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MAY 2000 INDUSTRY NEWS

 

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, New Jersey, May 1, 2000 - The Board of Directors of Honeywell [NYSE:HON] declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share on the company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable June 9, 2000, to shareowners of record on May 19, 2000.

Honeywell is a US$24-billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; power generation systems; specialty chemicals; fibers; plastics; and electronic and advanced materials. Additional information on the company is available on the Internet at www.honeywell.com.

 

HATFIELD, PA - Laboratory Testing, Inc. announces the purchase of Gage Lab Corporation of Huntingdon Valley, PA. Gage Lab is a full-service calibration lab that has serviced inspection and test equipment since 1965. As a subsidiary of Laboratory Testing Inc., Gage Lab will continue to provide instrument calibration, field and repair services, and will retain the current staff and facility. Under the new ownership, the company will be know as Gage Lab Inc.

 

The national standards institutes that make up ISO (International Organization for Standardization) have returned a positive vote on the Draft International Standard (DIS) versions of the ISO 9000 revisions currently being developed.

The documents – ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 – will now undergo further revision before their release as Final Draft International Standards (FDIS) in September 2000 for a two-month ballot by ISO’s members. If that vote is positive, the ISO 9000 revisions will be published as fully fledged International Standards before the end of the year.

The ISO 9000 family of standards on quality management is the most successful of the more than 12700 standards developed by ISO. An estimated 350000 quality systems based on ISO 9000 standards have been implemented by organizations of all types in at least 150 countries.

All ISO standards are reviewed at least every five years to ensure that they remain at the state of the art. The current revision of the ISO 9000 standards is the second and the most thorough since they were first published in 1987.

More information on the ISO 9000 revisions, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions and Transition Planning Guidance, is posted on ISO’s Web site: www.iso.ch

 

MILANO, ITALY - FAS International Calibration Laboratory has achieved the EA-SIT (Italian Calibration Service) Accreditation for humidity.

SIT - Italian Calibration Service Accrediation Body is one of the signatories of the Multilateral Agreement of EA (European co-operation for Accreditation) for the mutual recognition of calibration certificates.

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R I- Brown & Sharpe announced that first quarter 2000 orders for its bridge-style coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) increased by 30 percent over Q1 1999 and by 9 percent over Q4 1999.

"We are particularly encouraged by the strong recovery in the Americas and Asia, where unit growth was 49 percent and 350 percent respectively," said Phil James, Brown & Sharpe Group Vice President Measuring Systems Division.

"Since bridge-style CMMs represent more than 80 percent (by unit) of our business, we're extremely excited about these positive results. They beat our 1999 Q4 orders, traditionally our highest quarter, and were achieved during a period of fairly flat market growth. This indicates that we have the correct products, services and distribution channels to satisfy our loyal global customer base, and that we've taken market share from our major competitors."

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI - Brown & Sharpe has launched a virtual metrology store, e-metrology.com. The online store augments Brown & Sharpe's extensive web presence by offering customers the knowledge required to select the best tool for their application, along with an easy way to purchase the product.

e-metrology.com allows visitors to view virtual product demonstrations and purchase metrology products such as precision tools, new and used CMMs, inspection software, aftermarket products and services, and CMM probes and accessories. It also offers a comprehensive, on-line technical support area orgnized by product and application with complete FAQ key word search functions.

 

TestMart™, the leading information and commerce marketplace in the test and measurement industry, announced the appointment of Michael Comstock as Vice President of Operations. Comstock will oversee all customer service, order fulfillment, and logistics processes.

"Michael's experience in building successful corporate strategies and global business architectures for e-commerce and delivery processes are a perfect fit for TestMart," said CEO Peter Ostrow. "TestMart's business is growing by as much as 100% each quarter, and his insight will be invaluable as we optimize our customer service and order processes to meet the rapidly growing demand for our services."

Comstock was most recently senior vice president of E-commerce and Planning at DHL, a $5 billion global leader in express shipping and transportation, which he joined in 1977. He also held positions as DHL's senior vice president of Planning and Process Management and senior vice president of Customer and Systems Integration.

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, PR - April 28, 2000 - Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company announced that Kenneth N. Kermes has been elected President and Chief executive Officer and John M. Nelson has been elected Chairman of the Board of the Company. Frank Curtin has retired from his position as Chariman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

"Mr. Curtin led the Company into new markets and has served the Company and its stockholders loyally during the past five years," said Mr. Nelson "and we wish him well in his retirement."

 

GREIFENSEE, Switzerland - April 27, 2000 - Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE: MTD) announced another quarter of record results with net earnings of $11.8 million, or $0.28 per share on a diluted basis, for the quarter ended March 31, 2000. This represents a 27% increase over first quarter 1999 net earnings of $0.22 per share before non-recurring items.

Sales for the quarter were $259.1 million, compared with $235.7 million for the previous year quarter. This represents a 16% increase in local currency sales, partially offset by unfavorable exchange rates. The Company's operating income increased 23% to $27.1 million, or 10.5% of sales, compared with $22.1 million, or 9.4% of sales, in the same period of 1999.

Robert F. Spoerry, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our outstanding first quarter results were driven by strong organic sales growth, as we continue to benefit from our broad geographic, product line and end-market diversification." Spoerry continued, "We continue to redefine our industry through innovation. Our new solutions allow customers to gain time to market, be more efficient and produce higher-quality products. Our expanded array of automated solutions for the drug discovery market highlights this approach. We recently unveiled a high-throughput multiple-vessel lab reactor, MultiMax, which integrates our proprietary state-of-the-art FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) and laboratory reactor technologies. MultiMax enables scientists to both perform and analyze multiple chemical reactions simultaneously thereby accelerating the process development cycle and allowing pharmaceutical customers to bring new drugs to market faster. We also introduced ALLEX, an automated liquid phase extraction system which, when used in the synthesis phase of the drug discovery process, eliminates the need for time-consuming manual extractions, provides more reliable data and alerts the scientist to potential bottlenecks in the separation process."

Spoerry also commented on the Company's heightened focus on introducing solutions that have a significant software component and/or exploit the power and flexibility of the Internet. "We recently announced the launch of our JagXtreme industrial terminal featuring an embedded Web browser, which enables the user to visualize weighing processes, thus allowing remote monitoring and diagnostics. The JagXtreme's unique ability to predict equipment failures is particularly appealing to our customers because it minimizes manufacturing downtime. On the laboratory side, our powerful new AX analytical balance combines extensive automation features such as advanced software capabilities, sensor doors and an Internet connection. The AX balance allows the user to download applications and carry out remote monitoring, calibration and documentation. We believe these features will be especially well received by customers with large research departments such as the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. We will continue to enhance our leadership position in the industry by providing these innovative solutions to our global customer base."

For the period ended March 31, 2000, the Company reported local currency sales growth of 22% in Europe, 6% in the Americas and 26% in Asia and the Rest of World.

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.--April 25, 2000--Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company (NYSE:BNS) announced a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2000 of $72 thousand ($.01 per share) on sales of $72.5 million compared to a net loss, including a restructuring charge of $15.7 million, of $15.0 million ($1.12 per share) on sales of $82.4 million for the same period in 1999. The 2000 net loss included a $.5 million credit relating to restructuring charges taken in 1999.

Operating margins in the Company's core business units improved from 9.0% of sales in 1999 to 10.7% in the current quarter, reflecting the benefits of the restructuring efforts implemented in 1999.

Frank T. Curtin, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are encouraged by the upturn in the commodity MS machine business and in PMI's results. Furthermore, the restructuring cost benefits seen in the first quarter will continue throughout 2000."

The Company has not yet completed the refinancing of its senior debt and continues not to be in compliance with certain loan covenants, including a requirement to complete the refinancing of the senior debt by January 31, 2000. Management and a Special Committee appointed by the Board of Directors has received and evaluated several proposals from providers of permanent capital, and the Company is now in the due diligence process.

 
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