Around the Circuit

AROUND THE CIRCUIT

INDUSTRY NEWS

Martin R. Stiglitz , former Technical Editor of Microwave Journal, died January 20, 2001. He was 80 years old. Don Herskovitz, Contributing Editor to our sister publication, Journal of Electronic Defense, was a close friend and colleague of Martin for many years. He remembers him here.

Born 24 March 1920 in Vienna, Austria, died 20 January 2001 in Lexington, MA. These bare statistics do little to indicate the substance of the man. Our more than 40 years of close association, both professionally and socially, perhaps excuses my boldness in attempting to characterize Martin Stiglitz, the man.

Always a patriot, Martin was particularly proud of his service as a paratrooper with the US Army and his participation in the liberation of New Guinea and the Philippines in World War II. So perhaps it was inevitable that Martin chose to pursue a career closely affiliated with the military.

I first met Martin in the early 1950s as co-workers at the Air Force's Cambridge Research Center, which had recently been moved to Hanscom Air Force Base. Martin practiced "zero tolerance" in his scientific work long before the term came into vogue. Perhaps a hold-over from his days as a precision machinist, Martin would tolerate no sloppiness in his work or that of his associates. Whether conducting an experiment in the laboratory or documenting his results -- accuracy and exactness were his hallmarks. His numerous technical publications echoed this credo.

Scientific creativity and inventiveness marked his middle years. The oil embargo of 1973 affected Martin's life in a more substantive manner than most. While still employed by the Air Force, he became the vice-president of a newly formed company whose aim was to produce more efficient solar collectors. This was a part-time activity which saw Martin atop the Civilian Terminal Building at Hanscom Field adjusting collectors and recording data. While the end of the embargo ended the solar collector activities, the small company responded to a technical challenge and developed and patented a successful dental device used in endodontic practice.

Following his retirement from the Air Force Labs in 1984, Martin applied his expertise as the technical editor with Microwave Journal and later with Journal of Electronic Defense. Then alone, Martin's later years were brightened by marrying Sachiko, an artist with Microwave Journal. A true gentleman, he will be sorely missed by his many associates.

Don Herskovitz

William R. Hewlett , co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, died peacefully in his sleep on January 12, 2001. He was 87.

He was born May 20, 1913, in Ann Arbor, MI. He received a BA from Stanford University in 1934 and a master's degree in electrical engineering from MIT in 1936. He also received the degree of engineer from Stanford in 1939.

He met and became friends with David Packard during their undergraduate days at Stanford and formed a partnership known as Hewlett-Packard Company in 1939. Hewlett's name was listed first as the result of a coin toss. HP's first product was a resistance-capacitance audio oscillator based on a design developed by Hewlett when he was in graduate school. Their first "plant" was a small garage in Palo Alto and the initial capital amounted to $538. Today, HP is the 13th-largest business in the United States, with annual sales of $49 B and 88,500 employees in more than 120 counties.

Hewlett was an outstanding engineer, a far-sighted businessman and an uncompromising philanthropist. He was responsible for many of the company's early designs. He also contributed to the advancement of various organizations within the electronics industry. From 1950 to 1957 he was on the board of directors of the Institute of Radio Engineers-now the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He served as president of IEEE in 1954. In 1985, former President Reagan awarded him the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor.

With David Packard, he created a management style that has become a model for many companies. The "HP Way" is still based on respect for the individual, contribution to the customer and community, integrity, teamwork and innovation. They practiced "management by walking around" and introduced such revolutionary ideas as flexible work hours, open work areas, and catastrophic health insurance.

In 1966 he created the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which has donated millions of dollars to universities, hospitals and other organizations for the protection of rivers and open spaces, conflict resolution, the performing arts and education. Last year the foundation distributed about $120 M in grants. In keeping with his wishes, the foundation will now triple its assets to about $9 B this year, making it the fifth largest non-profit foundation in the country.

Bill Hewlett had a wide range of outside interests and hobbies, most of them based on his love for the outdoors. He was a part-time botanist, and an accomplished plant-life photographer and fisherman.

He was truly a "complete" man in every sense of the word.

* Francisco Partners and a Citicorp Venture Capital unit (CVC) have officially acquired approximately 80 percent of American Microsystems Inc. (AMI) from Japan Energy Corp.-subsidiary GA-TEK with an enterprise value of more than $525 M. GA-TEK retains approximately 20 percent interest in AMI, and has a warrant to purchase an additional 10 percent.

* STMicroelectronics has agreed to purchase the assets of the Consumer Electronics (CE) business of RAVISENT Technologies Inc. . ST will invest approximately $55 M to acquire the assets.

* The Electronics Products Division of Brush Engineered Materials has reorganized into two separate companies. The powder metal products group and electronic packaging products group changed to Zentrix Technologies Inc. , while the ceramic products group changed its name to Brush Ceramic Products Inc. .

* Microcosm Technologies Inc. has changed its name to Coventor Inc. . The name is intended to better reflect the company's position as a product development company.

* Frontier Electronics has opened a new manufacturing facility in China. Located in Dong Guan, the new plant will be the primary manufacturing facility for the company's extensive lines of SMD magnetic chip inductors, power chokes, coils and transformers. Totaling over 376,000 square feet, the factory will significantly expand the company's manufacturing capability.

* Agilent Technologies Inc. has extended its reach into a variety of markets through a new partnership program that combines Agilent's systems and resources with the core competencies of best-in-class partners to provides customers with comprehensive, integrated solutions for unique problems in electronic test and measurement. Agilent will certify Premier Solution Partners (PSPs) based on complementary strengths after an extensive evaluation, and then sponsor these partners as the preferred delivery mechanism in the markets they are particularly well-suited to serve.

* Westica Limited reached a deal to supply Sound Broadcast Services (SBS) with their multirate radio products. This commitment provides SBS with the latest digital developments in digital wireless technologies ensuring reliable, high quality, transmission solutions.

* Andrew Corp. signed a three-year agreement to supply DMC Stratex Networks Inc. with wireless antennas for deployment in access solutions worldwide. The agreement is estimated to be worth approximately $10 to $15 M per year. In related news, Andrew reached an agreement with Alan Dick and Co. , Britain's leading supplier of masts, towers and antennas systems, whereby Andrew will market Alan Dick's television transmitting antennas in North America.

* Merrimac Industries Inc. has formed a new B2B initiative that will allow all of the company's domestic and international facilities to be networked with each other and its customers and suppliers worldwide. This IT initiative will allow for more complete and efficient customer service as well as a level of customization that will differentiate Merrimac from its competitors.

* ADC's Wireline Systems Divisions facility, Tustin, CA, has received TL 9000 certification. TL 9000 is a quality standard developed specifically for hardware and software manufacturers, as well as service providers, within the telecommunications industry to define quality system requirements.

* REMEC Inc. has terminated its public offer to purchase all of the outstanding securities of Allgon AB . A condition of the offer was that shareholders representing more than two-thirds of the total number of shares and votes of Allgon accept the offer by tendering their Allgon shares for REMEC shares. When this was not completed by the end of the acceptance period the vote on the acquisition of Allgon was canceled.

* Accellera , the EDA organization resulting from the unification of Open Verilog International (OVI) and VHDL International (VI), and the IEEE announced that the VTIAL ASIC modeling specification for VHDL simulation has been approved by the IEEE-SA as a revised standard. VITAL or IEEE 1076.4, an ASIC library design standard for IEEE 1076-1993 or the VHDL standard, adds modeling enhancements and addresses usability issues.

* Applications for exhibition space at the 2001 IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium and PDA Exhibition (IFCS&E) are now available, according to the Electronic Components and Assemblies Association (ECA) , a sector of Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) , a co-sponsor of the event.

FINANCIAL NEWS

* Andrew Corp. reports sales of $280.5 M for the first quarter ended December 31, compared to $233.6 M for the same period in 1999. Net income was $20.9 M (26¢/diluted share) compared to $16.8 M (21¢/diluted share) for the first quarter of the previous year.

* Cree Inc. reports record sales of $41.49 M for the second quarter of FY 2001, compared to $24.81 M for the same period last year. Net income was $13.86 M (18¢/diluted share) compared to $5.65 M (8¢/diluted share) for the second quarter of FY 2000. In related news, Cree's board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to four million shares, about five percent, of its outstanding common stock. The company expects to use available cash to finance purchases under the new program, which extends to January of next year.

* Superconductor Technologies Inc. reports record sales of $3.5 M for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2000, compared to $842 K for the same period last year. The company also reports record sales of $7.6 M for fiscal year 2000, compared to $2.2 M in fiscal 1999.

* RF Industries Ltd. reports record sales of $2.94 M for the fourth quarter ended October 31, 2000, compared to $1.72 M for the same period last year. Net income was $437 K (11¢/diluted share) compared to $238 K (7¢/diluted share for the fourth quarter of 1999.

* NurLogic Design Inc. has closed a $5 M round of corporate financing from Rambus Inc. . This investment marks the first outside funding for NurLogic, and will be applied towards the further expansion of technology, marketing and business development for the company.

CONTRACTS

* Andrew Corp. and its distributor Multiradio S.A. have secured a $2 M contract with NEC Argentina. The contract is for the supply of 82 synchronous digital hierarchy (SDA) backbone links to be used in the construction of the Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. SDH microwave network. The new network will provide capacity for telecommunication services across half of Argentina, from Tierra del Fuego to Buenos Aires.

* Merrimac Industries Inc. has received a $1 M contract from Lockheed Martin Corp. for the Global Positioning System (GPS) GPS Antenna Retrofit Program. The program is designed to enhance the output power of older satellites for broader coverage and superior accuracy.

* Ceramaseal has received approximately $1 M in orders for custom-designed feedthroughs, which will be used within The European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN) Large Hadron Collidor. The CERN laboratory is located just west of Geneva and is the world's largest high energy physics research center.

PERSONNEL

* EMS Technologies Inc. named Alfred G. Hansen as its chief executive officer (CEO). Hansen has been a member of the company's board of directors for over a year and has served as CEO and president since the resignation of Thomas E. Sharon in January of last year. In related news, the company named Jay R. Grove VP and general manager for EMS Space & Technology Group, Atlanta GA. Most recently, Grove served as director of Mobile SATCOM Systems for ViaSat Inc.

* The board of directors of CTS Corp. elected Donald K. Schwanz president and chief operating officer. Previously, Schwanz was president of the industrial control business at Honywell Inc.

* SaRonix appointed Pat Lawlor chief financial officer. Lawlor comes to SaRonix after serving as senior financial manager at Aerojet Fine Chemicals.

* Flarion Technologies Inc. named Andrew J. Viterbi to the company's board of directors. Viterbi is the co-founder of QUALCOMM Inc. and a co-inventor of CDMA based digital cellular technology.

* Advanced Power Technology Inc. appointed Alfred J. Stein to its board of directors. Stein has over 40 years of executive management experience and previously served as chairman of the board and CEO at VLSI Technology.

* David Doubledee has joined HTA Photomask as VP and general manager of HTA Enterprises, a California corporation. Doubledee has over 30 years experience in semiconductor photomask-making, most recently with LSI Photomask.

NEW MARKET ENTRY

* Advanced System Design Inc. (ASD) is a design and development company specializing in system engineering, RF, communications and power system engineering. The company's experience encompasses component to system level design for commercial, military, civil, space and non-space applications. ASD is located at 45 Bridge St., Box B, Lambertville, NJ 08530. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Klepner (609) 397-6503, fax (609) 397-6504.

REP APPOINTMENTS

* Techtrol Cyclonetics Inc. , New Cumberland, PA, appointed Schibley Associates Inc. , Fairfax, VA, to represent its line of low noise controlled oscillators and microwave frequency sources and multipliers in Marlyand, Virginia, Delaware and Washington DC.

* BI Technologies , Fullerton, CA, has appointed R.O. Whitesall & Associates , Indianapolis, IN, to represent its products in Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Mexico.

WEB SITES

* Everet Charles Technologies (ECT) and its TTI Testron Division now offer test engineers the ability to request design quotations and follow the progress of user specified automated test equipment fixtures online. The ECT Web site, www.ectinfo.com  directs fixture procurement prospects to a quotation Web page within the company's Test Fixture Division product line section, and also provides a link to the TTI site, www.ttitestron.com, which offers additional fixture types and a quotation questionnaire. To access either online quote process, the user must apply for User ID and a password.

* International Resistive Company Inc. (IRC) has redesigned its Web site to maximize overall accessibility and depth of information. The site, www.irctt.com, incorporates a number of user-friendly features including a customer portal which enables component engineers and buyers to handle multiple research and purchasing tasks online such as locating inventory, verifying order status, tracking shipments and viewing product information.

* Pomona Electronics has launched its reengineered Web site, www.pomonaelectronics.com. The site incorporates an interactive version of the company's 92-page catalog containing complete color photographs and technical information on all products. There is also a .pdf version of the catalog which customers can download to browse. The online catalog features over 850 test and measurement accessory products in thousands of available configurations for use in a wide variety of applications including test labs, field service, plant maintenance, repair and operation, telecommunications, circuit board troubleshooting, laboratory analysis, automotive service/repair and HVAC.