Industry News

William Burton Mraz

William Burton Mraz, 41, of Newfields, NH, died suddenly on March 29, 2006, as the result of an automobile accident. Mraz was vice president and co-owner of UltraSource Inc., Hollis, NH, since 1997. He was in charge of new business development, inside sales, customer service and financial management. He was co-developer of two patents related to new techniques in building ceramic microchips. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He will be remembered for his generosity, exuberance and love of life. Donations in Mraz’s memory can be made to Rockingham Land Trust-Newfields Conservation, 8 Center Street, Exeter, NH 03833.


Wenzel Associates Inc., Austin, TX, announced that it has completed the purchase of substantially all the assets of Vectron International Ltd.’s crystal manufacturing operation in Whitby from Vectron International. Vectron International, headquartered in Hudson, NH, maintains operating facilities and sales offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Croven Crystals, Wenzel International Inc., begins business in its Whitby, Ontario facility and continues more than 50 years of service providing precision quartz resonators to the communications, aerospace, instrumentation and telemetry markets. The new web site is on-line at www.crovencrystals.com.

Laird Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials, thermal management products and wireless antenna solutions, announced it acquired all assets of RecepTec LLC and all outstanding shares of RecepTec GmbH for $89 M. The purchase broadens Laird Technologies breadth of antenna products for telematics applications. In related news, Laird announced the company’s acquisition of Antenex Inc. Antenex designs and manufactures antennas and accessory products primarily for the US market.

Mimix Broadband Inc. announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to sell its GaAs foundry to Universal Semiconductor Technology Inc. (USTI), a high technology investment company. As part of this agreement, Mimix and USTI have also entered into a multi-year GaAs wafer supply and non-compete agreement, guaranteeing Mimix customers of continuous supply. In June 2005 Mimix completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets of Celeritek Inc., including the Santa Clara, CA, GaAs foundry that Mimix has sold to USTI. USTI will provide Mimix with foundry services for multiple processes including active GaAs MESFET, PHEMT and HBT, as well as thin film silicon and ceramic circuit components and substrates.

EMS Technologies Inc. announced the closing of the sale of its Satellite Networks (SatNet) division to Advantech Advanced Microwave Technologies Inc., Montreal, Canada. EMS originally announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale on December 22, 2005. During the past couple of months, the two companies have worked to obtain the necessary consents from key suppliers and customers. Final terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Modelithics Inc. has been contracted by MicroMetrics Inc. to create new nonlinear models for its line of high performance limiter diodes, including the MP7100, 7110 and 7120 series. The models will be valid for large signal design allowing designers to better understand the temperature and power dependency of the RF behavior of these diodes for improved design. The models will initially be available in the Agilent Technologies Advanced Design System design simulation software and later ported to other simulators. Users of Modelithics Non-Linear Diode Library will automatically receive the developed models in a future release. Requests for the models along with related RF data will also be made available from the Modelithics and MicroMetrics web sites. In related news, MicroMetrics announced the expansion of the company’s epitaxial growth and coating services for the semiconductor fabrication market. The newly expanded Londonderry, NH facility now includes seven Gemini Epi reactors. This business unit supports the growing of three, four and five inch silicon wafers and will soon be offering products to meet the demands of the six inch market.

QUALCOMM Inc. and China TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. announced plans to found a new company to focus on the development of application software for wireless devices. The new company, TechFaith Software China Ltd. (TechSoft), which will be based in Beijing and Hangzhou, China, will be funded by QUALCOMM and TechFaith. Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, as well as the achievement of performance milestones, TechSoft will receive a total investment of cash and in-kind contributions valued at up to US$35 M from QUALCOMM and TechFaith.

RFMD® announced an $80 M wafer fabrication facility expansion. The planned expansion, located on the company’s Greensboro, NC, campus, is expected to increase RFMD’s wafer manufacturing capacity by approximately 40 percent from current levels — enabling continued growth in wireless markets utilizing the company’s GaAs HBT and GaAs PHEMT process technologies. The expansion is also expected to reduce RFMD’s cost per wafer and provide available capacity to increase internal production of GaAs PHEMT.

Rosenberger announced the formation of the new business unit Wireless Terminal Components (WTC). The new organization will offer a wide range of standard products for various wireless applications, such as cellular and cordless phones, Bluetooth applications, wireless LAN applications and data collecting terminals.

Freescale Semiconductor is now expanding its India operations with the acquisition of a 300,000 square foot campus in Noida. The company plans to expand its presence to 1500 engineers in India over the next four years to support the company’s global research and development efforts.

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. announced the opening of its third engineering design site, the New England Design Center, adding technical resources to fuel the company’s high growth momentum. Based in Nashua, NH, a concentrated locality of RF, analog and mixed-signal expertise, the initial group is comprised of highly experienced RF/microwave design and product development engineers with an average of 17 years experience.

CoorsTek Inc., a technical ceramics supplier and manufacturer of critical components for high technology markets, announced the expansion of its European presence through the acquisition of VZS/Seagoe Advanced Ceramics of Glenrothes, Fife. This acquisition enables a significant expansion of localized manufacturing capabilities and processing services.

Linear Technology Corp., a supplier of high performance analog integrated circuits, announced the opening of its first European design center in Munich, Germany. With the opening of the company’s 11th design center, Linear’s Munich Design Center allows the company to further expand its analog design resources at a location that provides proximity to some of the company’s key European customers.

Tecdia Inc.’s San Jose, CA, sales office has moved to a new location. The new contact information for all departments is Tecdia Inc., 2700 Augustine Drive, Suite 110, Santa Clara, CA 95054 (408) 748-0100 or fax: (408) 748-0111.

RFMW Ltd. has moved to a new 4000 square foot facility located at 90 Great Oaks Blvd. #203, San Jose, CA 95119 (408) 414-1450, fax: (408) 414-1461. In the first quarter 2006, RFMW has doubled the company’s sales organization throughout the US, doubled employees in customer service and doubled space at its new headquarters in San Jose, CA, all to better service and focus on the RF and microwave customer base in North America. RFMW Ltd. is a specialized distributor that provides customers and suppliers with focused distribution of RF and microwave components as well as specialized component engineering support. The company assists in replacement of obsolete and hard to find RF/MW/MMW connectors, passive components and semiconductors.

PropheSi Technologies™ Inc., a provider of semiconductor modules for high efficiency wireless infrastructure power amplifiers, announced it has changed its name to PulseWave RF™ and that it has successfully demonstrated its digital multi-carrier power amplifier module, which enables a digital power amplifier for use in wireless base stations.

TestMart announced an exclusive agreement with VXI Technology, a designer and manufacturer of high density modular test instruments and switching systems for both electrical and mechanical test applications. The deal provides the US government and federal contractor marketplace with savings on select VXI Technology VXIBus, VMIP,™ SMIP,™ VME™ and the new Ethernet-based LXI products.

Aeroflex and 7 layers announced a partnership on 3G mobile handset conformance testing. The 7 layers test and service facility in the UK will use Aeroflex’s 6401 AIME/CT conformance test system complete with inter-system handover capability for its 3G handset testing requirements. The partnership is the result of the long-standing working relationship between the two companies that goes back to the inception of 7 layers in the UK in 2001.

Agilent Technologies Inc. announced an OEM agreement with Protocol Analytics to distribute the company’s SanAlytics software. SanAlytics is a post-processing software that complements the Agilent 1735A Fibre Channel traffic-generation and protocol-analysis solution. This combination of products will help engineers accelerate the development of Fibre Channel SAN equipment and speed troubleshooting and debugging.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology (NGST) presented Mini-Systems Inc. (MSI) with two of its prestigious “Gold” Supplier Awards. MSI’s Thick and Thin Film Divisions were both recognized for their high reliable product quality and reputable delivery. This is the second in a row and third in four years. In order to achieve “Gold” Supplier status, vendors to NGST must, at a minimum, maintain 98 percent product quality and 95 percent on-time delivery. Mini-Systems’ excellent quality, responsiveness and delivery performance exceeded the expectations of NGST, making MSI 1 of 57, out of 1100 vendors, to receive this award.

The South Florida Manufacturers Association selected SV Microwave Inc., West Palm Beach, FL, for the Manufacturer of the Year – Mid-sized Manufacturers award, as embodying the right combination of innovative systems and products, growth over the past two years, as well as commitment to employees, quality, customers and the community.

Comarco Wireless Test Solutions announced that 7 layers, an internationally recognized certification company, has completed testing of Comarco’s line of domestic and international multi-technology RF scanners. 7 layers certifies that Comarco’s scanners meet or exceed all specifications.

Millennium Microwave Corp., Fruitland, MD, announced that the company has been awarded AS9100:2004 and ISO 9001:2000 certification from Perry Johnson Registrars.

TT electronics IRC Advanced Film Division has developed RoHS-compliant versions of its resistor products, including the LR family of thick film current sense resistors and the PFC series thin film precision resistors. The company will also continue to produce the tin-lead terminations of its products based on continuing customer demand, especially in military electronic systems, which are exempt from the RoHS compliance regulations.

Contracts

Micronetics Inc. announced that it received a follow-on order of over $1 M for microwave subsystems from a leading antenna manufacturer. The microwave subsystems are part of a fully integrated antenna system that receives airborne Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television signals and distributes them to an on-board in-flight entertainment system. Micronetics expects to start delivering in the first quarter of FY 2007, with a completion date expected early in the second quarter.

ABI, a global leader in business-to-business marketing public relations, was selected by Dow-Key Microwave and K&L Microwave to spearhead strategic marketing and public relations campaigns for their respective microwave switch and filter businesses in North America, Europe and China.

Sirenza Microdevices announced it has been chosen by Wavesat Inc., a Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of baseband chips for WiMAX compliant systems, to supply Sirenza’s recently introduced power amplifier IC, SZA-3044, for Wavesat’s customer premise equipment (CPE) solution. Wavesat’s CPE solution utilizing Sirenza’s SZA-3044 power amplifier was the first CPE solution to be certified by the WiMAX Forum.

Financial News

ANADIGICS Inc. reports sales of $33.3 M for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005 ended December 31, 2005, compared to $22.4 M for the same period in fiscal 2004. Net loss for the quarter was $3.9 M ($0.11/per share), compared to $10.3 M ($0.31/per share) for the fourth quarter of last year.

SiGe Semiconductor reports sales of $31.8 M for 2005 revenues, compared to $19.5 M for the same period in 2004. The company also announced the appointment of William H. Burke as chief financial officer and treasurer. Burke brings more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of corporate finance, accounting and treasury functions for multi-national private and public companies.

Ansoft Corp. reports sales of $19.7 M for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 ended January 31, 2006, compared to $17.4 M for the same period in fiscal 2005. Net income for the quarter was $4.3 M ($0.33/per diluted share), compared to a net income of $2.8 M ($0.21/per diluted share) for the third quarter of last year.

WiQuest Communications Inc., a fabless semiconductor company focused on the design and production of complete high performance, ultrawideband-based wireless silicon solutions, announced the closing of $18 M in series B funding. This round of funding was led by new investor Sequoia Capital and also included full participation by Series A investors, Menlo Ventures, Palomar Ventures and iD Ventures America. WiQuest will use these new funds to ramp production of its existing products and to further expand its growing portfolio of WiMedia and Wireless USB solutions.

Superconductor Technologies Inc. reports sales of $7.4 M for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005, compared to $3.9 M for the same period last year. Net loss for the quarter was $3 M ($0.02/per diluted share), compared to a net loss of $11.3 M ($0.11/per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of last year.

RF Industries Ltd. reports sales of $3.4 M for the first quarter ended January 31, 2006, compared to $2.9 M for the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was $265,000 ($0.07/per diluted share), compared to a net income of $206,000 ($0.05/per diluted share) in the first quarter of last year.

Unity Wireless Corp. announced that it has completed a US $2.2 M three-year debt financing by institutional investors. Unity Wireless plans to use the proceeds from the transaction for general corporate purposes.

New Market Entries

evissaP Inc. (“Passive” backwards), San Jose, CA, purchased the assets of AVNET MTS’ cable division in December 2005. Prior to asset purchase, evissaP supported AVNET MTS as a CM/ODM for cable assemblies and custom connectors. evissaP’s products include RF and microwave cable assemblies, custom connectors, custom RF transformers and custom adapters. For more information, visit www.evissaP.com.

Peak Devices Inc., an RF transistor manufacturer, has announced its current and ongoing efforts to offer the market a viable alternative to recently obsolete RF LDMOS transistors, formerly provided by Cree Microwave.®

Signal Support LLC, McLean, VA, is a new manufacturers sales representative company that will focus on RF and microwave devices, component and distribution sales. Signal Support will cover the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC territories. For more information, contact Steve Wilmer at (703) 356-7005.

Personnel

Donn Mulder

Anritsu Co. president Frank Tiernan announced the appointment of Donn Mulder to the position of vice president/general manager of Anritsu’s Microwave Measurement Division (MMD). In his position, Mulder will oversee the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales support of MMD’s products. Mulder replaces Tiernan, who has been serving the dual role of president of Anritsu Co. and general manager of MMD. In addition to heading the MMD operations based in Anritsu’s Morgan Hill, CA facility, Mulder will be responsible for the RF products developed in Anritsu’s European facilities. Mulder has been with the company for 13 years.

Fairchild Semiconductor announced the appointment of Mark S. Frey as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Frey will report directly to president and CEO, Mark Thompson. Frey previously was vice president, finance and corporate controller for Lam Research Corp., a major supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world’s semiconductor industry. He was responsible for a range of financial processes and organizations, implementing rigorous measurement programs to improve gross margins. Prior experience included serving as vice president of finance for Raychem Corp.’s Electronics OEM Division.

eRide Inc. announced that Gary L. Fischer has joined the company as chief financial officer. Most recently, Fischer served as president and chief operating officer at Integrated Silicon Solutions Inc., a fabless semiconductor company. Fischer’s first assignment will be to assist in raising funds to finance eRide’s growth.

Larry Fagan

Trompeter announced that Larry Fagan has joined the company as a direct field salesperson for the Los Angeles, CA territory. Fagan brings with him 20 years of sales experience in the Los Angeles area, including 10 years at Newark Electronics. His most recent position with Newark was as commercial accounts manager and prior to that as government account manager.

WJ Communications Inc. announced that it has significantly increased its presence in Asia. Tony Liang has been appointed as the director of Asia sales. Liang comes to WJ with 18 years of experience in the telecom industry. Previously he was vice president of APAC sales for AMI Semiconductor Inc. and director of sales at PMC-Sierra. In addition, Taine Wu and KM Choi have been appointed as country managers for China and Korea, respectively. Wu brings 18 years of experience in the semiconductor component industry. Prior to joining WJ, Wu was a regional sales manager of South China for Fairfield Semiconductor. Choi joins the company with more than 15 years of experience in sales and marketing positions in the telecom industry. Prior to joining WJ, Choi served as market business development director for Qualcomm.

David Wynants

David Wynants, senior process engineer of Taconic Advanced Dielectric Division in Petersburgh, NY, was presented with a Distinguished Committee Service Award by the IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries at the recent IPC Printed Circuits Expo in Anaheim, CA. This award was given to Wynants, along with other committee members, in appreciation and recognition of their contribution to the development of IPC-4412A, specification for finished fabric woven from “E” glass for printed circuits.

TREK Inc. announced that Tom Larson, sales engineer at Trek, was recently designated an “ESD Certified Professional – Program Manager” by the Electrostatic Discharge Association (ESDA). Larson was one of the first six individuals to attain such status from this new certification program. According to the ESDA, this certification represents a thorough knowledge of the core competencies for ESD control.

Tom Larson

Rep Appointments

TRAK Microwave Corp. announced the appointment of Pamcor Inc. as its exclusive sales representative in southern California and southern Nevada. Pamcor will represent all of TRAK’s products. Pamcor can be contacted at 4000 Long Beach Boulevard, Suite 207, Long Beach, CA 90807 (562) 637-3124, fax: (562) 637-3125 or e-mail: sales@pamcor.com.

International Manufacturing Services Inc. (IMS), a manufacturer of high quality thick film resistors and substrates to the electronics industry, announced the appointment of Marathon Associates, headquartered in Freeport, TX, to represent IMS products in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The firm can be contacted at 727 Live Oak, Freeport, TX 77541 (409) 233-7026 or e-mail: mrepf@cebridge.net.

Eastern Wireless TeleComm Inc. recently announced the appointment of Advanced Communications Sales to represent the company’s products in northern California and northern Nevada.

COMSOL Inc. has named ZhongFang Information Technology Ltd. (also known as CnTech) as its distributor in the Peoples’ Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macao), effective immediately. The firm, based in Shanghai, is responsible for all marketing, sales, local training and support of the COMSOL product line along with the supplier’s other mathematical modeling and analysis software.

MI Technologies announced it has selected Test Solutions, Sofia, Bulgaria, to represent the company’s line of RF and microwave test and measurement products to customers in Bulgaria and Macedonia.

StratEdge, a designer and producer of semiconductor packages for microwave, millimeter-wave and high speed digital devices, announced that BSW TestSystems & Consulting AG will represent StratEdge in Germany and the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg) countries. BSW can be contacted at BSW-AG, Oskar-Messter-Strasse 12, 85737 Ismaning, Germany +49 (0) 89 960574-0, fax: +49 (0) 89 960574-11 or e-mail: info@bsw-ag.com.

EMA Design Automation,™ a full-service provider of Electronic Design Automation solutions, announced that its Cadence Design Systems Inc. product sales portfolio has expanded to include products from the Virtuoso® custom design platform, Incisive® functional verification platform and Design for Manufacturing technologies. A Cadence® distributor since 1988, EMA’s role has been expanded to allow EMA to offer pre-selected Cadence customers a broader portfolio of Cadence products fully supported by Cadence’s customer support group.

CDM Electronics Inc. announced the signing of a worldwide distribution agreement with Adam Tech. Under the terms of the agreement, CDM will distribute Adam Tech’s extensive range of standard, fully RoHS-compliant connectors, as well as deliver engineering and design support services through all phases of custom manufacturing.

Web sites

W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. has added assemblies to its on-line interactive design guide, available at www.gore.com/designacable. The tool now provides a menu of connector options to configure a complete GORE™ high flex flat cable assembly or GORE™ trackless cable assembly, with 10 day lead times.

Rogers Corp. announced the creation of its new “Green Leader” web site (www.rogersgreenworld.com), which contains information on the company’s environmentally friendly specialty materials and related subjects.