Industry friend and colleague Thomas James Zinkowsky ("TZ") died April 30 in Santa Cruz, CA following a motorcycle accident. He was 35. For the past 18 years, TZ worked for Signal Technology Corporation, Danvers, MA, rising to the position of director of corporate sales and marketing in addition to his role as senior sales manager for the California Operation. Among his many interests, TZ was an avid rock and ice climber and enjoyed adventure travel. He brought a unique passion to all of his endeavors and a sincere, caring nature to all who were privileged to know him. He will be sorely missed.
dBm LLC, Wayne, NJ, has finalized an agreement to purchase the satellite test equipment line from Telecom Analysis Systems, Eatontown, NJ. This asset acquisition enhances dBm's position as a supplier of RF link emulation equipment for the satellite industry. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ITT Industries Inc., White Plains, NY, has signed an agreement to acquire C&K Components Inc., Watertown, MA, a privately held designer and manufacturer of switches for the telecommunications, computer and electronic equipment markets. The acquisition is valued at approximately $117 M after accounting for cash and debt in the company to be acquired and will make ITT Industries the largest switch manufacturer in the world. C&K will operate as part of ITT's Cannon Division.
SEMX Corp's subsidiary, Polese Company, San Diego, CA, has completed its acquisition of the assets of ceramic package manufacturer Advanced Packaging Concepts, Vista, CA. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Conexant Systems Inc. has agreed to acquire Philsar Semiconductor Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a privately held developer of RF semiconductor solutions for personal wireless connectivity. The Philsar team will join Conexant's Wireless Communications Division, which provides a broad range of wireless components, RF subsystems and complete semiconductor system solutions for digital cellular and cordless telephone handsets as well as Global Positioning System (GPS) products, but will retain the Philsar name.
ADC Telecommunications Inc., Minneapolis, MN, has entered into agreement to acquire the television broadcast assets of Continental Electronics Corp. (CEC), Dallas, TX. The deal is a cash transaction that was expected to close during ADC's second fiscal quarter ending April 30.
Litton Interconnect Technologies, Springfield, MO, has purchased six Excellon Automation XLP drilling systems from Excellon Automation Co., Torrance, CA. The purchase is intended to help expand Litton's PCB operations' capacity to produce high performance, high speed backplanes. The XLPs will be equipped with Excellon's exclusive EFS technology for the precise depth controlled drilling required.
W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., Eau Claire, WI, has purchased its second ScanManTM automated flip-chip carrier test system from Everett Charles Technologies (ECT), Pomona, CA.
Proprietary RFIC provider RF Micro Devices Inc., Greensboro, NC, has established a local sales and support team in Taiwan, ROC. The team comprises Taiwanese sales and application engineering personnel and is the first such expansion for the company into the Asia- Pacific region.
Wide Band Systems Inc., Rockaway, NJ, has established a Defense Systems Division in a new, 12,000-square-foot facility in Neshanic Station, NJ. The new division was established to develop advanced electronic warfare (EW) systems incorporating the company's patented receiver technology, including its digital frequency discriminators and instantaneous frequency measurement receiver systems.
Seiko Instruments USA Inc.'s Fiber Optics Group, Torrance, CA, has expanded its production facility under the direction of Mark Kim, a newly appointed senior production manager, in an attempt to meet the growing market demands for cable assemblies and termination solutions. Expansion plans are currently underway and were expected to double the company's capacity in March and triple the capacity by August. Plans also include creating a fully electrostatic discharge-compliant class 10,000 clean room to provide optimal quality and cleanliness, which is critical in the fiber-optics industry.
Cavity filter and diplexer designer and manufacturer Wireless Technologies Corp., Springdale, AR, has opened a new field office in San Francisco to specifically serve the needs of the Silicon Valley. For more information, call (877) 420-7983.
MJM Solutions Inc. has expanded its manufacturing operations into a new, 11,000-square-foot facility located at 4321 Ingot Street, Fremont, CA 94539. The company will retain its corporate headquarters on Hotchkiss Street in Fremont, where it will continue its engineering and prototyping activities.
Xemod Inc., Santa Clara, CA, has completed its expansion into Tempe, AZ as well as relocation of its headquarters to Santa Clara, CA. The expansion more than doubles the company's square footage and enables it to house increased manufacturing and engineering personnel. Over the next year the number of Xemod employees is projected to grow by 100 percent.
Next-generation broadband wireless access equipment supplier Ensemble Communications Inc. has entered into a nonexclusive worldwide marketing and distribution agreement with Digital Microwave Corp. under which Digital Microwave will place an initial purchase order for approximately $5 M for Ensemble's FiberlessTM system. Subsequent purchases, driven by anticipated growth in the market, are expected to follow. Work to integrate the system with network management and other enhancements will begin immediately.
Richardson Electronics has been appointed a worldwide distributor for LBA Technology Inc. (LBAT). LBAT designs and manufactures highly specialized medium-wave antenna systems.
QUALCOMM Inc., San Diego, CA, and Microsoft Corp. have announced their intent to form a strategic alliance to jointly define and develop advanced wireless, multimedia-capable devices. The companies will focus on developing hardware reference designs for mobile devices including smart phones based on the Microsoft Mobile ExplorerTM wireless communications platform and wireless pocket PCs using QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies' iMSM4100 Internet Mobile Station Modem (iMSMTM ) chipset and system software.
Agilent Technologies Inc., Palo Alto, CA, has entered into a global license and support agreement with Motorola to supply software tools, training and technical support for the design of Motorola's next-generation communications PC boards, ICs and systems worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, all Motorola designers will have broad access to Agilent's full line of electronic design automation simulation tools.
Superconducting product manufacturer Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI), Santa Barbara, CA, has signed a supply agreement with ALLTEL, Little Rock, AR, a pioneer in the deployment of superconducting technology in a cellular network. Under the terms of the agreement, ALLTEL Communication Products will designate STI as its supplier of high temperature superconductor base station receiver solutions for analog and CDMA cellular and PCS networks.
Peregrine Semiconductor and Symbol Technologies have agreed to jointly develop complete solutions for the rapidly emerging Bluetooth wireless high speed personal area networking market. Peregrine's ultra-thin silicon CMOS technology (UTSi®) and expertise in RF integrated circuit development will be combined with Symbol's baseband processing, software and systems knowledge to develop complete Bluetooth subsystems.
Microwave component and value-added service supplier M2 Global Technology Ltd., San Antonio, TX, has received ISO 9001 certification.
Electronic filter and oscillator designer and manufacturer Networks International Corp., Overland Park, KS, received ISO 9001 certification effective January 1.
Comtech PST Corp., a division of Comtech Telecommunications Corp., has successfully completed a recertification audit of its ISO 9001:1994 quality system.
Quasar Microwave Technology Ltd., Newton Abbot, Devon, UK, has been named Top Small Exporting Company in the South West of the UK. The company received the award at the British Trade International-sponsored Export Awards for Smaller Businesses.
STMicroelectronics, Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France, reports sales of $1.7 B for the first quarter, ended April 1, compared to $1.1 B for the same quarter last year. Net income was $238.4 M (78¢/diluted share), compared to $105.1 M for the same period last year.
Andrew Corp., Orland Park, IL, reports sales of $242.7 M for the second quarter, ended March 31, compared to $172 M for the same quarter last year. Net income was $17.3 M (21¢/diluted share), compared to a net income of $7.3 M (9¢/diluted share) for the first quarter of 1999.
RF Micro Devices Inc., Greensboro, NC, reports sales of $289 M for the year, ended March 31, compared to $152.9 M last year. Net income was $50.1 M (58¢/diluted share). Sales for the fourth quarter were $84.8 M, compared to $56.6 M for the same period in 1999.
Alpha Industries Inc., Woburn, MA, reports record sales of $184.7 M for the year, ended April 2, compared to $126.3 M last year. Net income was $24.4 M (6¢/ share). Sales for the fourth quarter were $56.9 M, compared to $34.3 M for the fourth quarter last year.
REMEC Inc., San Diego, CA, reports sales of $189.2 M for the year ended January 31, compared to $179.2 M last year. Net loss was $6.7 M (27¢/diluted share). Sales for the fourth quarter were $50.3 M, compared to $42.5 M for the same period last year.
Microwave Power Devices Inc., Hauppauge, NY, reports sales of $12.4 M for the first quarter, ended March 31, compared to $17.2 M for the same quarter last year. Net loss was $1 M (9¢/share), compared to a net income of $832 K (8¢/diluted share) for the first quarter of 1999.
Microwave Power Devices Inc. (MPD) has entered into an agreement with Unique Broadband Systems Inc. to supply amplifiers to be used in a terrestrial repeater system. The contract is valued at $13.3 M.
Signal Technology Corp.'s Keltec Division, Walton Beach, FL, has been awarded in excess of $10.5 M worth of new development and follow-on production contracts during the first quarter of this year. The majority of these awards have follow-on potential for 2001 and beyond. The new development awards add Keltec's presence on such platforms as the NH-90 helicopter, Mirage, Navy surface ships and GPS guided ordnance.
Communications & Power Industries Holding Corp.-Microwave Power Products Division (CPI-MPP), Palo Alto, CA, has been awarded a contract for the production of 29 dual-pulsed traveling-wave tube assemblies by ITT Industries' Avionics Division. The award is a follow on to an earlier contract received in 1998. In related news, CPI-MPP also announced receipt of a contract to supply 100 helix vacuum electron devices to support the IDECM ALE-55 towed decoy system. Financial details of either contract were not disclosed.
Alpha Industries, Woburn, MA, has received design wins and initial production orders for RF semiconductors to be used by three of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers in high speed wireless data modules. Alpha's semiconductors perform RF switching in Windows and Macintosh computers and other mobile computing devices, providing wireless access to local area networks and wireless synchronization with personal digital assistants and cellular handsets.
Condor Systems Inc. has appointed Kent Hutchinson president, CEO and chairman of the board. Previously, Hutchinson was president of Norden Systems and executive VP of Kaman Aerospace Corp.
Jim Derbyshire has been appointed CEO at SiGe Microsystems. He will be responsible for the company's strategy, corporate development initiatives and executive leadership. Derbyshire brings 25 years of design and engineering management and operational experience to the company and formerly was CEO at Symbionics.
Charlie Miller has been appointed VP of sales at Simpod Inc. Miller has nearly 25 years of experience in the engineering software business and joins Simpod from Design Acceleration Inc.
CTS Corp. has named Patrick J. Dennis senior VP, finance and chief financial officer. Most recently, Dennis was VP/corporate controller at Johnson Controls Inc.
Recent corporate refocusing at Semflex Inc., Mesa, AZ, has resulted in several new personnel assignments within the company. Product line expansion has created the new position of VP of strategic alliances, which will be filled by former VP of sales Doug Hartje. Jim Rawlins, previously the director of sales for Southwest Microwave, has been named Semflex's new VP of sales.
In conjunction with the formation of the Defense Systems Division (DSD), Wide Band Systems Inc. has named Rick Ianieri VP/general manager at the new division. In turn, Ianieri appointed M. Kirk Nelson program manager for EW systems at DSD. Most recently, Nelson completed a distinguished 20-year career in the US Navy as a senior chief electron- ic warfare technician.
M/A-COM SIGINT Products has named Bruce Mead director of engineering. Previously, Mead was with Sanders as a systems engineering manager leading advanced communication initiatives.
CPI Satcom Division has named Robert Blanchfield director of materials. Previously, Blanchfield held the same position at ARGOSYSTEMS Inc., a subsidiary of the Boeing Company, for 14 years.
Interconnect Devices Inc. (IDI) has appointed Dave Gast director of marketing. Gast will also lead strategic planning and marketing activities for Synergetix, a division of IDI. Previously, he worked at Mallinckrodt/Nellcor Puritan Bennett as marketing director for the sleep and portable ventilation business.
Metelics Corp. has named sales engineer Chris McAllister to head a new sales office in Newburyport, MA.
Taconic has announced several new personnel appointments, including Bob Gatta as director of strategic planning, Peter Malone as process engineer for the the company's Advanced Dielectric Division, Bruce Carnevale as quality systems manager and Krista Ritter as marketing specialist. Previously, Gatta played an instrumental role in the reorganization of IPD's North American operation and Malone spent eight years with Isola Laminate Systems, formally Allied Signal Inc. Carnevale has spent most of his career in quality improvement roles; Ritter worked in purchasing and market development.
Microwave Instrumentation Technologies LLC has named John C. Wilber director of business management. Wilber has more than 17 years of industry experience and will be responsible for the company's proposal, contract and order management activities as well as import/export control.
UltraRF has appointed Mandel Berenberg manager of quality control and reliability. Before joining the company in December 1999, Berenberg handled key senior management positions for Spectrian Corp., UltraRF's parent company.
The Chicago business units of Storm Products Co. have announced several new personnel appointments. Jeff Walker has been named sales and marketing manager of Storm Products-Microwave. Most recently, Walker was director of sales for CSA Wireless. Joining Storm Products-Fiber Optics are Randy Gritters as product marketing manager, Mark Parrish as regional account manager and Melanie Corns in field sales.
Wireless Technologies Corp., Springdale, AR, has named four firms to represent its filters and diplexers. Left Coast Ventures will cover Northern California while Excellence Engineering has come on board for China. Israel will be covered by Bentronix Ltd. and Sweden by IE Komponenter.
Radio Engineering Services, Torino, Italy, has appointed Hal Tenney to represent the company's HERALD radio link design software in the US and Canada. Tenney is a wireless industry consultant based in Fair Oaks, CA.
BCP (Bird Component Products), Largo, FL, has appointed two companies to represent its line of attenuators, loads, power divider/combiners and couplers. Spectra-West Sales Inc. will cover Southern California, Arizona and southern Nevada; High-tech Sales Inc. will cover Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Renaissance Electronics Corp., Boxborough, MA, has selected Microwave Components Marketing (MCM), Melbourne, FL, to represent its products in Florida. Renaissance manufactures isolators, circulators, couplers, combiners, receiver multicouplers, transmitter combiners and MMDS transceivers.
Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products Inc. has appointed Cain Southwest Inc., Tempe, AZ, as its exclusive sales and technical representative in Arizona and New Mexico. Cain will represent the ECCOSORB," ECCOSTOCK" and ECCOSHIELD" product lines.
Intimate Resource Counseling (IRC), a consulting firm founded by Robert G. Barbaria, former VP of Mica Microwave, offers a complete solution to marketing, PR, AD composition and production as well as technical support and product evaluation services. For additional information, call (408) 997-1550 or fax (408) 268-1453.
Zeta, an Integrated Defense Technologies company, has launched a newly designed Web site that allows customers to access up-to-date information about the company's products and capabilities. The site, www.zeta-idt.com, permits users to instantly download brochures on microwave and RF power product capabilities and data sheets on signal intercept and location systems.
Andrew Corp. has launched a new document delivery service that conveys information about the company's products and services at any time. The service can be accessed directly from www.andrew.com and contains more than 2000 documents that can be viewed, e-mailed or sent to a fax machine. The system also may be used to order printed copies of available literature.