1. You’ve got a broad industry background. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your responsibilities at Q-Tech? How has your background prepared you for your position at Q-Tech?

I have a diverse background in engineering, quality, materials, business development, sales and marketing management that helps me to understand the entire scope of how important sales generation is impacted internally and externally.

2. Q-Tech was founded more than 50 years ago and has a rich history of developing crystal clock oscillators and frequency control solutions. About two years ago, you acquired Axtal in Germany. Can you tell us about the product portfolio of the combined company?

With the addition of Axtal, the combined companies offer a full range of high-reliability crystal oscillators, including XO, TCXO, VCXO, OCXO, MCXO, SO and VCSO, as well as complex PLL modules.

3. Can you give the readers some Q-Tech’s “metrics” (number of facilities, number of employees, square footage of facilities, number of products, etc.) that will help our readers get a better sense of the company?

The combined companies have approximately 200 employees with a total square footage of 50,000 square feet. We have catalog products but offer an infinite number of non-standard parts and screening options. We do a lot of custom/SCD oscillators.

4. What was the thought process behind the acquisition of Axtal? Does it enable Q-Tech to expand into new markets? Will it increase share? Does it bring new capabilities?

Axtal was a complimentary acquisition introducing products with ultra-low phase noise as well as new products such as distribution amplifiers and atomic clocks.

5. What differentiates the current Q-Tech products from competitor products? How has this changed with the acquisition of Axtal?

Q-Tech is privately owned with no plans to sell and invests in strategic acquisitions as well as internal improvements such as the hiring of more technical staff, expanding test capabilities, as well as adding capacity. Both Q-Tech and Axtal are planning to expand square footage, as well, in the upcoming years.

6. What markets do you serve and what is your biggest market opportunity? How do you see that changing in the next five years?

Our largest market segments are spacecraft electronics and military defense systems, which equate to ~85 percent of our business; we do not see this changing any time soon.

7. Where is your development focus? What applications, technologies, products and markets have you excited for the future?

Aside from custom oscillators, our core focus is higher frequency oscillators with lower phase noise.

8. You have a list of application notes and a “Crystal Oscillator Professor” site on your webpage. How important is that application support and training to your business and philosophy?

It centers around educating young engineers to better understand oscillator technology.

9. Can you describe the culture at Q-Tech? What is the message that you want to get across to customers and employees and what does the company do to enable that corporate culture?

We have an “open door” policy where customers can engage with all departments and levels as needed within the organization; customers are always welcome to visit our facilities.

10. What else would you like our readers to know about Q-Tech?

High-reliability crystal oscillators are our core focus and have been so for 50 years, and there are no plans to change that focus.