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OCTOBER 2001 INDUSTRY NEWS

Sypris Solutions Reports Third Quarter Earnings; Revenue Increases 21%

Sypris Solutions, Inc. reported third quarter earnings of $0.18 per diluted share compared to $0.01 per diluted share for the same quarter in 2000. Net income for the third quarter was $1.8 million compared to $0.1 million for the same quarter in 2000, which included special charges of $0.3 million after tax for expenses incurred to consolidate certain operations within the Company's Electronics Group. Revenue increased 21.0% to $65.2 million from $53.9 million for the prior year period.

"We are pleased by the improved profitability for the quarter," said Jeffrey T. Gill, president and chief executive officer. "Our backlog remains strong and a number of our major investments in people, technology and systems are nearing completion. We believe that these investments will strengthen our foundation for building the future growth and profitability of Sypris.

Sypris Solutions is a diversified provider of technology-based outsourced services and specialized industrial products. The Company performs a wide range of manufacturing and technical services, typically under long-term contracts with major manufacturers. The Company also manufactures and sells complex data storage systems, magnetic instruments, current sensors, high-pressure closures and a variety of other industrial products.

AMETEK Achieves Higher Third Quarter Sales and Net Income

AMETEK Inc. announced increases in sales and net income for the third quarter despite difficult economic conditions.

AMETEK achieved 2001 third quarter net income of $17.7 million on sales of $256.5 million. For the same period of a year ago, net income was $17.3 million on sales of $255.1 million. Operating income for the third quarter of 2001 was $33.0 million, a 3% decrease over the same period of 2000. Excluding expenses associated with cost reduction activities, operating income would have increased in the quarter. Diluted earnings per share were unchanged at $.53 per share.

"We are pleased with the results reported today. In a very difficult economic environment, AMETEK was able to deliver increases in sales and net income. Acquisitions, strength in aerospace and power instruments, and a continued focus on our cost structure drove the top and bottom line growth," commented Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK chairman and chief executive officer.

For the first nine months of 2001, AMETEK sales increased to $782.0 million from $766.4 million in the same period of 2000. Operating income totaled $104.2 million, a 2% increase from $101.8 million earned in the nine-month period of last year. Net income for the first nine months of 2001 was $54.7 million, up 7% from $51.3 million in the same period of 2000.

"In a period of significant political and economic turmoil, our Four Growth Strategies and relentless focus on reducing costs have enabled AMETEK to deliver superior results. These same strengths will continue to serve us well and should enable AMETEK to post higher earnings in 2001," concluded Mr. Hermance.

Dr. Vicki L. Sato Elected to PerkinElmer Board; President of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Brings Wealth of Leadership Experience and Technical Expertise in Drug Discovery

PerkinElmer, Inc. announced that Dr. Vicki L. Sato, president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and renowned expert in the area of drug discovery, has been elected to the company's board of directors.

"We are very pleased to have a leader of Vicki's caliber as a member of our board," said Gregory L. Summe, chairman and chief executive officer of PerkinElmer. "Vicki has extensive experience in managing innovative and research-intensive organizations, and in the course of her academic and industry career Vicki has made significant contributions to the fields of cell biology and immunology. Her insight and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to grow our position as one of the world's leading life sciences companies."

Dr. Sato was appointed as president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a leading drug development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2000 after serving as chief scientific officer and senior vice president of R&D. Prior to joining Vertex in 1992, she served as vice president of research for Biogen Inc., where she was responsible for all drug discovery programs in the areas of thrombosis, inflammation, immune regulation and AIDS. Previously, Dr. Sato was director of research with Angenics Inc., an early developer of monoclonal antibody-based diagnostics for veterinary use.

Dr. Sato's academic background includes post doctorate work at both Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Sato holds a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University, and an A.B. in Biology from Radcliffe College. From 1975 to 1982, she was both an assistant and associate professor of Biology at Harvard University where her laboratory focused on immunology research.

Dr. Sato has authored or co-authored more than 30 published reports on cell biology and immunology and holds several patents in cellular research.

New Absolute Magnetic Moment Standard Reference Material For The Recording Industry

A new Standard Reference Material for use in calibrating the magnetometers used in the recording industry and research laboratories has been issued. Industry should find this SRM (SRM 762) more useful than the existing SRM (SRM 772a) because its geometry is similar to the sample shapes used for recording tape or hard disk samples, and it will eliminate the need for applying shape corrections for accurate measurements.

Because the magnetic properties of metals depend on thermomechanical processing history and geometry as well as purity, the properties of the nickel disks used for the SRM were certified using the absolute magnetometer developed by NIST. The saturation moment of the new SRM (1.75 mAm2 or 1.75 emu) is about half that of the old SRM which may be advantageous for some magnetometers. The new SRM is certified for applied fields between 280kA/m and 4000kA/m (3500 Oe and 50,000 Oe) and for temperatures between 280 K and 310 K.

For more information contact Robert D. Shull 301-975-6035 or robert.shull@nist.gov.

Electro Rent Meets Full Range of Electrical Contractors' Test Equipment Rental Requirements; Expands Pool of Test Equipment for Power, Voice, Data and Video

With the recent expansion of its inventory of the latest power quality, electrical, fiber optic cabling, LAN cabling and CATV/HFC plant test instruments, ELECTRO RENT CORPORATION reaffirmed its commitment to continuing to meet the full range of electrical contractors' test equipment rental requirements.

Gary Phillips, senior vice president of sales & marketing, said, "Electro Rent is a one-stop shop that serves all of our customers' high voltage and low voltage testing requirements. In just the past three months, we have added new equipment from Agilent (WireScope & Optical Network Test divisions), Acterna (formerly Wavetek Wandel Goltermann) and Sumitomo Electric to our test and measurement equipment rental pool. Electro Rent now stocks copper and fiber cable plant test instruments valued at more than $14 million from these and other leading suppliers including AVO International, Biddle Instruments, Doble, Dranetz-BMI, Hipotronics, Multi-Amp, Reliable Power Meters and Yokogawa for high voltage copper testing, and Alcoa Fujikura, Ando, Exfo, Microtest, NetTest and Tektronix for low voltage copper and fiber testing."

Phillips added, "Electro Rent is the nation's premier provider of rental and lease test equipment. Our customer base includes national and local contractors, both large and small, doing work in copper and fiber for telecommunications, CATV, industrial, defense, construction and utility applications. We pledge to continue to support them with immediate availability of the best equipment to meet their testing needs."

Teradyne Announces Third Quarter Results

Teradyne, Inc. reported sales of $249 million and a net loss, before special items, of $ 53.8 million ($ 0.31 per share) for the Third Quarter of 2001. Special charges for the quarter amounted to $49.6 million, after tax, or an additional loss of $0.28 per share. This resulted in an overall net loss of $103 million, or $0.59 per share. Gross bookings for the quarter were $212 million, with $82 million in cancellations for Connection Systems and $16 million in cancellations for semiconductor test, for a net order level of $114 million.

George Chamillard, Teradyne's chairman and chief executive officer, identified some of the elements which made the quarter a particularly difficult one. "While our loss before special charges of $0.31 per share was within the $0.22 to $0.32 guidance we gave early in the quarter, the decline in our order rate and customer cancellations from our backlog were such that we could not reach the $275 million to $325 million revenue range which we had anticipated in our previous guidance." He went on to note that the special charges were due to personnel reductions of some 1,000 employees and write-downs of inventory and certain other assets in the company's connection systems and flash memory test businesses.

Looking to the future, while he was able to identify some encouraging areas of prospective customer demand, Chamillard observed there was no activity which would indicate an upward trend. "It appears to us that we will be dealing with low shipments and unfavorable financial results for the next several quarters. In the fourth quarter, including the impact of the acquisition of GenRad, we expect sales between $200 million and $250 million and to lose between $0.40 and $0.50 per share, before any special charges."

Chamillard emphasized that going forward, Teradyne will devote substantial attention to controlling expenses and managing its assets so as to assure its continued strength. The company will also continue its focus on the development of new products and having them designed into customer applications so as to be well positioned to achieve success in the next upturn in business. Chamillard noted that this applies not only to Teradyne's semiconductor test, broadband test and connection systems businesses, but also to the circuit board inspection and test market as Teradyne looks forward to combining its resources with those of GenRad, Inc. following the October vote of GenRad stockholders on Teradyne's proposed acquisition of GenRad. "While downturns are never easy or fun," Chamillard said, " Our employees are doing a great job of working with our customers to make sure that we provide the most economic solutions to their business problems and to make sure that Teradyne will emerge from this slowdown as winners, not just survivors."

MKS Instruments Reports Third Quarter 2001 Results

MKS Instruments, Inc., a leading supplier of gas measurement, control and analysis products, reactive gas generator and power delivery products used in semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing processes, reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2001.

Third quarter 2001 sales were $53,201,000, compared to second quarter 2001 sales of $72,656,000, and third quarter 2000 sales of $128,942,000. Cash earnings (defined as net income before amortization of goodwill and acquired intangible assets, and other acquisition and disposition related charges, net of income taxes) were a loss of $5,726,000 or $(0.15) per share compared to net income of $270,000 or $0.01 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2001 and net income of $17,355,000 or $0.46 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2000. In the third quarter 2001, the Company sold its Nimbus System product group and granted a non-exclusive license of the technology of its PlasmaQuest System product group, for approximately $9,000,000. The loss on the transaction was $1,246,000 before taxes, and $998,000 net of the related tax benefit.

John Bertucci, Chairman and CEO, commented, "The world-wide slowdown in demand for technology products continues to impact our industry and our Company. Nevertheless, we are maintaining our commitment to offering the broadest range of technologically advanced instruments, components and subsystems to our customers. Mr. Bertucci continued, "Given the current business situation, during the quarter we implemented headcount reductions, salary cuts, and reductions in work schedules and discretionary spending. Our visibility remains poor. We currently estimate that sales for the fourth quarter could range from $41 million to $45 million, and based on this sales range and our reduced levels of spending going forward, MKS' cash earnings per share for the fourth quarter could range from a loss of $(0.21) per share to a loss of $(0.25) per share. We continue to invest in research and development at a quarterly rate of $0.15 per share to position our products for market share gains in the next cyclical upturn. With our strong balance sheet, global infrastructure, broad-based technology, and our close customer relationships, we are committed to providing our customers with products that lower cost and improve productivity."

Perkin-Elmer, Inc. Third Quarter Results

PerkinElmer Inc., the world's No. 3 maker of drug-discovery equipment, announced its third-quarter earnings rose 16 percent after recent core business acquisitions and new product introductions. The Wellesley, Massachusetts-based company, which is looking into the possibility of selling its Fluid Sciences unit so that it can focus more sharply on the genetics industry, said third-quarter earnings were $39.5 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $34.2 million, or 33 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue dipped to to $302 million from $340 million a year ago. In September, the company gained shareholder approval to buy Packard BioScience. The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Shares of PerkinElmer closed at $29.17 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Danaher Corporation Announces Third Quarter Results

Danaher Corporation announced that net income for its third quarter ended September 28, 2001 was $87.7 million, 5% above the corresponding 2000 amount of $83.6 million. Earnings per share for the 2001 quarter were $.59 compared to $.58 for the 2000 quarter. Sales for the 2001 third quarter of $901.6 million were 8.6% below 2000 sales of $986.8.

Net earnings of $264.6 million, or $1.78 per share, for the nine month period ended September 28, 2001, were 12% and 9% higher, respectively, than the comparable 2000 net earnings of $236.4 million, or $1.63 per share. Year to date sales for 2001 of $2.86 billion were 4% higher than the $2.75 billion reported in 2000.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Despite the continuing softness in the industrial economy, we are able to report positive earnings growth. Net earnings for the quarter grew 5%, as a result of aggressive cost reduction and control. Third quarter sales performance in both business segments reflected the current weakness in the macro-economic environment. Process/Environmental Controls fell 7% while Tools and Components was down 11.5%. While we have great confidence in Danaher's long-term prospects, we will continue to maintain a strict cost focus while near term economic conditions remain uncertain."

LeCroy Corporation Reports 4% Sales Growth and 75% Earnings Growth In First Quarter Fiscal 2002

LeCroy Corporation, a leading supplier of high-performance digital oscilloscopes, announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 ended September 30, 2001.

LeCroy reported revenues of $30.8 million and operating income of $2.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2002. This compares with revenues of $29.4 million and operating income of $1.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2001. Net income from continuing operations was $1.8 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared with $1.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2001.

LeCroy President Tom Reslewic commented, "The continued success of our new products allowed us to meet our financial guidance in a very difficult economic environment during the first quarter. In addition, we took several important steps towards achieving our growth strategy. Those steps included strengthening our cash position by raising $25 million in a private equity placement and appointing Scott Bausback, an 18-year veteran of the Test & Measurement market, as the Company's chief operating officer."

Reslewic continued, "Thanks to our product-driven momentum and LeCroy's relative insulation from the extreme weakness in the communications and telecom sectors, orders remained solid through much of the summer, despite the slowing global economy. During the several weeks prior to September 11, however, we began to see signs of hesitancy among customers regarding their future purchases, indicating that customers' cautions regarding capital spending were beginning to extend into the R&D environment that represents LeCroy's core market. The tragic events of September 11 greatly intensified this trend." "

In addition, we are seeing a spillover of the economic weakness first experienced in the U.S. to Europe and Asia, where LeCroy generates roughly two thirds of its sales," said Reslewic. "Consequently, we currently anticipate that revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2002 will be approximately $30.0 million, essentially flat with the first quarter."

Mettler Toledo To Acquire Rainin Instrument

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. announced it has agreed to acquire Rainin Instrument, the leading manufacturer of pipetting solutions used in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical research applications. Mettler Toledo will purchase Rainin for a total consideration of $292.2 million, of which approximately one-half will be paid in cash and one-half in shares of common stock.

"Rainin is highly regarded in life sciences for its excellence in marketing and its leadership in technology. Its products set world standards for quality, accuracy and reproducibility," said Robert F. Spoerry, Chairman, President and CEO of Mettler Toledo. "With its broad patent portfolio, Rainin has truly differentiating technology in areas like electronic pipetting, ergonomic designs for pipettes, and tip designs which meet the exacting standards of today's research processes. We are eager to add this company of exceptional growth and profitability and to realize the synergies from our union."

Kenneth Rainin, President of Rainin, said, "Mettler Toledo serves essentially the same customer base, with complementary products that enhance the productivity and efficiency of research and development processes. Its global franchise is built upon strong leadership positions, an excellent brand name and an extensive sales and service network. Altogether, these factors make Mettler Toledo an ideal partner for Rainin."

Spoerry concluded, "Our aim is to build on Mettler Toledo's global infrastructure and customer relationships to rapidly extend Rainin's leadership worldwide. This acquisition further broadens our market-leading offering of instruments and solutions to the life sciences market and positions us to bring greater value to our customers and shareholders."

Based in Emeryville, California, Rainin develops, manufactures and distributes advanced pipettes, tips and accessories, including single- and multi-channel manual and electronic pipettes. Pipettes are used for measuring and dispensing small volumes of liquids in laboratories. Rainin's principal end markets are pharmaceutical, biotech and medical research. Rainin invented electronic pipettes in 1984 and holds more than 20 patents on ergonomically advanced electronic and manual pipettes.

In 2000, Rainin had sales of approximately $66 million and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of approximately $22 million. Nearly 85 percent of Rainin sales were in the United States.

The transaction is subject to antitrust and securities approvals. Management expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter 2001 and believes it will be neutral to mildly accretive to 2002 earnings. Upon closing, the Company will issue approximately 3.4 million shares of common stock to the seller.

Biomedical Devices: Globally Accepted Standards Needed

When it comes to standards and measurements, the $42 billion biomedical device industry has a lengthy to-do list-a reflection of the quickening pace of innovation and the regulatory complexity of global markets. In fact, a new NIST publication lists more than 60 priority tasks.

Distributed across five categories of technology and two cross-cutting areas, measurement and standards-related needs range from tests that better predict the stability of implanted materials to more accurate methods for characterizing cells and their derivatives.

Gleaned from a June 2001 workshop attended by industry and government representatives, these priorities will help to guide NIST's future research and services. Many recommendations focus on specific technical needs, such as improving the reliability and comparability of computer models used to evaluate how prototype devices will perform in the body. Common to most technology areas assessed at the workshop, however, is the desire for greater uniformity in regulatory requirements among nations. Workshop participants agreed that widespread use of globally accepted standards would reduce redundancy and help speed the introduction of new products and services.

NIST has identified the nation's $1.1 trillion health care sector as one of three "strategic focus areas" that it will emphasize in future activities (the others being nanotechnology and information and knowledge management). The institute already provides a variety of technical services to the sector. For example, about 10 percent of the 32,000 NIST Standard Reference Materials sold in 2000 were used to support clinical services or for other health-related purposes.

The summary of the Workshop on Biomedical Materials and Devices (NIST IR 6791) is available on-line. You can find it on NIST's Health Care Industry web page at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/healthcare.htm. To obtain a hard copy, contact Carolyn Stull, carolyn.stull@nist.gov. For information on follow-up activities, contact either John A. Tesk, (301) 975-6799, john.tesk@nist.gov; or Lisa Karam, (301) 975-5561, lisa.karam@nist.gov.

Searchable Accredited Calibration Laboratories Now on A2LA Web Site

A new searchable database of A2LA-accredited calibration laboratories is now available on the A2LA website, www.a2la.org. Searches can be made both by specific text and by free-form text. Specific text searches allow an individual to specify the desired calibration parameter, lab name, or location and to obtain results sorted by lab name, state or zip code. More latitude is allowed in free-form text searches; they yield listings of all laboratories that include the searched text in their scope.

Once a search has been completed, a listing is compiled of the lab name, contact information, and link to the lab's Scope of Accreditation. By clicking on the scope link, the individual is able to view that particular laboratory's current Scope of Accreditation. This makes it easy to locate laboratories accredited for specific calibrations and measurement uncertainties.

A2LA hopes the new searchable database will provide a valuable service to persons looking for specific accredited calibration providers while, at the same time, helping A2LA-accredited laboratories. Staff is now working to expand the search capabilities to the A2LA-accredited testing laboratories. Once the data entry for these laboratories is complete, a new testing lab search capability will be added to the website.

Cal Tec Labs Has Relocated

Cal Tec Labs has recently moved to new locations in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Dayton, Ohio areas. The new facilities allow Cal Tec Labs to accommodate their continuing growth and to better service their existing clientele. The relocations also coincide with Cal Tec Labs' ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

Cal Tec Labs perform dimensional, DC/low frequency, pressure, temperature, and mechanical calibration services.

For further information visit www.cal-tec.com or contact Mark Palmer at mpalmer@fyi.net.

PerkinElmer Acquisition of Packard BioScience Company Approved by Shareholders

PerkinElmer, Inc. and Packard BioScience Company jointly announced that their respective shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of PerkinElmer's acquisition of Packard BioScience.

At a special meeting held September 26, 2001, PerkinElmer's shareholders voted in favor of the issuance of shares of PerkinElmer common stock to Packard BioScience shareholders in accordance with the merger agreement. At a special meeting held on September 27, 2001, Packard BioScience's shareholders voted in favor of the adoption of the merger agreement and the approval of the merger.

The merger remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including approval by the Federal Trade Commission. PerkinElmer and Packard BioScience expect the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of 2001.

Packard BioScience is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of instruments and related consumables and services, and services for use in drug discovery and other life sciences research, such as basic human disease research and biotechnology. Packard BioScience is primarily focused on the rapidly growing areas of drug screening, functional genomics and proteomics.

PerkinElmer, Inc. reported annual revenues of $1.7 billion in 2000. The high technology company, based in Boston, Massachusetts, operates in four businesses - Life Sciences, Optoelectronics, Instruments, and Fluid Sciences. The Company has operations in over 125 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional information is available at www.perkinelmer.com or at 1-877-PKI-NYSE.

New Calibration Program Requirements Published

A2LA recently published its revised Calibration Program Requirements. This document includes A2LA-specific program requirements that calibration laboratories must meet in addition to the requirements contained in ISO/IEC 17025:1999.

A2LA will continue to offer calibration laboratories the option of being assessed to ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 in addition to ISO/IEC 17025:1999. The Calibration Program Requirements include a section containing the ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 requirements that are not covered by ISO/IEC 17025:1999 or the A2LA-specific requirements.

The revised Calibration Program Requirements also include three new A2LA-specific requirements beyond 17025 and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 that were not in the previous program. Following is a summary of these new requirements:

  • Calibration laboratories are now required to maintain a list of primary laboratory standards and the calibration services that calibrate the standards, including the name, location, and accreditation status of the calibration provider. (Section 2.1.1)
  • Calibration laboratories utilizing intrinsic standards are required to conduct and document inter-comparisons and periodic checks, and document the calibration history of the standard or system components and the device used to measure differences between the intrinsic standard and unknown values. (Section 2.1.3)
  • Expanded requirements that apply when certificates or reports include a recalibration interval or statements of compliance. (Section 2.1.5)

The new Calibration Program Requirements are available for implementation immediately. After October 1, 2001, all assessments will be conducted against the new requirements. Laboratories assessed against the new requirements before January 1, 2002 will be given six months to comply with the three new requirements outlined above. After January 1, 2002, laboratories will be required to meet all requirements at the time of assessment.

The new requirements and the accompanying checklist are available from A2LA Headquarters and at www.a2la.org. For questions regarding this document, please contact Thomas Adams at 301-644-3219, or tmadams@a2la.org.

Emerson Names Joseph W. Prueher To Board Of Directors

Joseph W. Prueher, former U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China and a retired Navy Admiral, has been named to Emerson's board of directors, it was announced by Charles F. Knight, chairman of the board.

Admiral Prueher served as U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from November 1999 to May 2001. As Chief of the United States mission in China, he served two presidents and was responsible for supervising the activities of all United States Executive Branch activities in China. His diplomatic post followed a 35-year career in the Navy, where he served as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, the largest military command in the world.

"We are pleased to have Admiral Prueher on Emerson's board of directors," Knight said. "From his distinguished service in the United States Navy through his exceptional representation of the United States in Beijing, he brings tremendous leadership skills and valuable knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region to Emerson."

Growth in sales outside of the United States has played an increasingly important role in Emerson's financial performance. In fiscal 2000, international sales increased to a record $5.9 billion, representing 38 percent of the company's total sales.

St. Louis-based Emerson www.gotoemerson.com is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers in electronics and telecommunications; process control; industrial automation; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; and appliances and tools. Sales in fiscal 2000 were $15.5 billion.

United States National Measurement Requirements Committee

Please visit the News page on the NCSL International web site www.ncslinternational.org to learn how you can participate in a survey being prepared by the NCSL International United States National Measurement Requirements Committee (US-NMRC). The report assesses Government and Industry short-term and long-term measurement requirements. The information being asked for falls into three broad categories.

First, they are looking for unmet test and measurement requirements that limit the design, manufacture, test or evaluation of new products. Second, they are looking for present or projected calibration laboratory support requirements for new test and measurement equipment, standards or systems. Third, they want to identify any new or expanded requirements for present or future calibration services from NIST. This information is very important in helping our country develop and continue to sustain its lead in tomorrow's high technology environment and global market place. The direct link to the survey is https://metcal.corona.navy.mil/ncsl. The Committee would like to thank you in advance for your participation in this survey.

Keithley Opens Offices in Finland, Sweden

Keithley Instruments, Inc. has expanded its presence in Scandinavia with the opening of branch offices near Helsinki, Finland and in Stockholm, Sweden, the measurement company announced.

The expansion will help Keithley serve major electronics and wireless customers in Denmark, Norway, and the Baltic States. "Given that the region is home to leading communications companies, along with operations of global companies that are already our customers in other countries, a direct presence is important to Keithley's future growth," said Joseph P. Keithley, chairman, president and CEO.

The offices will provide sales, application, engineering, and service resources to customers using Keithley test equipment, which is used widely in research, product and process design, and in production test applications. The ability to test sophisticated electronics products early in the manufacturing process can increase yields and cuts costs, and is especially important to Scandinavian plants involved in the production of communication equipment, wireless devices, and optoelectronic components.

The company, which annually sells about 50 percent of its products outside the United States, has had a long history in overseas sales. With the opening of these two offices, Keithley now operates branch offices in 15 countries, including several sales and applications engineers dedicated to northwest Europe.

For more information contact Keithley at: www.keithley.com.

Tektronix Names Richard H. Wills Chairman of the Board

Tektronix, Inc., a leading developer of test, measurement, and monitoring equipment, announced that Richard H. (Rick) Wills has been elected to the position of Chairman of the Board. Wills will retain his existing positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of Tektronix. Jerome J. (Jerry) Meyer, who is stepping down as Chairman, will continue as an integral member of the Tektronix Board of Directors.

"I am honored to assume the position of Chairman of the Board. We have a talented board with broad executive experience that provides insight and guidance to our management team. Jerry has done a truly admirable job over the last 10 years as Chairman of the Board, and we will continue to work together closely," said Wills.

"Since assuming the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, Rick has successfully led the transition of Tektronix to a pure-play test and measurement company, delivering record sales and earnings over the last two fiscal years," commented Meyer. "He has demonstrated continued leadership responding to the recent downturn in the technology sector and the economy -- planning and taking appropriate actions, while preserving investment in product development. Tektronix' Board of Directors has a very high level of confidence that Rick will continue his outstanding leadership role into the future."

Wills, a 22-year veteran of Tektronix with extensive experience in marketing, product development, sales and management, was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the company and was elected to the board of directors in January 2000.

Gleason Corporation and Mahr GmbH Have Formed a Strategic Alliance

Gleason Corporation and Mahr GmbH announced that the have formed a strategic alliance to develop, promote, sell and service gear metrology products on a worldwide basis. Effective January 1, 2002, Gleason will have worldwide responsibility for the sale and support of Mahr's gear metrology products, including its line of double flank roll testers and gear-specific versions of its existing Primar inspection systems. In addition, the parties are working together to develop new products to be introduced next year and beyond to enhance and expand the existing line of gear metrology products. The gear metrology products sold under this alliance will be branded "Gleason Mahr."

David J. Burns, President and Chief Operating Officer of Gleason Corporation, said, "We are excited about our new partnership with Mahr. Mahr has over 100 years of experience in the field of measurement and metrology offering a large array of products that clearly demonstrate their leadership in this field. We are confident that combining Gleason's significant global presence and leadership in gear processing solutions with Mahr's proven capabilities in metrology will result in an impressive range of gear metrology products and services to our customers."

Thomas Keidel, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mahr, comments, "In todays manufacturing environment it becomes ever more important to closely combine the metrology with the manufacturing process in order to economically develop and produce superior products. We are confident, that entering into a partnership with Gleason, the leader in gear production machines, will allow us to bring our metrology know-how even closer to where it is required."

More information about Gleason Corporation and Mahr GmbH is available at http://www.gleason.com and http://www.mahr.com.

National Instruments Expands Executive Management Team; Ray Almgren Named Vice President of Product Strategy

National Instruments announced Ray Almgren, a 14-year veteran of NI, has been named the company's Vice President of Product Strategy.

In his new role with NI, Almgren will lead a team of senior product managers and technologists that will focus on the strategy for developing and positioning NI's growing number of measurement and automation products.

"Ray's 12 years of experience in product management, strategic marketing, and engineering management, will be invaluable to his leadership of the Product Strategy team," said James Truchard, CEO and President of NI. "During his career at NI, Ray has played a significant role in the success of LabVIEW(TM) and other software products, our test and measurement products, and most recently as Director of Engineering, for our measurement hardware and software products."

"The creation of this group reinforces the importance of and continued focus on the development of strategic new products to fuel the company's growth," said Ray Almgren. "The product strategy group will focus on new high growth product lines, such as PXI(TM), FieldPoint(TM), motion, and vision, as well as many new platforms and key architectures currently under development at NI."

Electro Rent Corporation Reports Fiscal 2002 First Quarter Results

Electro Rent Corporation announced that net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 ended August 31, 2001 was $4.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share.

This compares to net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 of $8.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share. Revenue was $43.0 million for this year's first quarter compared to revenue of $57.3 million for the same period a year earlier.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Greenberg attributed the decline in revenue and profitability primarily to continued weakness in computer rental and lease activity, in addition to subdued demand in the telecommunications sector of Electro Rent's test and measurement (T&M) equipment rental and lease business. Also, increased purchases of equipment in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001 led to lower T&M equipment utilization rates compared to the prior year.

"Fortunately, our cash position, which is an extraordinarily important figure in today's environment, increased to more than $64 million at the end of August, even after we paid for a substantial amount of telecommunications test equipment purchased during the fourth quarter to meet our customers' physical layer, data link layer and network layer testing requirements. We now have built a comprehensive inventory of test equipment for the telecommunications sector while maintaining our traditional strength in the defense and aerospace sectors that remain the core of our T&M business," Greenberg said.

"While Electro Rent's performance this fiscal year certainly has been affected by the slowing economy, over the longer term the increase in defense spending that will follow the tragic events of September 11th is likely to have an ameliorative effect on our business. Based on our prior experience, our services historically have been used more frequently when volatility increases and capital budgets tighten. As our customers adjust to this uncertain environment, Electro Rent will respond vigorously to their needs," Greenberg added.

"To adjust to the decline in our computer rental business, we implemented a 9% reduction of our workforce in September, the effects of which should begin to impact our results during the current quarter. We have also slowed the additions to our equipment pool to bring it into better balance with the current pace of activity," Greenberg concluded. The book value of Electro Rent's equipment pool was $159.7 million at August 31, 2001 compared to $167.5 million at May 31, 2001.

 
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