve the company’s position as a Tier 2 leader in both aerostructures and electronics, and bring access to new customers and markets. Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement, Ducommun will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of LaBarge at $19.25 per share in cash for a total purchase price of approximately $340 M, including the assumption of LaBarge’s outstanding debt ($30 M as of January 2, 2011).
Alpine Investors, a middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA, announced that it has acquired Linx Technologies, a provider of cost-effective wireless modules, antennas, connectors and wireless design services. Linx enables Wireless Made Simple® by providing design engineers with robust easy to implement wireless control and data modules and components. As part of the transaction, Alpine has announced Tolga Latif, an executive-in-residence with Alpine, as the new President and CEO of Linx. Latif brings marketing, sales and product development experience from various leadership roles at Danaher Corp. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Cornell Dubilier Marketing Inc. has sold its KVX mica product line to Custom Electronics. Custom Electronics will support all Cornell Dubilier customers for this capacitor line moving forward.
AWR® Corp. announced that it plans to open its third direct sales and support office in Asia with a Shanghai, China location. The announcement aligns with the end of AWR’s fiscal year and in particular one that has seen double-digit growth in AWR sales for the Asia-Pacific sub-region of Japan, China and Korea versus the year prior.
United Monolithic Semiconductors’ (UMS) BES MMIC Schottky diode process has been successfully Space Evaluated and is now part of the European Preferred Part List established by ESA/ESCIES. Due to its very high cut- off frequency (>3 THz), BES is the preferred process for the design of MMICs, mixers, multipliers and switches at very high frequencies.
In order to provide RF test and measurement technology from a single source, HUBER+SUHNER and SPINNER have agreed to provide each other with parts of their measurement technology product range. HUBER+SUHNER will add SPINNER calibration components to its product range, and, in return, SPINNER will sell the established SUCOFLEX® and SUCOTEST® measurement cables. The extent of the collaboration is underlined by a joint internet site—www.rfmeasuring.com—where more information can be found.
After several years of intensive technical development, Protium Technologies Inc. is shipping the P6010 tuner, an advanced yet inexpensive component from the company’s growing SIGINT receiver product line. The SDR/FPGA-based modular design covers the 20 to 6000 MHz frequency range in a small brick package specifically designed for cost-sensitive tactical applications.
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) announced it has teamed with Atmel Corp., a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, to deliver ZigBee® solutions for a broad range of smart energy applications.
Tahoe RF Semiconductor has achieved another first pass success with the delivery of a highly integrated Specialty GPS Receiver IC with exceptional performance in a small plastic molded package. The company has successfully delivered an M-code GPS Receiver IC to ITT Corp. to enhance its SINCGARS radio solution with position, navigation and timing capability.
Agilent Technologies Inc. announced shipment of the latest release of its flagship RF and microwave design and simulation platform, Advanced Design System 2011. As the industry’s most comprehensive multi-technology design platform, ADS 2011 represents a significant breakthrough in electronic design automation. Agilent also announced that its work with GaAs/GaN and RF SiGe/BiCMOS/CMOS foundries and relevant SMD component vendors has resulted in their support for ADS 2011. During the past six months, the majority of existing ADS process design kits and libraries have been upgraded and verified on early access releases. These upgraded kits and libraries will be made publicly available to foundry and component vendor customers in the coming days, enabling them to take advantage of new capabilities in ADS 2011.
Accel-RF Corp. announced the successful shipment and installation of two advanced semiconductor reliability test systems to customers in Asia. The systems were delivered in Q4 of 2010 with installation completed in early January 2011. Shipped to both government research and commercial entities, these systems will be instrumental in the development of compound semiconductor device performance characterization in Asia.
LPKF headquarters located in Germany recently invested 5 M Euros into purchasing a neighboring building, giving an additional 32,000 square feet for product development and production. With the new space, LPKF will combine its research and development departments and will use the existing building for manufacturing laser systems. The new building is currently under renovation, joining it to the company’s existing complex and will be completed by June 2011.
Tektronix Inc. announced plans to expand its presence in the San Francisco Bay Area by opening an RF Design Center in Santa Rosa, CA. This announcement comes on the heels of the opening of a new technology and service center in Santa Clara, CA. The new RF Design Center is intended to expand Tektronix’ efforts to develop next-generation RF and microwave test capabilities to better serve customers. By adding this new center in a desirable and highly livable community, Tektronix will have more options for attracting world-class technical talent to accelerate time to market. The company confirmed intentions to hire approximately 15 local RF design engineers and researchers during the initial ramp up phase.
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) announced it is proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary with commemorative events planned at company locations throughout the year. RF Micro Devices was incorporated on February 27, 1991, and held its initial public offering on June 3, 1997. From its earliest days, RFMD has been an innovator in the semiconductor industry. RFMD was a pioneer in the commercialization of RF components using gallium arsenide (GaAs) compound semiconductor technology, and today RFMD is a leading manufacturer of GaAs technology. In the 1990’s RFMD was a primary contributor to the rapid growth in the cellular handset market, and in 2000 RFMD was identified by Fortune magazine as the second-fastest growing company in America. In 2004, RFMD became the first semiconductor company to ship one billion cellular power amplifiers, and today RFMD routinely ships greater than three million RF components per day.
Mini-Circuits was recently presented with the 2011 RF-Crystals Co-Supplier of the Year Award by Clay Jones, Chairman, President and CEO, during the company’s Annual Supplier Conference. The Supplier of the Year award is an acknowledgment of significant contributions made during the year by suppliers and is based upon quality, delivery, total cost of ownership, lead time and customer service.
TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. announced it has received ZTE Corp.’s “Supplier of the Year” award for 2010. ZTE is a leading Chinese manufacturer of wireless communication system equipment and annually recognizes top suppliers who exhibit superior quality, delivery, cost and service performance. TriQuint has achieved top supplier recognition for the fourth consecutive year and is ZTE’s largest provider of power amplifiers for mobile devices.
TRU Corp., a provider of RF and microwave cable assemblies and interconnects, was listed as the 34th largest women-led company in Massachusetts by Boston Business Journal in the December 2010 publication. The ranking was compiled based upon 2009 revenue.
Contracts
Cobham has received a five-year, US $45 M long-term agreement from Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. company, to manufacture advanced composite products for multiple military aircraft engine applications. Cobham will produce advanced, medium and high temperature composite structures for both the F135 and F119 engines at the company’s state-of-the-art production facilities in San Diego, CA and Suffolk, VA.
An innovative combination of DragonWave high capacity packet microwave backhaul and backbone networking solutions will enable KeyOn Communications Holdings Inc. to bring unprecedented services to rural communities across Nevada. The Horizon Compact and Horizon Duo high-capacity packet microwave solutions from DragonWave are being deployed to anchor the “middle mile” network components for KeyOn’s stimulus-funded 4G wireless network service rollout to rural homes, businesses and critical community facilities such as healthcare providers.
Personnel
ANADIGICS Inc. announced the resignation of President and Chief Executive Officer Mario Rivas and Senior Vice President Greg White. The company also announced that its first quarter 2011 revenue guidance remains on track with previous revenue guidance of $42 to $44 M. Ron Michels, who was the SVP, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, will assume the responsibilities of the CEO, Tom Shields, who currently serves as EVP and CFO, will assume the additional post of COO, and John Van Saders, who was the VP Advanced Technology, will serve as SVP RF Products.
Murata Electronics North America announced the appointment of David M. Kirk as President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Director of MENA effective April 1, 2011. Kirk brings to the new role more than 27 years of engineering, marketing and management experience in the electronics industry. Before joining Murata Electronics North America Inc., Kirk held the position of President, CEO and a Director of RF Monolithics Inc. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Murata Electronics North America where he held positions ranging from product management of various product lines to Director of Marketing for North America. Kirk succeeds Satoshi Sonoda, who will continue his assignment in MENA for a couple of months, to facilitate the transition of his responsibilities to Kirk.
Fujitsu Semiconductor America Inc. (FSA) announced that Hiroyuki Hojo has been named President and Chief Executive Officer effective April 1, 2011. He replaces Shinichi “James” Machida, who will return to Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd. (FSL) in Japan as Corporate Vice President in June. Hojo joined the Fujitsu organization in September 2000. Before being assigned to FSA, he was Corporate Senior Executive Vice President and member of the board of directors of FSL and FSA. From April 2009 through March 2010, Hojo was FML’s Corporate Senior Vice President and, from March 2008 through April 2009, was FML’s Corporate Vice President. In these positions, Hojo directed the management of the company’s planning and sales divisions, developing and implementing corporate strategies to promote Fujitsu’s semiconductor business.
M/A-COM Technology Solutions announced that Robert Dennehy is appointed Vice President of Operations, reporting to Bob Donahue, Chief Operations Officer. Dennehy will oversee M/A-COM Tech’s global manufacturing operations. He will also work with his team to establish long-term goals and strategic planning for the company’s global growth strategy. Dennehy has a long and successful track record with the company. He began as a Test Engineer in 1993 and most recently has been serving as Managing Director of the Infrastructure Group in Cork, Ireland.
KOR Electronics has appointed David Edwards and Chris Michalski to key leadership roles aimed at extending the company’s intelligence-related business for both the defense and intelligence communities. Edwards and Michalski will focus on identifying new business opportunities and developing strategies and products/systems to grow KOR’s ISR market position. Edwards as Vice President, ISR Systems, and Michalski as Technical Director, ISR Systems, both join KOR having both spent greater than 30 years at Northrop Grumman ESL.
Auriga Microwave announced the appointment of Moosa E. Moosa in the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he served as a part-time financial consultant to the company. He has more than 30 years of extensive and broad business experience as a proactive, business-oriented financial leader and key member of senior leadership teams. His financial and operational experience includes almost 20 years as a CFO of various technology-based and manufacturing companies, including 10 years as CFO of publicly-traded companies. Moosa has a successful track record of growing companies into new markets and repositioning them during changing environments.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a segment of Crane Co., has announced the appointment of John P. DiStasio, Senior Director of Business Development for Microwave Solutions for the Electronics Group. DiStasio will lead the Microwave Solutions business development team, which includes sites in Beverly, MA, Chandler, AZ, West Caldwell, NJ and San Jose, Costa Rica. DiStasio comes to Crane Aerospace & Electronics with an extensive background in the microwave industry. He joins us from Cobham – M/A-COM Inc., where he held the position of Director of Field Sales. At Cobham, DiStasio managed the worldwide field sales organization for several years.
MFG Galileo Composites announced that Tony Drake has been assigned general management responsibility for the company’s manufacturing operations in Opp, AL and Adelanto, CA. Drake was promoted to General Manager of sister company MFG West in February 2010, where he had served as Research and Development Engineer since 2008. Drake brings experience in the design and production of composite radomes, as well as more than 20 years of professional experience with composites molding, composite marketing, product development, applied composites design, and research and development.
Buyers Bridge Co. announced that Phillip Wu has joined the company as Vendor Management Engineer. With highly specialized knowledge in procurement, quality systems and international trade, Wu joins Buyers Bridge’s team in Taiwan, Republic of China at an important time in its development and will facilitate the expansion of outsourced supply chain management services. In this assignment, Wu is responsible for directing Buyers Bridge’s fee based sourcing programs. Wu has broad experience in apparel, consumer products, industrial hardware and electronic contract manufacturing (ECM). Most recently Wu was employed by Dynamic Flex, an electronics manufacturer in Taiwan.
Jenn DiMarco has recently been promoted to Microwave Journal Managing Editor. In her previous role as Staff Editor, DiMarco has worked closely with the industry’s marcom professionals, Product Managers and media relations to publish their press releases and product information in Microwave Journal magazine, online media and newsletters. Readers are likely more familiar with her work compiling the ‘Around the Circuit’, ‘New Products’ and ‘Mark your Calendar’ features every month as well as the news and editorial that appears in the publication’s family of Microwave Flash and Show Daily newsletters. DiMarco takes over the production of the print and online versions of Microwave Journal, in addition to the newsletters. DiMarco received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing in 1998 from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI.
Rep Appointments
AWR® Corp. announced that it has signed an agreement with CapeSym that names AWR as the global and exclusive reseller of CapeSym’s SYMMIC software package for thermal analysis of microwave integrated circuits (MMIC). Marketed as AWR Connected™ for CapeSym SYMMIC, the product offering allows high power RF designers to perform thermal analysis on MMICs designed within AWR’s Microwave Office™ software.
Reactel Inc., a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, multiplexers and multifunction assemblies to the military, commercial, industrial and medical industries, announced the appointment of WLM Components as the company’s exclusive representative in upstate New York. For more information about WLM Components, please contact Bill Morin at (978) 390-5545 or billmorin@wlmcomponents.com.
Star Microwave Inc., a provider of technology solutions for the growing requirements for catalog and specialized designs of high power drop-in and connectorized isolators and circulators, for the US and international markets, has announced the expansion of regional sales representatives with the appointment of E-Squared Marketing Inc., Kings Park, NY, phone: (631) 544-4788; and Associated Technical Sales, of Tustin, CA, phone: (877) 287-1737, Web: www.ats1rep.com. E-Squared Marketing Inc. will represent the company in New York and northern New Jersey. Associated Technical Sales will represent the company in southern California areas.
Websites
Richardson RFPD Inc. announced the launch of a new “microsite” to help design engineers incorporate Free-scale’s rugged 50 V LDMOS technology into either new or existing designs. The microsite contains a broad array of technical support material, such as white papers, reference designs and links to ADS/AWR models. Please visit the new microsite at www.rell.com/ruggedldmos.
EM Research Inc. has unveiled a new website design, marking the company’s 20th year in business. The new website features a fresh, sophisticated look and provides customers with the ability to sort and customize individual products to meet their specific requirements. With the new website, customers are able to tailor electrical specifications for individual packages. One of the more exciting additions to the new website is the ability to search for a specific product based on the frequency and package type of interest, rather than a list of products. For more information, visit: www.emresearch.com.