Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/1525-around-the-circuit

Around the Circuit

December 1, 2004

Industry News

Teledyne Technologies Inc. and Celeritek Inc. jointly announced that Teledyne, through its subsidiary Teledyne Wireless Inc., has completed the acquisition of Celeritek’s defense electronics business for $33 M in cash. Celeritek’s shareholders approved the asset sale at the company’s annual meeting.


Wireless Telecom Group Inc. (WTT) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of privately held Willtek Communications GmbH from the venture capital arm of the international investment group Investcorp and Willtek’s chief executive officer, Cyrille Damany, in exchange for $7 M in cash and 8,000,000 shares of WTT common stock (the “Purchase Price”), and the assumption of certain liabilities and obligations valued at $4.8 M. As a result of the proposed acquisition, Willtek will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of WTT.

M-tron Industries Inc. has completed the transactions to purchase Piezo Technology Inc., Orlando, FL. The two companies plan to integrate their operations under a single business management and operations group. To reflect this and to maintain the brand awareness of each company, the companies will be conducting business under the new name MtronPTI.

PCTEL Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire selected assets associated with Andrew Corp.’s mobile antenna business. The company has agreed to pay $10 M in cash for the selected assets. The acquisition is part of PCTEL’s continuing plan to solidify a position within high growth wireless communications markets.

UltraSource Inc., a supplier of custom thin film devices, announced the acquisition of the custom thin film circuit manufacturing unit from MicroMetrics Inc., a semiconductor device manufacturer. The acquisition strengthens UltraSource’s position in the custom design and manufacturing of thin film circuits and related services. In addition to all inventory and backlog, UltraSource will be acquiring several pieces of state-of-the-art thin film manufacturing equipment.

Cuming Microwave Corp., Avon, MA, announced that it has purchased Lehman Chambers, Chambersburg, PA. Lehman Chambers specializes in anechoic RF shielded chamber facilities for both high frequency and EMC related testing on a turnkey engineering through construction basis, and has completed over 1400 major projects across North America. Cuming’s complementary absorber materials have been used routinely in all of Lehman’s structures, making this venture a natural combination of cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

The Littlefuse Electronics Business unit has announced a restructuring and consolidation of its North American distribution network to better serve customers and add value to its line of circuit protection solutions. As part of the company’s strategy to provide circuit protection solutions, the company has appointed its distributor partners. The new distributor line-up is expected to optimize the company’s distribution structure as well as accelerate demand creation and design-in activity for Littlefuse circuit protection solutions.

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art probe card manufacturing facility located in Hsin Chu, Taiwan. This facility offers a floor size of over 2400 square meters and has full manufacturing capability for all types of enhanced cantilever probe cards.

Channel Microwave East, a specialist in filters, diplexers and combiners, announced that the company has moved to a new location. The company is now located at 502 McCormick Drive, Suite C, Glen Burnie, MD 21061 (410) 863-0026, fax (410) 863-0029 or e-mail:bmcdorman@channelmicrowave.com.

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. announced that the company has moved its North American headquarters to new facilities. The North American headquarters is located at 19900 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92612 (949) 623-2900, fax (949) 474-1330.

Centellax Inc. announced that the company has doubled its laboratory and production test facilities at the company’s Santa Rosa, CA headquarters. The expansion is intended to accommodate a growing internal demand for production test and quality assurance functions at the company, due to an increase in orders.

Applied Wave Research Inc. (AWR®) announced that Silicon Laboratories Inc. has adopted AWR’s Microwave Office® and Visual System Simulator™ design suites. Silicon Laboratories’ applications teams will utilize the software to simulate radio frequency integrated circuit chips and modules.

The US Air Force announced that M2 Global Technology Ltd. has been selected to participate in its manufacturing technical assistance production program (MTAPP). The MTAPP was established by the Secretary of the Air Force in 1997 to assist in increasing and enhancing the competitiveness of small manufacturing firms in support of the Air Force, Department of Defense and their prime contractors.

The LXI Consortium announced that Keithley Instruments Inc. will join the recently formed standards organization. LAN extensions for instrumentation (LXI) is a next-generation, LAN-based modular platform standard for automated test systems.

Laser Diode Inc. (LDI®) has been awarded certification to the ISO 9001:2000 standard. Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance issued this certification, stating that the LDI quality management system for the design and manufacture of opto-electronic devices has been assessed and approved against the quality management system standard ISO 9001:2000.

Microwave Solutions Inc. announced that the US Patent and Trademark office has officially certified and registered the company logo and name.

Contracts

EMS Technologies Inc. announced that it has been selected by Honeywell and Thales Avionics as the supplier of high speed data satellite communications products for their new HS-720 high speed data system. Under the terms of a seven-year agreement, EMS will develop custom avionics products, which will complement the Honeywell/Thales MCS-4000/7000 satellite communications systems. Over the next five years, the forecasted value of this agreement is over $50 M.

Agile Materials and Technologies Inc. announced that the United States Army awarded the company a $5 M, 30-month contract to produce phase shifters for use in phased array antennas, key elements of mobile battlefield communications networks. Agile’s patented barium strontium titanate technology allows the company to provide the components at a fraction of the traditional cost.

HRL Laboratories LLC has been awarded a $1.9 M 18-month phase 1 contract from the Microsystems Technology Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop inexpensive passive millimeter-wave imaging arrays. The award is under the “Microantenna Arrays: Technology and Applications” program.

Symmetricom announced that the company has been awarded a five-year Federal Supply Contract by the US General Services Administration (GSA) for instruments and laboratory equipment.

Financial News

Crane Co. reports sales of $477.3 M for the third quarter ended September 30, 2004, compared to $425.3 M for the same period in 2003. Net loss for the quarter was $205.2 M ($3.48/per share), compared to a net income of $28.1 M ($0.47/per share) for the third quarter of last year.

RF Micro Devices Inc. reports sales of $149.1 M for the second quarter of fiscal 2005 ended September 30, 2004, compared to $163.5 M for the same period in 2004. Net loss for the quarter was $6.7 M ($0.04/per diluted share), compared to a net income of $10.6 M ($0.05/per diluted share) for the second quarter of last year.

AMIS Holdings Inc. (AMIS) reports sales of $131.2 M for the third quarter ended September 25, 2004, compared to $117.4 M for the same period in 2003. Net income for the quarter was $16.2 M ($0.19/per diluted share), compared to a net income of $9.2 M ($0.12/per diluted share) for the third quarter of last year.

WJ Communications Inc. reports sales of $8.9 M for the third quarter ended September 26, 2004, compared to $6.9 M for the same period in 2003. Net income for the quarter was $1.2 M ($0.02/per diluted common share), compared to a net loss of $3.3 M ($0.06/per common share) for the third quarter of last year.

Stratex Networks Inc. reports sales of $43.6 M for the second quarter of fiscal 2005 ended September 30, 2004, compared to $36.9 M for the same period in 2004. Net loss for the quarter was $6.8 M ($0.08/per share), compared to a net loss of $7 M ($0.08/per share) for the second quarter of last year.

Ansoft Corp. has entered into a $30 M one-year secured credit facility with PNC Bank, National Association. The revolving facility replaces the company’s previous credit facility terminated during the first quarter. The new facility will be used primarily for general corporate purposes. In related news, the company announced that its board of directors voted to amend its existing common stock repurchase program to permit the company to acquire an additional 1,000,000 shares of its common stock. Under the original program approved in 1998 and amended in 2002, the company has purchased approximately 1,800,000 of the 2,000,000 shares authorized for repurchase.

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $17.6 M round of series C financing led by Ridgewood Capital and Palisades Ventures.

An investor group led by Francisco Partners and Shah Capital Partners announced the completion of the acquisition of the business of C-MAC MicroTechnology from Solectron Corp. The investor group provides C-MAC with the financial support to drive its future growth plans.

New Market Entries

C9 Networks, a provider of communications solutions for small- to mid-sized operators, announced the availability of the C9 C3000, an entirely new line of cable modem termination systems (CMTS). The advanced CMTS supports both wired and wireless services with an easy to control management system built right into the box. This next-generation headend is an ideal solution for network integrators or operators looking to differentiate and extend their services by adding secure wireless capabilities to their existing offerings.

Richardson Electronics announced its entrance into the RFID market. Richardson’s expertise in engineering design, strategic alliances and technology infrastructure makes RFID a natural extension of its current capabilities. As a first RFID offering, Richardson has signed a strategic partnership with WJ Communications Inc., to represent the global sales channel for its new multi-protocol MPR 5000 and MPR 6000 RFID reader cards.

Isotec Corp., a manufacturer of RF connectors in Korea, announced that the company has opened a sales office in San Jose, CA. This location will offer RF/microwave connectors and cable assemblies for the US market. The company is located at 111 North Market Street, Suite 616, San Jose, CA 95113. The company can be reached at (408) 351-3450, fax (408) 351-3540, e-mail: isotec@unitel.co.kr or visit www.isoconnector.com.

Wireless Valley Communications announced its entry into the rapidly developing Chinese market via a strategic alliance with Cornes Dodwell Ltd., a Far East trading company with significant technology distribution operations in Japan and China. The partnership is built around China’s demand for in-building wireless voice networks. Cornes Dodwell will be using and selling Wireless Valley’s full suite of products.

Personnel

Unity Wireless Corp. announced that Victor Halpert has been named to the company’s board of directors. Robert Singer, a director of Unity Wireless since April 2000, stepped down from the board to open the position for Halpert. Halpert brings nearly 15 years of financial and accounting experience to the company’s board of directors.

Derek C. Johnson

CoorsTek Inc. formally announced the promotion of Derek C. Johnson to president and COO. Johnson will oversee all of the company’s 12 manufacturing facilities located in North America, Europe and Asia. Johnson’s 20 year career with the company began when he joined the Scotland operations in February 1984.

Cris Emson

Alex Michaelides

Cris Emson moves to Aurora, IL, to hold the position of vice president of Vector Fields Inc. He takes with him specialized knowledge of all the company’s software, particularly on high frequency applications using the CONCERTO package. Emson joined Vector Fields Ltd. in 1988 from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. In related news, the company announced the promotion of Alex Michaelides to applications manager. His experience includes customer support, where he specialized in electromagnetics and the development of application oriented software.

Randy Estep

Trilithic welcomed Randy Estep to the company as vice president of operations. Estep brings over 25 years of experience from ComSonics Inc., Harrisonburg, VA, and Hughes Network Systems, Germantown, MD.

James Hudspeth

Centellax Inc. announced the appointment of James Hudspeth as vice president of operations. In his new position, Hudspeth will oversee and direct all aspects of the company’s plant management, including manufacturing, materials allocation, production engineering, program management and purchasing. He brings nearly 30 years of high technology operations management experience to this position. Prior to Centellax he served as VP, manufacturing optical systems at Vitesse Semiconductor.

Eagleware Corp. announced that Charlie Miller has joined the company as vice president of marketing and that Miller has opened an Eagleware office in Silicon Valley. Miller has over 25 years of experience in the EDA space. He has worked with the company as a member of the board of directors for nearly five years. The new office is located at 560 South Winchester Blvd., Suite 500, San Jose, CA 95128. Miller joins the company from Aptix, where he was vice president of sales and marketing.

Peter Sahjani

Aeroflex/Metelics announced that Peter Sahjani has been appointed director of marketing and business development focusing on InGap HBT/PHEMT amplifier products for the wireless infrastructure telecom market. Prior to joining Metelics, Sahjani held several key technical and senior management positions at M/A-COM, Loral, Filtronic Solid State, Agilent and
most recently at EiC Corp.

Pascall Electronics, part of the Intelek group, announced the appointment of Chris Hood as senior sales engineer. Hood joins the team with over 20 years experience in sales in the aerospace, defense and communications industry having worked for ELS Defence Ltd. and FR Aviation.

Gary Maczis

Lorch Microwave announced that Gary Maczis has joined the company’s engineering team. Formerly with K&L Microwave, Maczis brings more than 20 years experience in the design of miniature RF and microwave filter products.

iTerra Communications LLC announced the appointment of Eugene Brannock as director of business development for the company’s microwave monolithic integrated circuit products and MMIC-based modules. His responsibilities include overall management of the company’s MMIC product line. Before joining iTerra, Brannock was executive vice president of Eudyna USA (formerly Fujitsu Compound Semiconductor Inc.).

Jeff Hinsley

Link Microtek has appointed Jeff Hinsley to the new position of instrument sales engineer. He will take responsibility for the UK and Ireland. The appointment follows the company’s decision to reorganize its sales force into three groups specializing in instruments, components and high volume surface-mount products. Hinsley joins Link from Ansoft, where he was
involved in the development and promotion of circuit and finite-element simulation tools, as well as managing key accounts in the wireless sector.



Rep Appointments

RF Logic LLC announced the appointment of Dehron as its exclusive representative in the country of Israel. Dehron is a firm with over 20 years of experience in this market.

Micro-Ant Inc., Fall River, MA, a provider of the design, development and manufacturing of antennas, has appointed RF Associates Inc., Topsfield, MA, to provide technical representation to the company’s new and existing customer relationships within the New England region. RF Associates can be reached at (978) 887-9762 or visit www.rfassociates-ne.com.

Planar Electronics Technology has appointed several new sales representatives. Eastern Tech Corp. will cover MD, DC and VA, and can be reached at (410) 715-2100 or e-mail: johns@eastern-tech.com. Data Marketing Associates will be responsible for TX, OK, AR and LA and can be contacted at (972) 661-0300. J-Square Marketing Inc. will handle NY, NJ and CT. The company can be contacted at (516) 935-3200 or e-mail: alfordj@jsquare.com. EBA Microwave will cover southern CA and can be contacted at (949) 496-7533 or e-mail: elbell@surfside.net. Atem S.A. will be responsible for France and can be reached at 011-33 (0) 1-6934-9203 or e-mail: atem.tb@wanadoo.fr. SpanTech Microwave Technology S.A. will handle Spain and Portugal. The company can be reached at 011-34-95-241-7024 ore-mail: info@spantech-mt.com.

MI Technologies announced it has selected Compomill Nordic Components AB, Upplands Väsby, Sweden, to represent the company’s line of RF and microwave test and measurement products to customers in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Trompeter has announced that Interstate Connecting Components (ICC), Moorestown, NJ, with offices in Virginia Beach, VA, and Denver, CO, has been signed as an authorized distributor of the company’s products. Orders and RFQs can be placed through the ICC Web site at www.connecticc.com or by phone at (800) 795-7689.

Praxsym Inc. announced the appointment of Castle Rock Microwave as its representative for the new PM-2458 wireless broadband power meter. The PM-2458 is a handheld VSWR meter for the license exempt 2.4, 5.3 and 5.8 GHz bands. Castle Rock is taking sales and distribution inquiries at (303) 362-6836 or e-mail: brett@castlerockmicrowave.com.

XMA Corp. and First Source Inc. announced the signing of a distribution agreement. Under terms of the agreement, First Source will distribute XMA’s full line of standard RF and microwave components.

Agilent Technologies Inc. named Microlease and Rosenkranz as authorized user-equipment resellers in Europe for the Agilent Advantage Assurance program. The program gives European engineers and purchasing agents the option to buy used company equipment that has been evaluated, fully calibrated and guaranteed by Agilent to meet original performance specifications.

ANADIGICS Inc. announced that the company has appointed Takachiho Koheki Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, as a distributor for the country of Japan.

Web sites

Comarco Wireless Test Solutions announced that the company’s Web site now offers secure comprehensive support for its worldwide customer base. This new site, www.comarco.com, offers many novel features and is the vehicle for providing this support.

Flomerics announced ready-to-run thermal models for Philips’ power semiconductors available to designers via the SmartParts3D Web site (www.smartparts3d.com). Design engineers can now instantly download complex, calibrated thermal models of power semiconductor packages from Philips to incorporate in Flotherm thermal simulations.