Industry News
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. closed the previously announced purchase of Alphasem, a supplier of die bonder equipment, from Dover Technologies International Inc., a subsidiary of Dover Corp. The purchase price was $27.1 M in cash, after a working capital adjustment and subject to further post closing adjustments.
Fox Electronics, a supplier of frequency control products, announced the opening of a new Asia Pacific sales office in Taiwan. The new office has been established to support the rapid growth of the company’s sales in the Asia Pacific region, including Taiwan and China. The new Fox Asia Pacific sales office is located at 12F-6, 378 Ming An West Road, Hsin-Chuang, Taipei Hsien 242 Taiwan, ROC.
Tehuti Networks, a semiconductor company providing 10 Gigabit Ethernet single-chip, low power TCP/IP acceleration controllers, announced it has opened a new office and expanded its personnel in Taiwan. The office is headed by Jerry Lee, who serves as the company’s Asia-Pacific regional sales manager. Lee will manage the sales and technical support of Tehuti Networks’ controller and board-level products throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Micro-Ant Inc. is relocating its operations to a larger facility in Easton, MA. The additional space is required to accommodate the company’s growing staff and manufacturing department, and will include a 40-foot, fully-instrumented anechoic test chamber for antenna measurements. Micro-Ant is an established leader in the design and manufacture of antennas for the satellite communications industry, including satellite radio, GPS and two-way voice/data.
Applied Wave Research Inc. (AWR®), El Segundo, CA, and Shanghai Research Institute of Microelectronics (SHRIME), Peking University, China, announced that AWR is donating its entire suite of radio frequency (RF) design software in a collaborative effort to advance Peking University’s high frequency design curriculum. The donation is the first step in a long-term program that will establish a joint RF design and research laboratory at the university’s research institute. The laboratory will spearhead high frequency research projects in Shanghai and develop unified process design kits (PDK) and value-added RF intellectual property (IP) for key foundry processes in China.
Keithley Instruments Inc., a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announced it has partnered with Mesatronic Group, Voiron, France, to develop advanced probe cards for semiconductor parametric testers used in RF and low current DC applications.
QUALCOMM Inc. and Motorola Inc. announced an expansion in their relationship. In addition to collaborating on CDMA2000,“ the two companies will now be working together to bring UMTS handsets to global markets. Motorola Mobile Devices has approved QUALCOMM’s Mobile Station Modem™ chipsets for incorporation into future UMTS handset designs.
Melexis Microelectronic Integrated Systems N.V. and Atmel® Corp. announced their collaboration to propose innovative solutions for 13.56 MHz RFID readers and Near Field Communication (NFC) devices. They will target applications such as passport and ID verification, contactless payment, transaction and peer-to-peer information exchange.
SiGe Semiconductor Inc. and Nordnav Technologies AB announced they have collaborated on a GPS/Galileo receiver for consumer electronic products. The companies have combined SiGe’s SE4120L radio front-end with Nordnav’s E5000 software to offer a receiver system with the high performance, small size and power efficiency that is essential for mobile devices.
Customer premises equipment (CPE) manufacturers can now deliver WiMAX-enabled products to market even faster with a production-ready reference design from Freescale Semiconductor, Wavesat and Celestica. Celestica, a world leader in electronics manufacturing services, has joined a pre-existing collaboration between Freescale and Wavesat to enhance a comprehensive platform for the rapid creation of WiMAX-enabled products.
StratEdge, a leader in the design and production of semiconductor packages for microwave, millimeter-wave and high speed digital devices, announced that one of its SE20 power amplifier packages is playing a key role in transmitting signals with information gathered from Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity back to earth. The power amplifier package is used to protect the gallium arsenide monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) and ensure signal integrity.
Gilland Electronics, Morgan Hill, CA, announced that its business partner, ELVA-1 Ltd., St. Petersburg, Russia, received FCC equipment authorization for PPC-1000-E point-to-point wireless radios. This authorization enables these 1.25 Gbps, full-duplex wireless Ethernet links, operating in the 71 to 76 GHz and 81 to 86 GHz bands, to be made available to the United States market.
Amphenol RF announced that it is now authorized to market the QN interface as a member of the Quick Lock Formula® Alliance. Amphenol RF signed a QMA and QN license agreement with Huber+Suhner AG and Radiall SA earlier this year and is now QLF® certified on both the QMA and QN interface.
Compel Electronics SpA, a designer and manufacturer of interconnection systems and cable assemblies, announced that the company has received ISO 14001 certification.
White Mountain Labs, a leader in test and characterization of advanced technologies, announced that its new testing facility has passed the ISO 17025 reaccreditation audit. The company acquired full accreditation for the second consecutive year and received a rare, perfect audit for the new testing facility, The Center for ESD. This achievement designates White Mountain Labs as the only ESD laboratory with ISO 17025 accreditation globally.
Hiromichi Toda, president of Anritsu Corp., announced that the company has been awarded the prestigious 2006 Test & Measurement Global Excellence of the Year Award by Frost & Sullivan. The Frost & Sullivan Global Excellence of the Year Award is bestowed upon the company that has demonstrated global excellence in given business functions, such as sales, marketing, customer service, technology innovation, product quality, supply chain management and growth strategy.
At the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) International Lean Enterprise Conference, M2 Global Technology Ltd. was named winner of the Southwest Region AME Manufacturing Excellence Award. The company was recognized for its commitment to attainment of excellence in manufacturing and productivity.
Contracts
ITT Corp. announced it will provide comprehensive spectrum engineering support to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Joint Spectrum Center (JSC) on the Electromagnetic Spectrum Engineering Services Contract. Under the contract, ITT will provide engineering systems support, technical analysis, test support and long-term strategic planning as JSC meets national security and military objectives related to the use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The contract has a three-year base value of $147 M and if all options on the contract are exercised, a potential total value of $545 M.
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division has awarded a five-year contract valued in excess of $6.3 M to Triton Electron Technology Division, Easton, PA, for the repair, remanufacture or replacement of traveling wave tubes in support of the AN/ALQ-126B ECM system.
Skyworks Solutions Inc., an innovator of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors enabling mobile connectivity, announced that MediaTek Inc., a supplier of worldwide consumer IC chipsets, will be incorporating Skyworks’ Helios™ radio across several next-generation EDGE wireless communication platforms. This agreement demonstrates Skyworks’ ability to effectively partner with a leading system solution provider following the company’s exit of the baseband business.
Financial News
ANADIGICS Inc. reports sales of $44.8 M for the third quarter ended September 30, 2006, compared to $29.3 M for the same period in 2005. Net loss for the quarter was $1.3 M ($0.03/per share), compared to a net loss of $6.8 M ($0.20/per share) for the third quarter of last year.
Electro Rent Corp. reports sales of $30 M for the first quarter of 2007 ended August 31, 2006, compared to $26.6 M for the same period in 2006. Net income for the quarter was $4.8 M ($0.18/per diluted share), compared to a net income of $5 M ($0.19/per diluted share) for the first quarter of last year.
Ansoft Corp. reports sales of $20.5 M for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 ended October 31, 2006, compared to $18 M for the same period in 2006. Net income for the quarter was $3.7 M ($0.14/per diluted share), compared to a net income $4.1 M ($0.16/per diluted share) for the second quarter of last year.
Endwave Corp. reports sales of $18.8 M for the third quarter of 2006 ended September 30, 2006, compared to $14.3 M for the same period in 2005. Net income for the quarter was $911,000 ($0.06/per diluted share), compared to a net loss of $193,000 ($0.02/per share) for the third quarter of last year.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd., a pure-play independent specialty foundry, announced that it has expanded its equity private placement, originally announced on November 1, 2006, and raised additionally approximately $11 M in immediate gross proceeds from Israeli investors.
Technical Communities Inc., a service provider for technical organizations that sell to US government agencies and prime federal contractors, has completed a Series D Convertible Preferred financing. While specific terms were not disclosed, the privately held company announced the financing included participation by all previous leading venture investors including Crosspoint Venture Partners, Netmarket Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Technical Communities plans to use the funds to expand its offer to additional markets and for potential acquisitions.
New Market Entries
PulseWave RF™ is a fabless semiconductor company that has developed a digital high efficiency RF power amplifier module for wireless infrastructure. The company’s proprietary Class M Power technology is a digital MCPA module that simultaneously sets new industry benchmarks for cost, size and efficiency. Based in Austin, TX, PulseWave RF is a privately held company with funding from Oak Investment Partners, Austin Ventures, Bay Partners, Genesis Campus and Freescale.
The Phoenix Co. introduces a new design and manufacturing capability to provide unique solutions for ruggedizing COTS antenna elements. This capability consists of taking a customer selected antenna element, designing an electrical and mechanical transition from the antenna element to the connector and packaging it together to meet demanding environmental and mechanical requirements such as IP67 or 68. An engineered mechanical transition is utilized to overcome the effects of different coefficients of linear thermal expansion between the antenna element and the connector. The antennas can be supplied with FCC Rule 15 compliant connectors. For more information, visit www.phoenixofchicago.com.
Jim Greene
Personnel
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) announced that John (Jack) Harding, the co-founder, chairman, president and CEO of eSilicon Corp., has been elected to the RFMD board of directors. Harding was elected to fill an existing vacancy at the November 1 board meeting and his appointment to the board was effective immediately. Harding co-founded eSilicon Corp., a privately held company, which designs and manufactures complex, custom chips for a broad and growing portfolio of large and small firms. eSilicon is venture-capital backed and has attained an annual revenue run rate approaching $100 M.
UltraSource Inc., a supplier of custom thin film circuits and ceramic interconnect devices, announced the addition of Jeff Bergart as chief financial officer (CFO). Prior to his employment at UltraSource, Bergart held financial management roles at several New England-based organizations, including as CFO at Digital Equipment Corp. and KROHNE Inc. In his role as CFO, Bergart will be responsible for managing UltraSource’s Finance, IT and Talent Management Groups.
Peter Barnwell
Antenova Ltd. announced the appointment of Mike Edwards as vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. Antenova further announced the promotion of CL Lim to vice president and general manager of Asia. Edwards has over 25 years experience of direct and indirect sales, marketing and senior management in the semiconductor and components industry. Lim has more than 26 years in international sales, business development and technical operations in the wireless and telecommunication industry.
LPKF Laser & Electronics has recently announced the promotion of Jim Greene to the position of vice president, sales and marketing. With this new position Greene will be responsible for the control and management of sales and marketing throughout North America. Greene began his career with LPKF North America in 2001, with his latest position being national sales manager.
Auriga Measurement Systems LLC announced the addition of Ted Lewis as director of global sales. Lewis has over 20 years of experience of growing sales and focusing on building strong customer relations. Previous to Auriga, Lewis was self-employed as a consultant providing specialized services in the development of sales and customer-centered organizations. In addition, Lewis was head of worldwide sales and marketing at Unitek Benchmark in Goffstown, NH, a capital equipment manufacturer serving the microelectronics industry. At Auriga, Lewis will refine and establish Auriga’s Global Sales Strategy and Global Sales Channels to grow sales in the three core business lines of Modeling and Design Services, Characterization Instruments, and Test and Measurement Systems.
John Larson III
Peter Barnwell has been appointed as European business manager for Barry Industries, an Attleboro, MA-based manufacturer of microwave and microelectronic components and packaging solutions. Barnwell will be based in the UK with responsibility for the sales and marketing activity throughout Europe.
RFMW Ltd. hired Jane Cavin as the company’s new inside sales person for southern California and Arizona. Cavin has more than 20 years of experience in sales, product management, human resources and office management. Cavin comes to RFMW Ltd. from CK Associates, a M/A-COM rep and has experience with distribution from her days at Time, Avnet and Newark.
Avago Technologies, a privately held semiconductor company, announced that John Larson III was named an IEEE Fellow at the 2006 International Ultrasonics Symposium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. IEEE Fellows are nominated by their peers in numerous engineering fields for extraordinary accomplishment. In his 34-year career with Ava-go, beginning with Hewlett-Packard Laboratories and Agilent Laboratories, Larson has been part of and has led diverse research and development teams that achieved significant results in acoustics. Today, Avago Technologies’ acoustics-based products are embedded in millions of mobile phones, data cards and other wireless devices worldwide. Among his notable contributions to engineering, the IEEE Fellow award recognizes the breakthrough in Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) devices he and his teammates developed as a commercial product for cell phones.
Rep Appointments
Giga-tronics Inc., a manufacturer of instruments, subsystems and microwave components that have broad applications in both commercial and military wireless telecommunications systems, announced a new partnership agreement with TestMart, a leading marketplace operator and service provider for the IT, network maintenance, and test and measurement industries. The agreement authorizes TestMart to present a catalog of Giga-tronics’ RF and microwave test equipment in bench top and VXI bus configurations.
Digi-Key Corp., an electronic component distributor, and SMC Corp. of America announced the signing of a global distribution agreement. SMC products stocked by Digi-Key include pressure switches, vacuum switches, digital pressure regulators, digital flow switches and accessories. These products are available directly from Digi-Key and are featured in its print and on-line catalogs.
Zilker Labs Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with technology distributor Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia, an operating group of Avnet Inc. Avnet Electronics Marketing will support Zilker Labs’ business throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including major markets such as Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Zilker Labs also has an Asian subsidiary, Zilker Labs Asia Ltd., based in Hong Kong, that supports customers throughout Asia.
Centerline Technologies announced the appointment of JDM Associates as the company’s exclusive sales representative in Florida and Georgia. In related news, Centerline Technologies also announced the appointment of Chalman Technologies as the company’s exclusive sales representative in southern California and Arizona.
Reactel Inc., a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, multiplexers, switched filter banks and subassemblies to the commercial, military, industrial and medical industries, announced the appointment of McBride Scientific Sales as the company’s representative in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. For more information about McBride Scientific Sales, visit www.mcbridescientificsales.com or call Todd McBride at (972) 494-5000.
RLC Electronics Inc., a manufacturer of RF and microwave components to both the commercial and military industries, has announced the appointment of Marktron Inc. as the company’s sales representative in the states of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Marktron Inc. can be contacted at 1688 East Guide Drive, #304, Rockville, MD 20850 (301) 251-8990, fax: (301) 424-0766 or e-mail John Haynos: johnh@marktron.com.
Aethercomm Inc. appointed Youngewirth & Olenick as the company’s exclusive sales representative in southern California, Arizona and New Mexico. Youngewirth & Olenick will represent and support Aethercomm’s entire product offering. Youngewirth & Olenick can be reached at 17621 Irvine Blvd., Suite 101, Tustin, CA 92780 (800) 515-1554 or visit: www.yando.com.
Web site
Cornell Dubilier announces its newly executed capacitor web site, www.cde.com. It features one-click access to 10 technical papers, three capacitor life-temperature calculators, a new thermal modeling applet and one-click access to capacitor types by dielectric, application or type letters. Advanced parametric search pulls up individual ratings and links to data sheets. Application guides and product selector guides make it easy to steer a user through the company’s more than 220 capacitor types.