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SEPTEMBER 2001 INDUSTRY NEWS
Hexagon Acquires World Leading Metrology Software Developer Hexagon AB has signed an agreement with California based Wilcox and Associates, Inc. (WAI) to acquire the remaining 70 percent of WAI's outstanding shares. Hexagon already owns 30 percent of WAI's shares through its subsidiary, Brown & Sharpe, Inc. WAI is the world's leading supplier of metrology software. WAI's PC-DMIS(TM) software is used as the standard software on the majority of Brown & Sharpe's new coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). It is also distributed for use as an upgrade for Brown & Sharpe and competitors' CMMs via Brown & Sharpe's global aftermarket services organization. PC-DMIS will be complemented by the CHORUS(TM)/CHORUS CAD(TM), as well as the QUINDOS(R)/QUINDOS(R) NT metrology software programs. Bill Wilcox, WAI's present chief executive officer, will head WAI. The strong financial results of WAI will be consolidated with Brown & Sharpe's profitable aftermarket services organization, where software and other service-related activities have a combined turnover of more than $70 million. The acquisition, which is scheduled to be concluded on October 1, 2001, will contribute to Hexagon's earnings from the date of possession. "We regard this acquisition as strategic for our continued expansion in the metrology business," said Jack Beagley, Brown & Sharpe, Inc. CEO. "PC-DMIS will constitute the platform for Brown & Sharpe's present and future software systems. PC-DMIS has a very exciting future where the demand for the product will not only come from traditional CMMs, but also from other metrology systems, such as vision and laser based machines, along with NC machine tools." "By formalizing the relationship with Hexagon, we'll be able to take advantage of the worldwide marketing strength of the Brown & Sharpe brand name and provide a new level of software capability and functionality to our customers," said Bill Wilcox.
Instrumentation Technical Services, Inc. named Authorized Service Provider Foxboro Measurement & Instrumentation has named Instrumentation Technical Services, Inc. (ITS) exclusive Authorized Service Provider for its product lines, including pressure, temperature, flow, pH and conductivity. ITS can now assist you with Installation, Calibration, Electronic repair/service, Configuration, Remedial maintenance and Shutdown/startup service. ITS operates in the Mid-Atlantic area including D.C., Delaware, Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and West Virginia. For more than ten years ITS has been providing a wide array of technical support services to processing plants, discrete manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, and other enterprises in the Mid-Atlantic region. Calibrations are conducted to NIST traceability at a 4:1 ratio, using established written test procedures and documentation, as well as a computerized scheduling/tracking system. ITS can be contacted at 800-440-7501 or e-mail at nvolpone@calservice.net.
The National Association for Proficiency Testing (NAPT) will provide testing for new web-based application service In addition to new web site design and content the National Association for Proficiency Testing (NAPT) will be providing customers with the ability to test the new web-based application service called Proficiency Online. The Proficiency Online application makes participating in ILCs easy. Proficiency Online handles all the administrative, analytical and reporting aspects of your proficiency testing efforts. By reducing the time and effort involved, you can reap the benefits of ISO 17025 compliance which customers are demanding. In providing services like Proficiency Online NAPT is fulfilling its mission as a nonprofit organization focused exclusively on delivering excellence in measurement science. NAPT also enhances measurement success of their members and clients through participation in proficiency testing (PT). Participation in NAPT programs provides: Confidential Benchmarking: Participation in PT allows you to achieve and maintain competitive advantage through benchmarking. This will increase confidence in your products and services by assuring your customers that you are compliant with rigorous international standards. Know What to Improve: Instant comparison of quality measurements with other labs - benchmark where you stand versus the industry. Online Database: NAPT provides the only online metrology database for administering and coordinating proficiency tests-Proficiency Online. For more information visit www.proficiency.org or call 1-952-542-8872.
Tektronix Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2002 Results Tektronix, Inc. reported net sales of $216.6 million and net income from continuing operations of $12.5 million, or $0.13 per share, before non-recurring costs, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2002. This compares with sales of $278.2 million and net income from continuing operations of $27.6 million, or $0.28 per share, excluding non-recurring charges, for the same period a year ago. Including non-recurring costs incurred to reduce the company's cost structure in line with order and sales expectations, net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2002 was $8.3 million, or $0.09 per share. "I am pleased we executed well and am proud of the efforts of all our employees worldwide in managing our operations and achieving our earnings target in what has certainly been a tough quarter," said Rick Wills, Tektronix president and CEO. "We responded to the rapid decline in our markets with swift actions to control expenses, allowing us to weather the downward pressure on our industry and the broader economy." "The management team remains vigilant and focused on effectively managing our infrastructure through this downturn while keeping our sights on emerging stronger. We continue to take a surgical approach to expense reductions -- preserving investment in research and development with an emphasis on key technologies and applications," said Wills. For the second quarter of fiscal 2002, the company expects sales to decline approximately 35% over the same period a year ago. Operating margins are expected to be in the mid-single digits. In addition, the company expects to incur one-time costs of approximately $5 million to continue aligning the cost structure with lower order and sales expectations. "Based on what we see today, we are not expecting improvement in our markets in the near-term and have taken the necessary actions," said Wills. "However, we remain confident in our ability to build on our leadership position. We have an excellent and growing market position. We have terrific new products coming out in the next several quarters as a result of our investment in research and development over the last two years, and we have over $750 million in cash and marketable investments -- all playing a key role in allowing Tektronix to emerge from this downturn stronger." NIST Gives Chip Makers the Edge by Smoothing Edges Imagine trying to measure something very tiny that also isn't very straight. That's the challenge faced by the semiconductor industry as computer chips become smaller. Miniaturization techniques have advanced considerably in recent decades. Yet it is difficult to come up with a good "ruler" for measuring something that is only 100 nanometers across, or about one one-thousandth the width of a human hair. The task is tougher yet if you are trying to measure something with ragged edges. Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are helping the semiconductor industry overcome this problem and clear the way to improved measurements of "critical dimensions" (known as CD in the industry). Critical dimensions refer to the smallest size that can be etched into a computer chip uniformly. Ragged-edged chip materials cannot provide a reliable, consistent standard for measuring CD. Therefore, NIST engineers have developed test structures using a silicon crystal lattice that has perfectly even sides to do the job. With the introduction of these test structures, NIST has taken a significant step toward creating a standard way to calibrate instruments (the "rulers") used to measure 100-nanometer-wide gates in computer chips. NIST distributed test chips-each containing a prototype calibration standard with a CD ranging from 80 to 140 nanometers-to 15 semiconductor manufacturers (members of the International SEMATECH consortium) worldwide in April. The firms currently are evaluating the samples and will provide the results to NIST by September. The data then will be used to complete work on a CD measurement standard for the semiconductor industry For more information contact Philip Bulman at 301-975-5661 Teradyne To Lay Off 11 Percent Teradyne Inc., the biggest maker of semiconductor testing equipment, said that it was cutting 11 percent of its work force, or about 1,000 jobs, to cut costs further in the face of weak demand. Teradyne also said that per-share results for the third quarter will be at the low end of its previous guidance, which was for a loss of 32 cents a share. After the cuts, Boston-based Teradyne said it will employ about 8,000 people. Additional cost-cutting measures include a salary cut, based on a sliding scale, with those workers at higher salary levels seeing a 15 percent cut. "Although there are some signs that the fall-off in our business is slowing, the reduced level of business requires that we further decrease expenses," said George Chamillard, chairman and chief executive in a statement. Micro Metrology Inc. Announced Beta Testing a Success Jun Bautista, Senior Vice-president, Operations announced that the Beta testing of its Deployable Fiberoptic Calibration System (DFCS) was a success and that Micro Metrology Inc. (MMI), a Chatsworth, CA based third party calibration laboratory is now fully capable of providing fiberoptic equipment users both in-house and on-site calibration of fiberoptic measurement equipment, such as optical power meters, attenuators, and light sources. Laboratory in-house turnaround is normally two to three days for local customers and five to seven days portal-to-portal for customers outside of Southern California. Micro Metrology Inc. is also in the process of performing acceptance testing of a deployable monochromator that will give the company capability to perform on-site calibration /characterization of optical detectors. This will complement the DFCS package that is now in service. This added capability is MMI's response to support the "First To Market" strategy that most manufacturers are now implementing. Full technical details regarding this service and other capabilities that MMI offers, may be obtained from Jun Bautista at (818) 993-4971 or jbautista@mmicallabs.com. Mahr Federal Appoints New President Craig Crossley has been appointed President of Mahr Federal Inc., replacing the recently retired Joe Golemme. In his new position, Mr. Crossley will focus on sales and marketing initiatives to profitably grow Mahr Federal. Mahr Federal manufactures and markets dimensional metrology products critical to manufacturing operations across a broad range of industries. Mahr Federal is responsible for North American marketing of its own products as well as those of Mahr GmbH, its parent company based in Germany. Prior to joining Mahr Federal, Mr. Crossley was an executive with Russell Reynolds Association, a global executive consulting firm. Crossley also served as a Strategic Business Unit President at Furon (a unit of Saint-Gobain Corporation), and in several positions with Eaton Corporation, including Business Unit Manager and Marketing and Sales Director for the Aerospace Controls Division. Mr. Crossley said, "I'm impressed with the company's tremendous global position in the dimensional measuring instruments marketplace, and I'm looking forward to working with our talented people to grow this dynamic enterprise. I'll be paying particular attention to our current and future customers. We want to earn their commitment to considering Mahr Federal first for any of their many measurement products, systems or service needs." Crossley received a B.B.A. in marketing and communications at the University of Miami and a Master of International Marketing degree from the American Graduate School of International Management. Federal Products Accredited to Guide 25 Meets Gage Calibration Quality Standard for QS-9000 Federal Products Co. has been accredited to the "Guide 25" standard for calibration laboratories, ensuring that the company will continue to provide high-accuracy gage calibration services to major automakers and their suppliers, as well as other industries. The accreditation assessment was performed by NQA, USA, Federal's ISO 9001 Registrar. Federal's accreditation applies to two labs: the Customer Calibration laboratory, which calibrates gages and certifies gaging artifacts for industrial users; and the Federal Precision Measurement Center-one of the top-rated dimensional labs in the world. Five types of artifacts have been established for calibration according to ISO/IEC Guide 25: gage blocks; master rings, discs and plugs; and indicators. Federal will submit new artifacts to be accredited during its periodic ISO 9001 assessments. Federal Products is known worldwide for its expertise in providing dimensional measurement solutions. The ISO 9001-certified company manufactures and markets a wide variety of precision gaging products, including: dial and digital indicators; mechanical, air and electronic gaging; dimensional standards; instruments for surface finish and geometry gaging; and custom gages and systems. For additional information contact Marketing, Federal Products, Co. at 800-333-4243 or 401-784-3100. LeCroy Names Thomas Reslewic as CEO, Replacing Lutz Henckels LeCroy Corp., a maker of digital oscilloscopes, has promoted President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Reslewic to chief executive, effective Jan. 1. Reslewic will replace Lutz Henckels, who will stay on as a director and special consultant, the company said. Reslewic became chief operating officer in 1998 and added the president's title last October. LeCroy, whose products are used in the electronics, computer and communications industries, also said it hired Scott Bausback as chief operating officer. He was previously vice president and general manager of Tektronix Inc.'s communications business unit. Henckels said Reslewic has helped the company expand over the past two years, overseeing product innovation, reorganizing its primary business of oscilloscopes and increasing sales. The 4th International Symposium on Humidity and Moisture, September 16-19, 2002 First announcement and call for papers for The 4th International Symposium on Humidity and Moisture being held on September 16 - 19, 2002 in Taipei, Taiwan. Since 1963, this international symposium has been a preeminent forum for discussion of the latest developments in humidity and moisture measurement technologies. 2002 marks the fourth holding of this topical symposium, and the first time it is to be held in Asia. This event will bring together scientists, engineers, and practitioners from all over the world. The deadline for the submission of abstract papers is December 10, 2001. A comprehensive trade exhibition showing the latest in instrumentation and services will be held in conjunction with the Symposium. Please contact the ISHM 2002 Taiwan Secretariat, Ms. Hui-Chung Ma, for further information. Tel: +886-3-5732211, Fax: +886-3-5724635, Email: hcma@itri.org.tw NIST Assesses Accuracy of Thin Film Dimensions The thickness of gate dielectrics-the ultra-thin insulating films that separate electrical gates and channels in transistors-is the smallest dimension to be measured on a chip. As thickness requirements fall below 4 nanometers, films must be produced with a thickness tolerance of less than 0.3 nanometer, and metrology tools with a precision of better than 0.1 nanometer are required. NIST is developing a new data analysis approach that quantifies the errors associated with these thickness measurements, a critical issue in semiconductor manufacturing and performance. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to measure thickness, new methods have been developed for obtaining two-dimensional calibration information from an image of the silicon lattice substrate. The "ruler" is the distance between silicon atoms, measured in a new way that significantly improves measurements of atom position. The approach involves computer-based image processing and a mathematical algorithm. The image of the lattice is digitized, a computer is used to define where the atoms are, and the algorithm produces a measurement based on multiple inputs. Films nominally 2 nanometers thick were measured with an estimated uncertainty of 0.2 nanometer, confirming that standard techniques are not good enough. The researchers now are working on improving the measurement precision and understanding accuracy issues. The accuracy is estimated by computer modeling of gate dielectric stacks using simulation software. NIST researchers are quantifying the effects of variables such as microscope lens aberrations, vibration and sample properties on the accuracy of the thickness measurement and are searching for the optimal imaging conditions. For more information, contact John Henry Scott, (301) 975-4981, Email: johnhenry.scott@nist.gov. Hathaway Reports Significant Profit Improvement for Fiscal 2001 Hathaway Corporation announced it achieved a 67% increase in net income before a restructuring charge for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2001. Net income before the restructuring charge for the year was $2,465,000, or $.51 per fully diluted share, compared to a net profit of $1,475,000, or $.31 per fully diluted share, for the year ended June 30, 2000. Net income for fiscal 2001 after the restructuring charge was $1,996,000, or $.41 per fully diluted share, a 35% increase over last year. This fiscal year's net income includes a pretax restructuring charge of $587,000. Revenues for the year ended June 30, 2001, increased 7% to $48,386,000 from $45,133,000 for last year. Hathaway achieved net income before a restructuring charge for the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2001, of $1,049,000, or $.22 per fully diluted share, compared to $1,354,000, or $.28 per fully diluted share for the fourth quarter last year. Net income for the fourth quarter after the restructuring charge was $956,000, or $.20 per fully diluted share. The current quarter's results include a pretax charge of $61,000 for the restructuring of the Company's process instrumentation business. Revenues for the fourth quarter decreased 6% to $12,574,000 this year from $13,310,000 last year. "We are pleased with the results of the Company for fiscal 2001, reporting an improvement of $990,000, or 67%, over the prior year before the restructuring charge," commented Dick Smith, president and CEO. "We have successfully completed the restructuring of the process instrumentation business of our power and process segment and this business should be profitable in the future. The systems automation business improved significantly during fiscal 2001. Our systems technology continues to gain acceptance in both power generation facilities and transmission substation installations. We continue to believe our power instrumentation and systems automation business has developed products that will help power companies achieve lower costs, improve the reliability of their power and increase their systems automation and control. AMETEK Names Donald W. Carlson as Vice President And General Manager of Its U.S. Gauge Division AMETEK Inc. announced that the Board of Directors has elected Mr. Donald W. Carlson, Vice President and General Manager of AMETEK's U.S. Gauge Division, effective September 1, 2001. Mr. Carlson was previously Division Vice President of Operations for U.S. Gauge. Frank Hermance, AMETEK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am pleased to announce Don's promotion to Vice President and General Manager. He brings extensive experience and knowledge of U.S. Gauge's business to his new position. Don's strong operational background and leadership skills will be important assets in the continued success of U.S. Gauge." Mr. Carlson has held a variety of increasingly responsible manufacturing, materials management and customer service positions during his eighteen-year career. He joined the Company in 1989 with the acquisition of AMETEK Aerospace from General Electric. At AMETEK Aerospace, Mr. Carlson served in managerial roles in customer service and materials management. In 1996, Mr. Carlson joined U.S. Gauge Division as Operations Project Manager. In 1997 he was named Division Materials Manager and in 1999, Director of Customer Service and Information Technology. Mr. Carlson has been Division Vice President of Operations for this multi-plant operation since the beginning of 2000. Prior to joining AMETEK, Mr. Carlson spent seven years with General Electric, completing their Manufacturing Management Program as well as serving in several operational roles. Mr. Carlson holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. degree in Economics, both from Tufts University.
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