Around the Circuit
INDUSTRY NEWS
Microwave multifunction module designer and manufacturer REMEC Inc. , San Diego, CA, has completed its merger with Q-bit Corp. and its acquisition of Nanowave Technologies Inc. Details of the transactions were not disclosed.
Siemens Matsushita Components GmbH & Co. KG (S+M) , Munich, Germany, has acquired Ernst Herrmann Ingenieur GmbH & Co. Fabrikation Elektrischer Kontaktelemente KG , Berlin, Germany. The acquisition is expected to considerably expand the range of products offered by Siemens and make the company one of the world's one-stop suppliers of ceramic components and temperature probes.
Under the terms of an agreement that was expected to be signed in October 1997, American Microsystems Inc. (AMI) , Pocatello, ID, will begin accepting business from Motorola gate array customers. Motorola had revealed plans to transition out of all gate array products and selected AMI as one source its customers could turn to for ongoing support. In related news, AMI's eight-inch, submicron fabrication facility is now in production and open for business. The 175,000-square-foot building features a 40,000-square-foot clean room and makes AMI the only US-based company capable of providing foundry support for 5 to 0.35 m digital and mixed-signal designs on five- and eight-inch wafers.
LPKF CAD/CAM Systeme GmbH of Germany has changed its name to LPKF Laser & Electronics GmbH to reflect the company's development of PCB prototyping and laser technology over the past 10 years. The address and telephone/fax numbers remain unchanged.
Low cost power conversion IC provider Power Integrations Inc. has opened two new sales offices in Asia to provide technical support for customers of its TOPSwitch integrated pulse-width modulation switcher family. The new offices are located at 2F, #508, Chung Hsiao E. Rd., Sec. 5, Taipei 105, Taiwan 886-2-727-1221, fax 886-2-727-1223; and Rm #402, Handuk Building, 649-4 Yeoksam-Dong, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul, Korea 82-2-568-7520, fax 82-2-568-7474.
Veeco Instruments Inc. , Plainview, NY, has opened a new sales and service facility in Taiwan to provide integrated equipment and metrology solutions to customers throughout the region. The office will be overseen by George Chiange, GM of the Asia Pacific region. The company is located at 9F-2, No. 307, Bei Da Rd., Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China (886) 3 525 0999, fax (886) 3 523 8199.
Wireless Inc. , Santa Clara, CA, has opened its Latin American sector headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico to deliver wireless access products and customer services. The facility is located at Av. H. Escuela Naval Militar #580 C.P. 04420 Mexico +525-656-1212, fax +525-656-3033. In related news, the company has signed a private label and distribution agreement with Innova Corp., Seattle, WA, for Innova's XP4 series digital microwave radios. Wireless Inc. will offer these radios as the ADR series and is positioned to begin worldwide distribution immediately.
MCL Inc. has broken ground for a 56,000-square-foot expansion to its headquarters in Bolingbrook, IL. The project is scheduled to be completed by July 1998 and will more than double the company's current manufacturing and warehouse space as well as increase the size of the engineering and administrative departments.
Zero-based Schottky, biased Schottky and tunnel (back diode) detector manufacturer Herotek Inc. has moved from its 10,000-square-foot building in Sunnyvale, CA to a newly built, 30,000-square-foot facility located at 155 Baytech Dr., San Jose, CA 95134-2303 (408) 941-8399, fax (408) 941-8388, e-mail: info@herotek.com. The company's Web site can be reached at www.herotek.com.
Mid-range switch-mode power supply manufacturer Switching Systems International has relocated to a newly completed design and manufacturing facility that more than doubles the size of its previous headquarters. The new address is 1590 Sinclair St., Anaheim, CA 92806-5933 (714) 712-4500, fax (714) 712-4520.
Daewoo Electronics and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics have entered into an agreement to establish a joint design center company in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The center will be used to develop ICs for existing consumer electronics applications and future products for digital and high definition television, digital VCR and DVD, telecommunications, computing and other products selected jointly by the two companies. The design center will be located in Daewoo's current facility and will be staffed initially by approximately 20 employees. When fully operational, the venture will employ approximately 60 design engineers.
ACCEL Technologies Inc. , San Diego, CA, has entered into an agreement with Deutsch Technology Research Inc. , Mountain View, CA, to sell Dr. Spice" and Dr. Spice 2000 A/D™ software for simulation of analog and mixed-signal designs. Under the terms of the agreement, ACCEL will sell these tools worldwide, including an interface developed recently by Deutsch Research for use with ACCEL Schematic for Windows.
LogicVision Inc. , San Jose, CA, and Corelis Inc. , Cerritos, CA, have announced a joint effort to provide customers with innovative and affordable test solutions for components, boards and systems. These solutions will include products from both companies that complement each other and whose interoperability has been mutually tested and verified. LogicVision and Corelis also will undertake combined marketing efforts designed to demonstrate the benefits of integrating technology from both companies.
Sanders has been selected by Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems as electronic warfare (EW) subsystem integrator for Lockheed Martin's joint strike fighter (JSF), a major Department of Defense program to replace the US Air Force A-10 and F-16, Navy F/A-18C/D and Marine Corps F/A-18C/D and AV-8B Harrier. In addition, Sanders will be a principal member of the Lockheed Martin integrated core processor (ICP) team, focusing on reconfigurable computing and graphics generation. The ICP is the central computer system for Lockheed Martin's JSF entry, providing digital processing resources for sensors, communications, EW, guidance and control, and cockpit displays.
As a key move in providing future digital signal processing solutions for the wireless communications marketplace, Texas Instruments (TI) has signed an agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc. to license the EmbeddedJava™ and PersonalJava™ environments. The agreement will allow TI to deliver Java™ capabilities on any TI processor platform, including the TMS320 family of digital signal processors, for end equipment such as digital cellular phones, pagers and wireless local loop terminals. The TI Wireless Communications Business Unit will incorporate the EmbeddedJava and PersonalJava specifications into its wireless communications platforms, and TI will have the right to offer a Java option on any of its processor platforms targeted at embedded systems for consumer products.
NEC 's RF and microwave semiconductor distributor, California Eastern Laboratories (CEL) , has recently restructured its sales effort to include independent distributors and has signed national distribution agreements with Reptron Electronics, Bell Industries/Milgray Electronics, Mouser Electronics and Anthem Electronics Canada Ltd . CEL will continue to operate its own network of sales offices, with field sales engineers helping to manage distributor sales at the local level.
Micronix Integrated Systems Inc. , Aliso Viejo, CA, has developed an application-specific IC (ASIC) containing a special compression amplifier that will benefit the hearing impaired. The automatic in-the-ear hearing unit is designed to be programmed precisely for an individual's hearing loss and requires no volume control.
Hughes Network Systems Inc. (HNS) , Dallas, TX, and MobileTel Inc. , Houma, LA, have announced a planned service trial of the HNS personal access communications system (PACS) and the Nortel DMS-10 system implementation of an open interface based on the generic C standard. PACS is an advanced digital wireless system designed to support high quality voice and data applications for personal communications services. HNS will provide its PACS AIReach™ system to interconnect directly with a Nortel DMS-10 local switch via an ISDN interface for the trial. Up to 16 PACS microcells (radio ports) will be installed in a combination of residential and business environments.
Stanford Telecommunications Inc. (Stanford Telecom) , Sunnyvale, CA, has completed the first in a series of tests sponsored by CableLabs to confirm the interoperability of various hybrid fiber/coax system components. The multivendor tests are designed to verify the compatibility of components and assemblies used in both cable modem and headend equipment. The next series of tests will involve a higher level of interoperability verification based on the incorporation of the Stanford Telecom components into prototype modem assemblies.
Northrop Grumman Corp. was joined by US Navy program executives to mark the completion of the 7000th aerial target in the BQM-74/Chukar family of unmanned air vehicles, which has served the Navy and the company's international customers for more than 30 years. The targets provide realistic threat training, simulating fighters, bombers, land-attack conventional cruise missiles and antiship missiles. Northrop Grumman is currently developing Target 2000, a newer-generation multirole aerial target that will offer increased range, speed and maneuverability as well as very low altitude cruise.
Andrew Corp.'s Base Station Antenna and Active Wireless Products business units, Addison, IL, have received ISO 9001 registration.
The manufacturing facility of CTS' Resistor Networks business, Berne, IN, has been awarded QS-9000/ISO 9001 certification by ABS Quality Evaluations Inc.
RF Power Components Inc. , Bohemia, NY, has received ISO 9002 registration for its line of RF and microwave power components for use in RF amplifiers, wireless systems and subsystems.
Tele Quarz Neckarbischofsheim has fulfilled all requirements to not only pass the planned ISO 9001 certification but to exceed them on a sustained basis.
Custom glass-to-metal seal manufacturer Thunderline-Z , Hampstead, NH, has received ISO 9002 certification for its Mil-Spec quality system.
GaAs IC manufacturer ANADIGICS Inc. , Warren, NJ, has been named to Forbes magazine's annual list of America's 200 Best Small Companies. The company's sales growth over the past year has averaged 52 percent, placing the company no. 187 on the list.
Asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) system developer Alcatel has been awarded the International Engineering Consortium's InfoVision Award, which honors innovative products, services and technologies in the telecommunications field that have had a significant impact on society, business and consumer markets during the past year. The company's model 1000 ADSL was recognized for its ability to incorporate industry-standard discrete multitone technology. In related news, IndustryWeek has named Alcatel Alsthom's Network Systems manufacturing facility in Raleigh, NC as one of America's best plants for 1997. The company is one of only two telecommunications infrastructure network providers to receive this honor in the seven-year history of the award.
Harris Semiconductor's Advanced Technology Power Division , Melbourne, FL, has received the 1997 Award for Total Productive Maintenance Excellence from Japan's Institute of Plant Maintenance. The award recognizes Harris' achievements in plant operations, which have produced improved productivity and product quality, cost reductions and a change in company culture.
Kyocera America Inc. (KAI) , San Diego, CA, has been named Vendor of the Year by Integrated Device Technology Inc. (IDT) , Santa Clara, CA. KAI, which supplies ceramic IC packaging to IDT, received the Pinnacle Award for its outstanding quality, technology and on-time delivery.
Microwave Power Devices Inc. , Hauppauge, NY, has been recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies located on Long Island. The 1997 Regional Fast 50/National Fast 500 program recognizes fast-growing public and private technology companies in the US, ranked by a five-year revenue growth from 1992 to 1996.
Nanominiature electronic connector design, cable assembly, circuit termination and terminated connector assembly manufacturer Nanonics Corp. , Phoenix, AZ, has been ranked 365 out of 500 of the fastest-growing companies in the country as reported by Inc. magazine. The Inc. 500 is an exclusive report on the companies and CEOs who are changing the face of American businesses.
Retlif Testing Laboratories celebrated its 20th anniversary with an open house event at its Goffstown, NH laboratory. The event is the first in a year-long celebration, which will culminate in October in an all-day affair at the company's Ronkonkoma, NY headquarters.
FINANCIAL NEWS
Raytheon Co. reports sales of $3.4 B for the third quarter of 1997, compared to $3 B for the third quarter of 1996. Net income was $211.2 M (89¢/share), compared to $210 M (89¢/share) for the same period in 1996.
Northrop Grumman reports sales of $2.3 B for the third quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to $2.2 B for the same period last year. Net income was $98 M ($1.46/share), compared to $78 M ($1.18/share) for the same period last year.
Tracor Inc. reports sales of $320.8 M for the third quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to sales of $256 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $11.2 M (41¢/share), compared to $11.3 M (43¢/share) for the same period last year.
Allen Telecom Inc. reports sales of $111.4 M for the third quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to $95 M for the third quarter of 1996. Net income was $7.9 M (29¢/share), compared to a net loss of $3 M (13¢/share) for the same period last year.
Linear Technology Corp. reports sales of $109.8 M for the second quarter, ended September 28, 1997, compared to sales of $90.1 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $40.6 M (51¢/share), compared to $31.4 M (40¢/share) for the same period last year.
Watkins-Johnson Co. reports sales of $100.4 M for the third quarter, ended September 26, 1997, compared to sales of $95 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $3.6 M (42¢/share), compared to $2.8 M (33¢/share) for the same period last year.
Stanford Telecom reports sales of $36.8 M for the second quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to sales of $41.1 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $928 K (7¢/share), compared to $1.9 M (15¢/share) for the same period last year.
Microwave Power Devices Inc. reports sales of $14 M for the third quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to $11.4 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $168 K (2¢/share), compared to a net loss of $3.7 M (36¢/share) for the third quarter of 1996.
Semiconductor Packaging Materials Co. Inc. reports sales of $13.5 M for the third quarter, ended September 30, 1997, compared to $8.7 M for the third quarter of 1996. Net income was $1.2 M (19¢/share), compared to $1.3 M (21¢/share) for the same period in 1996.
Ansoft Corp. reports sales of $6.3 M for the second quarter, ended October 31, 1997, compared to sales of $3.3 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $896 K (9¢/share), compared to $333 K (4¢/share) for the second quarter last year.
General Microwave Corp. reports sales of $5.5 M for the second quarter, ended August 30, 1997, compared to $4.9 M for the same period in 1996. Net income was $1.3 M ($1.03/share), compared to a net loss of $690 K (57¢/share) for the second quarter of 1996.
CONTRACTS
Advanced TechCom Inc. (ATI) , Wilmington, MA, has been selected by GTE to provide digital microwave radios as part of GTE's voice, video and data (ViViD) program to modernize the communications infrastructure at US Naval facilities worldwide. As part of the 10-year, $2.9 B ViViD contract, ATI will provide its FSK+ radios to enable long-haul wireless interbase communications and interconnects with local exchange carriers.
Stanford Telecom has been awarded a contract to provide a family of defense satellite communications system (DSCS) and International Telecommunications Satellite type-approved digital satellite terminal earth stations. The earth stations will range in size from 1.8 to 7.6 m and will provide communications over a variety of commercial C- and Ku-band satellite networks as well as the DSCS network. Initial funding during the first year is estimated at $5 M. If options in the contract are exercised fully, the contract's total value could increase to approximately $25 M over the next five years. In related news, the company was recently awarded a $1.3 M contract from Korean firm Ki Ryung for production quantities of its forward error correction ASIC to be used in a cable subscriber set-top box being manufactured by Ki Ryung for the direct-to-home satellite receiver system. The contract calls for deliveries over the next eight months.
Ericsson Microwave Systems , Sweden, and Bosch Telecom , Germany, have been selected by the German mobile network operator Viag Intercom to supply the complete first phase of its new microwave transmission network, which is scheduled to launch in the middle of this year. The contract covers approximately 8000 Ericsson Mini-Link E short-haul digital microwave radios. The network will have 10,000 base stations and approximately 20,000 microwave radios making it the largest Global System for Mobile communications 1800 system in the world when it is fully completed in 2001. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Alcatel 's 1000 ADSL end-to-end ADSL solution has been selected to provide true high speed Internet access, as well as video and other services to Bell Canada's customers via ordinary telephone lines pending successful contract negotiations. ADSL technology maximizes the potential of the existing copper telephone wiring service found in virtually all homes and businesses to enable access to a range of data and video services and the Internet at speeds ranging from 25- to 100-times faster than today's 56 kbps analog modems. Bell Canada expects to deploy Alcatel's system over the next three years.
PERSONNEL
Jean L'Ecuyer has been named president of Filtel Microwave Inc. Most recently, L'Ecuyer was VP, operations and director of engineering at GHz Technologies where he was employed for seven years.
HyperLynx Inc. has named Dave Kohlmeier president. Kohlmeier has held key positions with Tektronix, Northwest Instrument Systems, Data I/O and Synario Design Automation.
Superconducting Core Technologies Inc. has named Robert F. Paige and John Schaller CEO and CFO, respectively. Previously, Paige was VP, business development at GE Capital Corp. and Telecom Group; Schaller was CFO at AirNet Communications Corp.
Joel H. Goldberg and Frederick J. Gumm have been appointed as outside members of the board of directors of Merrimac Industries Inc. Goldberg possesses both public and private board director experience, including Philips-Van Heusen Corp., Marcal Paper Co. and Modell's Inc., as well as experience as an advisor to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Gumm is chairman and CEO of Frederick Gumm Chemical Co. and has an extensive, diverse board and advisory background.
ITS Electronics Inc. has named Graham Baldwin VP, business development. Previously, Baldwin was employed at Scientific-Atlanta's Satellite Television Networks Division.
Raytheon Co. has promoted three senior executives, including David W. Welp as senior VP and president of Raytheon TI Systems; Francis S. Marchilena as VP and assistant GM of Raytheon Electronic Systems; and Keith Peden as VP and deputy director of human resources for Raytheon Co. Previously, Welp was president of Texas Instruments' Defense Systems & Electronics unit, Marchilena was manager of Raytheon Electronic Systems Laboratories and Peden was deputy director of human resources.
Bruce Diamond has been appointed to the newly created position of senior VP, operations at ANADIGICS Inc. Most recently, Diamond was managing director of National Semiconductor Corp.'s Scotland, UK facility where he was responsible for overall site operations.
Charles A. Barrera has been appointed sector VP, Latin America by Wireless Inc. and will establish the company's new Latin America sector headquarters in Mexico. Most recently, Barrera was sector VP, Americas for Digital Microwave.
Ortel Corp. has promoted Norman Kwong to VP, technology of the telecommunications division. Kwong will now oversee the company's efforts in the evolution of its digital communications solutions and will play a key role in prioritizing opportunities and developing programs to ensure continued success.
Martín de la Serna has been named director of Harris do Brasil, a subsidiary of Harris Corp. Prior to this appointment, de la Serna was a senior program manager for Farinon Division's Latin American operations.
Ken Ringer has joined Mission Research Corp. as director of advanced antenna technology. Previously, Ringer was employed as director of advanced microwave technology at Rantec Microwave and Electronics and as VP, engineering at MDM Inc.
Southwest Microwave Inc., Microwave Products Division, has named Dan Birch engineering manager. Formerly, Birch was product line manager at Micro-Coax.
Francis Mogilesky has joined the engineering staff at Channel Microwave Corp. as head of waveguide and high power product development. Formerly, Mogilesky was employed at Coleman Microwave.
The Resistive Components Division of RF Power Components Inc. has appointed James Everett as head of its sales department. Most recently, Everett was assistant product manager of the amplifier and passive component product lines for Richardson Electronics.
REP APPOINTMENTS
M-tron Industries Inc. , Yankton, SD, has appointed several new companies to represent its entire line of crystals, oscillators and frequency-control products, including M.I.N.K. for coverage in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and southern Illinois; Dytec Inc. for coverage in Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky; and Pipe-Thompson Technologies Inc. for coverage in eastern Canada.
NEW MARKET ENTRY
Filtel Microwave Inc. is a new company formed to design and manufacture filters and diplexers for cellular and wireless applications. The company is located at 364 Raymond, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada J7V 7Y1 (514) 455-6082, fax (514) 424-5819 or e-mail: filtel@aol.com.
NEW WEB SITE
Siemens Matsushita Components has made it possible for computer users to find passive components quickly and easily on the Internet. The new feature provides direct, on-line access to product data via a simple parameter search. Components also can be found under their order number or type designation. In addition, a company-wide keyword search of all Siemens AG Web pages or Siemens Matsushita Components Web pages can be performed. The new service can be found at http://www.siemens.de/pr/index.htm.