INDUSTRY NEWS
MICRO-COAX announced that the company has acquired the assets of the Coaxitube Division of Precision Tube Co. Coaxitube's manufacturing operation will be consolidated into MICRO-COAX's ISO 9002-certified facility in Pottstown, PA. The acquisition reunites the co-inventors of semi-rigid cable and creates a company with more than 80 years' combined experience in the design and manufacture of coaxial cable. The acquisition is expected to create expanded business opportunities for MICRO-COAX and provide customers of semi-rigid cables and assemblies with enhanced products and services.
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) announced that it has completed its merger with Conductus Inc. and concurrently closed a related $20 M equity private placement that was contingent on the merger. STI issued 21,096,954 shares of common stock to the investors in the private placement at a purchase price of $0.95 per share.
Cornell Dubilier Acquisition Corp. announced that it has acquired the DC electrolytic portion of BC Components Inc. , Columbia, SC, from BC Components Holdings B.V. The Columbia facility manufactures screw terminal and snap-in electrolytic capacitors. Sales in 2001 were $21 M.
A.T. Wall Co. , a manufacturer of specialty tubing, including waveguide tubing, has purchased the assets of H. Rollet & Co. Ltd. , a manufacturer of precision waveguide and non-ferrous tubing, located in Liverpool, England. Assets in the purchase included inventory and manufacturing equipment in the UK.
Signal Technology Corp. announced the sale of its remaining commercial wireless business. Under the terms of the agreement signed, Paratek Microwave , Columbia, MD, has acquired certain assets of Signal Technology's business that develops semiconductor/module solutions for wireless devices for $1.3 M in cash, while also assuming certain liabilities.
The MEMS Industry Group , a trade association representing the North American MEMS and microstructure industries, and NEXUS , the Grenoble, France-based European Microsystems Networks, announced they have entered into a partnership to foster greater development and commercialization of MEMS and MEMS-enabled devices in Europe and North America. The first point of action for the two groups will be the establishment of the North American User Supplier Club (USC), a concept that has linked MEMS developers with MEMS users in Europe. In addition to USCs, they will begin working towards a global study of commercialization issues in the MEMS and microsystems industry.
Richardson Electronics has expanded its agreement with Semtech . Richardson and Semtech have enjoyed a mutually successful domestic collaboration for over ten years. Under the terms of the agreement, Richardson will have expanded distribution rights in Europe, Israel, Latin America and Australia.
SiRF Technology Inc. and Motorola 's Semiconductor Products Sector have announced an agreement to integrate SiRF's SiRFstarII Global Positioning System core technology with Motorola wireless baseband and applications processors to location-enable a line of Motorola's SPS chipsets for mobile devices.
LPKF Laser & Electronics North America , a manufacturer of circuit board plotters for in-house PCB prototyping, has signed a distribution agreement with WestDev Ltd. , Tewksbury (UK), to distribute Pulsonix, an EDA system. LPKF Laser & Electronics now manages the distribution, technical support and training of the Pulsonix PCB layout and schematic package in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Ansoft Corp. has formed an educational partnership with Carnegie Mellon University 's (CWBN) new center for wireless and broadband networking by donating advanced software for virtual design of high frequency technology. The in-kind contribution, which begins a three-year partnership between Ansoft and CWBN, includes an initial donation of Ansoft's HFSS™ and Ansoft Designer™ packages as well as support. The center's students, faculty and other members will use the software to help them design, analyze and understand wired, optical, and wireless networks and systems.
Anaren Microwave announced that its North Andover, MA-based subsidiary, Amitron , has officially opened its low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) production facility. Featuring fully-and semi-automated systems specializing in the processing of DuPont, Ferro and Heraeus LTCC materials, the facility affords Anaren's and Amitron's electronics OEM customers a new path to achieving high density, high frequency and complex multiplayer ceramics.
The Defense Systems Division of Wide Band Systems Inc. has relocated to larger facilities in Newtown, PA, from its former location at Neshanic Station, NJ. The 10,000 sq. ft. facility was acquired as a result of the division's growth over the past four years. The new location will offer advantages to customers with regard to its size, configuration and location, including production efficiencies and proximity to international and regional airports, rail and truck transportation.
Northrop Grumman Corp. announced that Winchester Electronics , a business unit of its component technologies sector, is leaving its Watertown, CT, facility and moving to nearby Wallingford, CT. The move to the facility will affect all of the company's 150 headquarters' employees. Winchester Electronics has been located in the Watertown area for more than 40 years.
F.K. Instrument Co. Inc. , a manufacturer of ultra-critical tolerance parts, has expanded its corporate offices, shipping, warehousing and production space to more than 45,000 sq. ft. Of that, 9200 sq. ft. houses the CNC vertical/horizontal milling and turning equipment, and is dedicated entirely to the manufacture of critical tolerance components.
SiGe Semiconductor added a second design center for wireless power amplifiers in Boston, MA. SiGe Semiconductor has expanded its business and engineering teams with the addition of 12 staff, with an average of 16 years experience in senior design, applications and business development positions. The office is now open, and includes a fully equipped lab for design, test and applications development.
MicroMetrics , a high tech manufacturer, has expanded its operations into a 46,000 sq ft. facility where its advances have primarily come in its laboratory areas and production center. Some of the specific improvements are in its metallization capabilities, including a new class 1000 clean room.
National Semiconductor Corp. began construction of its first manufacturing facility in China with groundbreaking ceremonies in Suzhou Industrial Park, the site of the company's planned semiconductor assembly and test facility. The plant will include three buildings with 51,800 square meters of total floor space located about 80 kilometers west of Shanghai. It is expected to begin operations with about 500 employees in 2004.
The Micromanipulator Co. has been issued patent number 6,424,141 B1 for its triaxial chuck design (both ambient and thermal). The patented design provides significant improvements in noise and leakage performance for its chucks, and incorporates its approach using a "line of sight" guard on the chuck surface.
IMI Inc. , a manufacturer of advanced technology printed circuit boards, announced that it has received a certificate of registration to ISO 9001:2000 from Perry Johnson Registrars. The certificate of registration was issued on August 15, 2002.
FINANCIAL NEWS
REMEC Inc. reports sales of 59.4 M for the third quarter ended November 1, 2002, compared to 52.5 M for the same period in 2001. Net loss was $12 M (26¢/diluted share), compared to a net loss of $6.2 M (14¢/diluted share) for the third quarter of last year.
CONTRACTS
EMS Technologies Inc. announced that it has received a contract valued at over $2.5 M from Alcatel Space to supply high powered, ferrite switch technology for the SAR-Lupe imaging satellite mission. EMS's Space and Technology Group/Atlanta will manufacture and deliver space qualified X-band receiver protection and calibration networks to be integrated into the sensor electronics unit for the SAR-Lupe system.
Radant MEMS Inc. (RMI) has been awarded a contract by the defense advanced research projects agency (DARPA) to participate in its RF microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) improvement program, targeted at delivering highly reliable, high frequency RF MEMS switches and related components for a variety of military and commercial applications. RMI has selected Advanced MicroSensors Inc. (AMS), Shrewsbury, MA, as a major subcontractor. AMS is a supplier of MEMS-related products as well as magneto-resistive recording tape heads and will provide MEMS foundry services to Radant MEMS in support of the DARPA contract.
LTX Corp. , a supplier of semiconductor test solutions, announced that King Yuan Electronics Co. (KYEC) has ordered and taken delivery of the Fusion CX configuration. KYEC, a subcontract test and assembly provider in Taiwan, selected Fusion to address the critical test challenges associated with the full range of RF devices from low noise amplifiers and power amplifiers to global positioning systems, Bluetooth and 802.11 devices.
Unity Wireless Corp. has been awarded an order to supply China's ZTE Corp. with power amplifiers for use in China Unicom's CDMA wireless network. The value of the order is approximately US $900,000 and is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2003.
Applied Wave Research Inc. and OMMIC , formerly Philips Microwave Limeil (PML), announced plans to provide process design kit library support for OMMIC's gallium arsenide (GaAs) foundry process. MMIC designers will use the libraries, with AWR's Microwave Office™ 2002 environment, to speed the design of high end wireless and fiber optic infrastructures while helping to ensure electrical specifications are met.
PERSONNEL
NEC Electronics Corp. announced that it has been separated from NEC Corp. by the way of corporate separation, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to providing semiconductor solutions to customers worldwide. Kaoru Tosaka , who previously held the position of company president at NEC Electron Devices, the former in-house company of NEC Corp., was appointed president of NEC Electronics Corp. at the company's board meeting held in Japan. Joining him to manage the new company are Kyoji Yamamoto and Hirokazu Hashimoto , executive vice presidents and members of the board; board member Shunichi Suzuki ; and corporate auditors Jiro Takashima , Akio Kurosaka and Tomio Nakano .
The Andrew board of directors announced its intent to name Ralph E. Faison president and chief executive officer of Andrew Corp. at the company's 55th annual meeting of stockholders. Faison is currently president and chief operating officer at Andrew. Faison succeeds Floyd L. English , who will continue as Andrew chairman until February 2004.
RJR Polymers Inc. has appointed John W. Roman to the position of chief technical officer for the company's R-Pak™ packaging division. Roman has over 25 years of experience in design and production of wireless and microwave electronics. Roman comes to RJR from his recent appointment as director of RF product development with SatCon Electronics, a Boston- based electronics manufacturer. His background includes 17 years of experience as a principal engineer at the Raytheon Corp.
AMI Semiconductor announced that Gregory L. Williams has been appointed to its board of directors. Williams is the executive chairman of Intersil Corp's board of directors. Previously, Williams was president and CEO of Intersil. In that position, he managed Intersil's successful spin off from Harris Corp. and also led Intersil's initial public offering in February 2000.
California Eastern Laboratories announced that Paul Minton , a longtime strategic planning consultant to CEL, has joined the company. He will serve as vice president, corporate development. Minton has worked closely with CEL for over seven years, and has held a seat on the company's board of directors for the last two. Minton earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, where he studied economics, chemistry and mathematics. He earned a master's degree at Stanford University, where he studied economics, business and engineering. Prior to joining CEL, Minton was a senior consultant with the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, for which he led the California regional office.
Silicon Laboratories has appointed Shannon Pleasant as its director of corporate communications. Pleasant brings broad industry experience to Silicon Labs, having served as director of corporate communications at General Bandwidth Corp. and as a senior semiconductor analyst at Cahners In-Stat. At Silicon Labs, Pleasant will oversee the company's complete communications effort, including investor and public relations, marketing communications, advertising, sales communications and technical publications.
Palomar Technologies announced the appointment of Venkat Shastri as vice president of engineering. Shastri, an expert in robotics and intelligent automation, will direct the company's research and development efforts in high precision assembly automation systems for component manufacturers in the telecommunications, life sciences, defense and aerospace industries. He earned BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts. Prior to joining Palomar Technologies, Shastri held the position of senior director, engineering and product development at KLA-Tencor. He has published research papers in artificial muscles and bio-automation.
Jersey Microwave has named Tony Landaeta as its sales and marketing manager. Landaeta brings over 20 years of RF experience from design through manufacturing and has spent the last several years in technical sales. He will oversee sales and build the needed distribution network for the company's RF components and sub-system solutions.
M-tron Industries has appointed Cor van den Heuvel to the position of European marketing manager. Van den Heuvel will be responsible for directing the European sales and marketing activities. This will include direct interface with customers, representatives and distributors. He will be based in a sales office in the Netherlands.
Atlantic Technology has appointed Salem Belmeguenai as quality director reporting directly to the CEO and managing director. Belmeguenai brings 17 years of semiconductor quality experience to Atlantic Technology. After serving eight years with ST Microelectronics, Salem became quality manager for the French assembly facility, ASAT - Nancy. It was in Nancy that Belmeguenai developed a strong quality culture that produced ISO9002, ISO14001, QS9000 and finally SAC level 1 certifications for that facility.
Thunderline-Z has announced that Jeffrey McCann , formerly technical services manager at A.T. Wall Co., has been named engineering manager. He takes over for Jim Zanello, who has moved into a consultative engineering role with the company. Jeffrey will focus his attention on streamlining engineering and manufacturing processes and developing advanced feedthrus and packages for the RF, microwave, telecom and medical markets. He brings over 20 years of experience to the position. Also new to the Thunderline-Z team is Debra Breed , sales and marketing manager. She takes over the role from Harry Cunningham, who has moved into a consultative position with the company. As the sales and marketing manager, Breed will work with Thunderline-Z's sales representatives and distributors worldwide to increase service and sales with existing customers and develop new relationships.
Clive Barnett joins the Milmega sales team as sales manager. Barnett has had over 10 years experience in the RF and microwave industry having previously worked for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent as the business development manager for its microwave components division. He will have responsibility for worldwide sales of the complete range of Milmega's high power amplifiers and design services.
Boonton Electronics announced that Hugh Felger has joined them as eastern regional sales manager. Felger joins Boonton Electronics with more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing within the electronics and telecommunications industries as well as the test and measurement industry.
Elgar Electronics Corp. announced the appointment of Paul Matthews to the newly created position of director of customer care. Matthews has over 25 years of experience serving customers in the power supply industry. He has held several management positions in operations, engineering and sales for such companies as Emerson Electric, ACDC Electronics and Astec America. With a blend of engineering, sales and manufacturing experience, Matthews' charter will be to improve the processes across all areas of the operations to achieve total customer satisfaction.
Brennan Associates welcomes Don Brown as its Georgia Area Manager. Brown has 20 years experience in the RF, microwave and millimeter-wave technologies. Brown started his sales career with M/A-Com/Omni-Spectra. He later moved into distribution working for Penstock, Avent and Wyle with his latest position as FAE/marketing manager for Arrow's former RF Vision group.
Celerity Digital Broadband Test, a division of L-3 Communications Corp., announced the appointment of three new regional managers to its sales team. Jim Balent , Ed Okorn and Bob Lovill will be responsible for sales, customer service and market development in each of their regions. Balent will be responsible for channel sales to and through the other L-3 Communi- cations divisions. Okorn and Lovill will be responsible for the northeastern US and the southeastern US, respectively.
The Wireless Communications Association (WCA) has conferred its highest annual leadership award for governmental vision to wireless broadband standardization pioneer Roger B. Marks at the WCA's Ninth Annual Technical Symposium and Business Expo. During a dinner that followed his luncheon keynote, Marks received WCA's Individual Governmental Vision Award for his longstanding efforts in promoting standards for broadband wireless as a way to increase interoperability and otherwise lower costs to enable widespread deployments. He founded in 1998, and has since chaired, the IEEE 802.16 working group on broadband wireless access standards, which is a unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
REP APPOINTMENTS
Phase One Microwave Inc. , Rocklin, CA, has appointed Electronic Instrument Associates to handle accounts in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and northeastern Missouri.
M2 Global Technology Ltd. has selected MRC Components OHG as its sales organization for Germany. Founded in 1997, MRC Components is a full-service RF electronics industry sales company headquartered in Freising, Germany.
Nextec Microwave , Santa Clara, CA, has made a series of new rep appointments. Sun Tech Marketing covers the geographical areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Clark County Nevada and El Paso, Texas; Star Tech Sales handles Northern California including Reno, Nevada, Tech-Inter S.A. represents Nextec in France and Belgium, PTM Corp. in Japan, Giza Technologies S.A. covers Spain and Portugal, and Stein and Associates covers Southern California.
GeoHelix™ Global Positioning System (GPS) antennas, UK-based helical antenna manufacturer Sarantel has appointed eight more representatives in the region. The company now has technical representation across most of the US where it is forecasting significant sales growth in 2003. The company recently announced a $14 M contract for its PowerHelix™ GPS antennas in cellular handsets. The new US representatives will be managed by Jim D. Gray & Associates Inc. of Richardson, TX.
WEB SITE
EM Research manufactures a complete line of standard and custom-engineered low cost frequency synthesizers covering the frequency range of 5 MHz to over 12 GHz. Offered in surface-mount or connectorized packages, these fixed-frequency to octave bandwidth programmable devices feature exceptionally low phase noise at competitive prices. The company's Web site can be viewed at www.emresearch.com.