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APRIL 2002 INDUSTRY NEWS

National Instruments Reports Solid Profits; Sales Match Historical Seasonal Pattern

National Instruments announced revenue of $94.7 million for the first quarter of 2002 with diluted earnings per share (EPS) of 14 cents. NI reported operating margins of 11 percent and net income of $7.4 million for Q1 2002.

"During the quarter, the diversity of our business and the strength of new platforms like LabVIEW Real-Time and PXI enabled us to win business in strategic new application areas," said James Truchard, NI President and CEO. "Our performance validates that virtual instrumentation is coming of age, and our aggressive new product initiatives and expanded field sales force make us more competitive than ever."

"In Q1 2002, we continued to manage our expenses effectively while expanding our business opportunities," said Alex Davern, CFO of NI. "After declining in the first three quarters of last year, revenue in Q4 2001 and Q1 2002 has followed the historical seasonal pattern that we saw prior to 2001. This gives us confidence that our business is returning to normal and when combined with what we're seeing from leading U.S. economic data, indicates we are entering a more stable economic environment." Geographically, the breakdown of revenue in U.S. dollar terms for Q1 2002 as compared to the first quarter of 2001 was as follows: Americas, down 15 percent; Europe, down 13 percent; Asia, down 1 percent; and down 12 percent worldwide.

 

ASQ's Certified Calibration Technician (CCT) Update

Chris Grachanen has helpfully provided an update on the Certified Calibration Technician (CCT) program that American Society of Quality (ASQ) is developing. The job analysis survey has been completed, compiled and summarized. The survey results will be used in developing a Body of Knowledge (BOK) for the CCT program.

The next step is finalization of the CCT BOK which will be used in revising and updating the CCT program proposal. The proposal will then be presented to the ASQ Certification Board for approval. Once the Certification Board approves the finalized CCT program proposal, the next step will be to formally present the proposal to ASQ's Board of Directors. Upon passage by the Board of Directors, funding for the CCT certification program will be obtained from ASQ headquarters and the real work of developing the CCT examination will begin.

The time schedule for these steps is for the final CCT program proposal to be presented to the ASQ Certification Board at the annual ASQ Quality Congress on May 18 in Denver and then presenting to the ASQ Board of Directors the following day if all goes satisfactorily.

For information about the ASQ's current certification programs visit their web site at www.asq.org. The ASQ's Metrology Quality Division's web site, www.metrology.org, is currently undergoing a major overhaul but in a few months they will be providing up-to-the minute information on the CCT program.

 

Sypris Solutions Reports First Quarter Results; Earnings Per Share Increase 70%

Sypris Solutions, Inc. reported first quarter earnings increased 70% to $0.17 per diluted share compared to $0.10 per diluted share for the first quarter in 2001. Net income for the first quarter increased 79% to $1.8 million compared to $1.0 million for the same quarter in 2001. Revenue increased 8% to $62.5 million from $58.0 million for the prior year period.

"We are pleased with the financial results for the quarter," said Jeffrey T. Gill, president and chief executive officer. "The Company's operating margins continued to expand, while revenue increased for the eleventh consecutive quarter on a comparable period basis. Net bookings increased 28% to $62.4 million from $48.7 million in the prior year quarter, resulting in backlog of $162.4 million at the end of the period."

"The quarter was notable for a number of accomplishments, including the announcement of new contracts with the National Security Agency, Visteon Corporation and BAE Systems that are expected to generate a total of $200 million of revenue over the terms of the agreements. In addition, stockholders' equity increased to $121 million during the period from $70 million at the close of 2001 primarily as a result of the successful completion of the Company's stock offering on March 20, 2002."

"We believe the Company is well positioned to continue its growth initiatives. The Visteon contract is expected to reach full volume during the second half of the year, while our strong balance sheet should provide us with the capability to support the growing needs of our customers for advanced manufacturing and technical services for the foreseeable future. The increase in the number of shares outstanding as a result of the stock offering will affect the year-to-year comparison of earnings per share in the coming quarters, though we remain optimistic that the Company will continue to report progress during the year.

" As a result, we expect second quarter earnings to be in the range of $0.15 to $0.17 per diluted share, assuming 14.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to $0.12 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2001 on 9.9 million weighted average shares. For the full year, we expect earnings to be in the range of $0.78 to $0.82 per diluted share, assuming 14.0 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to $0.63 per diluted share for 2001 on 10.0 million weighted average shares."

Commenting further, Mr. Gill stated, "The recently announced contract awards with BAE and Honeywell represent the first tangible signs of increased spending by our aerospace and defense customers, the impact of which should contribute positively to the long-term outlook for the Company. The truck components and assemblies market continues to show signs of improving, though we remain cautious about this market's growth prospects for the balance of 2002. Our outlook for the year assumes the continued stability in these markets and in the general economy as a whole."

 

Danaher Corporation Announces First Quarter Results

Danaher Corporation announced that net earnings for its first quarter ended March 29, 2002, before the effect of a change in accounting principle, were $82.7 million, comparable to 2001 first quarter net income of $82.6 million. Diluted earnings per share for the 2002 quarter, before the effect of a change in accounting principle, were $0.55, 2% below the comparable $0.56 for the 2001 first quarter. In accordance with the adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 142 (SFAS 142), the Company stopped amortizing goodwill as of January 1, 2002. Excluding goodwill amortization from the first quarter of 2001, adjusted diluted earnings per share fell 14%, from $0.64 in 2001 to $0.55 in 2002. Also related to the adoption of SFAS 142, the Company recorded a $173.8 million one-time non-cash charge for impairment of goodwill associated with the Company's power quality businesses. After the accounting change, the first quarter resulted in a net loss of $91 million or $.58 per share. Sales for the 2002 first quarter were $1,004.2 million, essentially flat to the $1,005.3 million for the 2001 first quarter.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased to report expected 2002 earnings, despite the continued challenging economic environment. Also as expected, we experienced core volume declines in both business segments, totaling 15% overall. However, we have seen a sequential stabilization in revenues, particularly in our motion and power quality businesses, which were most negatively affected by the recession in 2001. Acquisitions added approximately 16% of revenue growth for the quarter, due primarily to the previously announced acquisitions of Gilbarco, Videojet and Viridor. Operating cash flow, at $263 million, was a quarterly record, with strong gains in all working capital components. The signs of stability in many of our industrial markets, combined with our on-going cost reduction programs and the early progress at Videojet , Gilbarco, and Viridor give us a more encouraging outlook for the balance of the year."

 

Fluke Acquires Biomedical Instruments Division from Lionheart Technologies

Fluke Corporation, the global leader in electrical test and measurement technology, has acquired the Biomedical Instruments Division of Lionheart Technologies. The division is comprised of three organizations: DNI Nevada located in Carson City, NV, Dale Technologies in Westport, NY, and the Biomedical division of Bio-Tek Instruments in Winooski, VT.

"The Lionheart Biomedical Division product line is similar to Fluke in that it has a well established customer base and a brand reputation for rugged reliability. It offers us a great opportunity for expanding our presence in health care, an important and growing market," noted Jim Lico, president of Fluke. "Biomedical technicians are already using Fluke products and this acquisition will allow us to expand our offerings to them."

Lionheart will retain its core business, Bio-Tek Instruments. "This strategic decision will allow for increased focus and investment in Bio-Tek Instruments Laboratory business," Briar Alpert, Lionheart Technologies president said. Bio-Tek's Laboratory division is a leading developer and supplier of high-performance microplate instrumentation and software for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology marketplace.

The Biomedical Division is the market leader in the development and manufacture of test equipment and software used within hospitals, with third-party maintenance organizations, the military and in all facets of medical product manufacturing and sales. These biomedical products include defibrillator analyzers, electrical safety analyzers, patient simulators and quality assurance data management software. The products are marketed and sold throughout the world.

Fluke will retain the existing sales channel for all three companies. "We want to assure Bio-Tek Instrument customers that this change in ownership will not impact them in terms of product warranty and service," said Lico. "Customers should continue to buy products through their current sales channels. We are committed to providing the same high level of service they've come to expect."

For more information contact Fluke Corporation at www.Fluke.com.

 

AMETEK Achieves Record Results; --Company Posts 8% Increase in Net Income

AMETEK Inc. announced first quarter results that established records for operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share.

AMETEK's first quarter 2002 sales of $263.6 million were essentially unchanged from the $264.1 million recorded in the first quarter of 2001. Operating income for the first quarter of 2002 was $36.4 million, a 2% increase over the same period of 2001.

Net income totaled $19.7 million, up 8% from $18.3 million in the first quarter of 2001. Diluted earnings per share rose 7% to $.59 per share from the first quarter 2001 level of $.55 per share.

On January 1, 2002 AMETEK adopted SFAS #142, which eliminates amortization of goodwill. The impact of the amortization of goodwill in AMETEK's 2001 first quarter results was $.07 per diluted share.

"AMETEK's first quarter performance in a still challenging economic environment is the result of continued solid execution of our Four Growth Strategies, particularly our operational excellence and acquisition strategies, " commented Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK chairman and chief executive officer. "Our revenue and profitability were favorably impacted by the three strategic acquisitions we completed last year. We also have taken the necessary steps to size our business to the current economic environment. These actions enabled AMETEK to post strong earnings this quarter and provide for leveraged earnings growth when the economy recovers," he added.

 

High Degree Of Interest In NACLA Within Federal Agencies

A NACLA-funded study of Federal Government agencies' laboratory accreditation policies and practices has revealed a surprising amount of interest in the NACLA program for evaluating and recognizing U.S.accreditation bodies. As a result of the study, the NACLA Board of Directors is considering several new tactics to enhance the program and its acceptance by Government bodies.

In the course of the research project, NACLA representatives interviewed officials of agencies within the following bodies: Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Health Care Financing Administration, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A major reason for the interest in NACLA revealed in the interviews is the growing expectation that laboratories, both internal and external, upon which Government relies for data have been assessed by outside agents to determine if they meet the proper international standards and have been found competent to perform specific tests relevant to the given agency's needs.

"In general, the federal agencies we met with look at NACLA with respect and interest," the report states. "NACLA's ability to provide a useful service for them will depend upon its success in providing the degree of assurance that the agencies seek from laboratories that serve the agencies' needs."

"We believe that this (respect and interest) is due not only to the success of NACLA marketing efforts, but also to today's climate in which many different users of agency services seek evidence of competence of all testing laboratories that provide services to them. These include the agency's own laboratory(s) and those in the private or quasi-public sectors that the agency uses. People are coming to expect that laboratories have been assessed by outside atgents to determine if they meet comprehensive international standards and have been found to perform specific test methods competently."

Two federal agencies are already making use of the NACLA program:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a memorandum of understanding with NACLA, under which NIST relies on NACLA-recognized accreditation bodies in carrying out its responsibilities as a designating authority for testing laboratories in U.S. mutual recognition agreements (MRA's) with other economies and The Department of Energy's Sandia Primary Standards Laboratory recently changed its policies so as to make use of commercial calibration laboratories that are accredited by a NACLA-recognized accreditation body.

Information about NACLA and its program is available from the NACLA Secretariat (secretariat@nacla.net) and on the organization's web site www.nacla.net.

 

Teradyne Announces First Quarter Results

Teradyne, Inc. reported sales of $248 million for the first quarter of 2002, and a net loss of $73.4 million, or $0.40 per share, excluding special charges. Including special charges, the net loss was $77.1 million, or $0.42 per share. Gross bookings for the quarter were $238 million, and net bookings after cancellations totaled $210 million.

"Things are clearly better than they were three months ago," said Teradyne chairman and CEO George Chamillard. "Four of our five businesses had higher sales and higher net bookings in the first quarter of 2002 than in the fourth quarter of 2001. On the other hand, while some markets are improving, there are still many that are not.

"Given the improvements in our gross orders, customer pull-ins from our backlog and a reduction in cancellations, we plan to increase sales beyond the level of the first quarter by approximately 20 percent to between $280 million and $310 million. We expect this to result in a loss of 31 cents per share, plus or minus 10 percent, before any special charges," Chamillard concluded.

 

MKS Instruments Reports First Quarter 2002 Results

MKS Instruments, Inc., a leading provider of products that measure, control, power and monitor critical parameters of semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing process environments, reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2002. Results include partial quarter contributions of MKS' acquisitions of the ENI division of Emerson and Tenta Technology, Ltd.

First quarter 2002 revenues totaled $59.1 million, an increase of 18 percent compared to fourth quarter 2001 revenues of $50.1 million and a 47 percent decrease compared to first quarter 2001 revenues of $110.9 million. The first quarter 2002 revenue increase resulted primarily from acquisitions completed in the quarter.

The net cash loss (defined as net income before amortization of goodwill and acquired intangible assets, and other acquisition and disposition related charges, net of income taxes) for the first quarter of 2002 was $4.3 million, or $(0.09) per basic share, compared to a fourth quarter 2001 net cash loss of $12.8 million or $(0.34) per basic share, and first quarter 2001 cash earnings of $9.2 million or $0.24 per diluted share. The first quarter 2002 reported net loss was $11.8 million or $(0.25) per share on 46.3 million basic weighted average shares outstanding compared to the first quarter 2001 reported net loss of $2.1 million or $(0.06) per share on 36.8 million basic weighted average shares outstanding.

"We continue to invest in product development for leading-edge tools and acquire complementary technologies that we believe will position MKS for market share gains as the industry recovers. We saw increased activity in the first quarter, and were encouraged by an upturn in March bookings after a slow start to the year," said John R. Bertucci, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of MKS.

 

Keithley Reports Sequential Sales and Order Increases for Fiscal 2002 Second Quarter

Keithley Instruments, Inc., a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announced results for its fiscal 2002 second quarter that ended March 31, 2002.

Net sales of $22.0 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2002 increased 8 percent from the first quarter; the first sequential increase since December 2000. Compared to the prior year's second quarter, net sales decreased 49 percent from $43.2 million last year. The company reported a net loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2002 of $1.3 million, or $0.08 per share, versus net income of $5.1 million, or $0.31 per share, in last year's second quarter. Orders of $22.7 million for the second quarter increased 13 percent from the first quarter resulting from higher orders from the company's semiconductor and telecommunications industry customers.

Orders from the optoelectronics industry were flat, while research and education customer orders decreased from a strong first quarter. When compared to the prior year's second quarter, orders decreased 37 percent from $36.2 million last year. Geographically, orders for the quarter were down 46 percent in the United States, 38 percent in Europe, and down only 2 percent in the Pacific Basin compared to the same period a year ago. For the first half of fiscal 2002, semiconductor orders comprised approximately 20 percent of the total, telecommunications orders accounted for about 15 percent, optoelectronics orders made up 5 percent, while research and education comprised approximately 25 percent of total orders. Order backlog increased slightly during the quarter to $12.2 million at March 31, 2002.

"We were pleased to see business sequentially improve for the first time in over a year," stated Joseph P. Keithley, the company's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "We are seeing more activity from our semiconductor customers than six months ago. Although conditions remain difficult in most segments of the electronics industry we serve, we have continued our investments in new product development and in strengthening our worldwide sales and support organization. During the quarter, we introduced several new products for our targeted semiconductor, telecommunications, and optoelectronics customers, including a DMM/Switch System with RF switch capability to 3.5GHz, the Model 2502 Fiber Alignment Photodiode Meter, and fully integrated factory configurations for hybrid DC/RF/Optical switching for our System 40 product line. By adding RF and optical capabilities to our existing DC expertise, we are positioned to take market share as we move through this cycle."

"Our new sales and support office in Japan officially opened for business on April 1. This is an essential strategic move toward increasing our presence in this important region. Japan has a very large number of electronics companies that have a great deal of influence on others in the rest of Asia," added Keithley. "We are encouraged by the good news we are hearing with regard to the semiconductor industry, consumer electronics, and flat panel displays. While we expect improvements in some segments of the electronics industry over the next year, we expect other segments to not improve in the near-term. Our sales are order dependent and based on what we are seeing now, we are estimating sales for the June quarter to range between $21 and $25 million, with a pretax loss as a percentage of net sales in the single-digit to low-teens range," Keithley said.

 

LeCroy Corporation Reports Third-Quarter Financial Results

LeCroy Corporation, a leading supplier of high-performance digital oscilloscopes, announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 ended March 31, 2002. The results are in line with the preliminary third-quarter financial results the Company reported on April 1, 2002.

Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 was $23.6 million and operating loss including non-recurring charges was $3.9 million. The third- quarter operating loss before non-recurring charges was $1.9 million. This compares with revenue of $37.4 million and operating income of $3.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2001. Including non-recurring charges, LeCroy reported a net loss from continuing operations of $2.7 million, or $(0.31) per share, for the third-quarter of fiscal 2002. The third-quarter net loss from continuing operations, before non-recurring charges, was $1.2 million, or $(0.16) per share. This compares with $2.8 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2001.

LeCroy President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic commented, "Although the difficult economy and execution issues in our U.S. sales channel prevented us from hitting our initial targets for revenue and operating income, customer and trade-press response to our new WaveMaster family of silicon germanium (Si-Ge) based oscilloscopes far exceeded our expectations. WaveMaster order volume was ahead of plan by 25 percent, and we met our quarterly WaveMaster shipment target as well. Our growth strategy is based on the expansion of LeCroy's addressable market by introducing products for high- end applications. Yesterday, we built on this strategy by launching X-MAP, an industry-first capability for customizing digital oscilloscopes based on WaveMaster's Windows operating system. This capability further extends LeCroy's lead in WaveShape Analysis."

"While WaveMaster order volume was strong, the slow economy lowered overall demand and tended to extend the product buying cycle," Reslewic said. "As a result, our overall operating results fell well short of both the prior year's results and our expectations as of the beginning of the quarter. Total third-quarter order volume was lower and more back-ended than normal, with approximately 35 percent of our orders being received in the last two weeks of the quarter. Although we increased our overall backlog by $4.0 million during the quarter, the timing of these orders affected our ability to ship product and record revenue in the third quarter."

Reslewic continued, "Compounding the impact of sluggish overall demand, there were execution problems in our U.S. distribution channel that compromised our domestic performance. Several months ago, we implemented a series of organizational improvements to address this issue, but progress has been too slow. As a result, we are currently restructuring and increasing the capacity of our U.S. sales organization so that LeCroy can fully capitalize on opportunities in this critical geographic market."

"While we improve our U.S. distribution channel and continue to invest in product development, we also remain committed to reducing our expenses," Reslewic said. "Painful as cost cutting may be, it is necessary to overcome the drag imposed by the still sluggish demand picture for test and measurement products. As we previously announced, by the end of the third quarter we had reduced our workforce by approximately nine percent, or 40 employees. Approximately 85 percent of these positions were in management, administration and operations, and very few were related to the order generation or product development functions."

 

Michael Oliveri Joins Management Team as LeCroy Strengthens U.S. Sales Organization

LeCroy Corporation, a leading supplier of high-performance digital oscilloscopes, announced the appointment of Michael Oliveri as vice president of Americas sales. Oliveri, 47, joins LeCroy with more than 28 years of direct industry experience with Tektronix, Inc., where he most recently was vice president of worldwide sales operations.

LeCroy Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic commented, "I have known Mike for almost 20 years and have been impressed by his consistent ability to move aggressively to deliver impressive results. Mike's demonstrated proficiency at developing sales force organizations within the oscilloscope market will be a valuable asset as we fortify our U.S. sales channel."

Oliveri had been Tektronix' vice president of worldwide sales operations since 2001, following three years as the company's vice president of Americas sales and marketing. In a short period of time as vice president of worldwide sales operations, Oliveri implemented a plan that resulted in the development of strategic sales channels and the growth of key market segments.

"With the successful introduction of the WaveMaster family of silicon germanium-based oscilloscopes, we now compete in the highest performance segment of the digital oscilloscope market. We believe that the WaveMaster family can help us to gain market share not only in this performance segment, but also in the U.S. market, where there is the greatest demand for high-end oscilloscopes. Mike's extensive background in U.S. sales is ideal as we seek to market an exciting portfolio of products and jump start our U.S. sales channel."

Oliveri earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from the New York Institute of Technology and has completed postgraduate executive courses at the Wharton School of Business, Stanford University and the Brookings Institute.

 

Hexagon Acquires The Metrology Company CEJohansson

Hexagon Metrology has reached an agreement to acquire the metrology company CE Johansson from the American company Newport Corporation. CE Johansson operates in the Nordic countries, France, UK, Italy and Germany. The company employs approx. 150 people. The acquisition, which is subject to approval by the competition authorities, is expected to be completed as of May 1 st , 2002. The acquisition is expected to affect the business unit's operating result positively already this year and bring a number of synergies.

Hexagon Metrology is a world leading metrology group with production of coordinate measurement machines (CMM:s), software and hand tools within 7 business units around the world. Hexagon Metrology, Hexagon's business unit within metrology, was formed last year in connection with Hexagon's acquisition of Brown & Sharpe. The restructuring of Brown & Sharpe develops according to plan. Extensive aftermarket services are fulfilled by 25 regional Precision Centres with responsibility for upgrade of machines and software, education, contracted maintenance and other services.

Through the acquisition of CE Johansson, Hexagon Metrology will strengthen its leading position in Europe with a strong and well-recognized brand. The acquisition also strengthens Hexagon's global position within the medical metrology business, where CE Johansson, among other things, is sub-supplier to Elekta's radiation surgery using the Leksell Gamma Knife. On the Nordic and European market CE Johansson will market its products and further develop the corresponding aftermarket business, in accordance with the concept, which Hexagon Metrology successfully has developed on other markets all over the world.

The Metrology business is fragmented and the acquisition of CE Johansson should be seen as one of several acquisitions by Hexagon in its continued expansion within this area during 2002.

For more information visit Hexagon's web site at www.hexagon.se

 

FDA Drug Manufacturing Inspections - Public Workshops Announced

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a series of workshops to discuss the application of a systems-based approach to drug manufacturing inspections. The workshops, which will be held in collaboration with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), are intended to provide a regulatory perspective on the systems-based approach to inspections.

Three sessions are being offered. The workshops will be held on June 17, 2002 at East Rutherford, NJ; July 15, 2002 at San Juan, PR; and August 5, 2002 at Manhattan Beach, CA.

Professionals involved in the manufacture, control, and regulation of prescription or over-the counter drugs will benefit from these workshops, including: Process/production engineers, quality assurance/quality control and regulatory affairs professionals, auditors, repackers and relabelers, consultants, regulatory investigators and good manufacturing practice compliance officials, and reviewing chemists.

For more information visit www.fda.gov/cder/workshop.htm.

 

27th Annual NIST Time and Frequency Metrology Seminar

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is offering a basic 4-day course on understanding the characteristics of clocks and oscillators, making precise time and frequency measurements, and synchronizing precision time systems.The seminar is being held on June 11 - 14, 2002 at NIST's Boulder, Colorado laboratory.

The seminar's topics begin with an introduction to time and frequency concepts such as the history of timekeeping

Other topics will include introductory and advanced measurement techniques and uncertainty analysis in both time-domain and frequency-domain measurements; characteristics of quartz and atomic standards; using the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a transfer standard; applications in telecommunications; and aspects of legal metrology, traceability, ISO compliance, and laboratory accreditation.

This seminar is for mathematicians, scientists, engineers, laboratory technicians, educators, managers, and planners involved in the use of time and frequency systems. It presents techniques related to the analysis and evaluation of oscillators and frequency standards. It is particularly appropriate for those who are or might be responsible for certification of oscillator performance at levels where traceability to national standards is a useful part of this certification.

Visit the seminar's homepage for more information and registration details at: http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/seminars/tf/T&Foverview.htm.

 

Edison ESI Announces Additional NVLAP Accreditation

Edison Metrology, a subsidiary of Southern California Edison, has earned NVLAP (National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program) accreditation in Gas Flow Metrology.

This provides a valuable addition to Edison Metrology's other NVLAP accreditations in Mass, Gage Blocks, Resistance and DC/Low Frequency (NVLAP Scope No. 105014-0). Because of the increasing need for verifiable quality controls in high-tech manufacturing, many industries are now required to use only fully-accredited service providers. Edison Metrology is striving to bring these accredited services to a broad range of disciplines, in the hope of satisfying these needs.

With the use of a 20-cubic foot bell prover, and a sophisticated flow-bench, Edison Metrology's highly skilled technicians are able to calibrate a variety of flow instruments at flow rates of 0.0 to 60.0 cubic feet per minute. Calibrations can also be performed using a variety of gasses, including shop air, nitrogen, helium, argon and carbon dioxide. In addition to providing calibrations for industry standard instruments such as rotometers, mass flow meters, and laminar flow elements, Edison Metrology has also been factory-trained and authorized to perform calibrations on Brooksä Smart Flowmeters. Because of their ability to be used with a variety of gasses and flow-rates, these instruments are becoming more and more valuable to the high-tech manufacturing industries. This flexibility, however, provides for a complexity in calibration that few companies can meet. Edison Metrology is proud to have the standards and the training to provide this service, now with NVLAP accreditation.

Edison Metrology offers primary and secondary calibration services in virtually every discipline. These calibrations meet the standards set forth in ISO 17025, ANSI NCSL Z540-1, MIL-STD-45662A, 10CFR50 Appendix B, and ISO 9002:94.

To learn more about Edison Metrology, please logon to www.edisonmetrology.com, or call them toll-free at 866-SCE-CALS (866-723-2257)

 

Vibration Course Announced

The Equipment Reliability Institute and Vibration Research Corporation present Wayne Tustin's Fundamentals of Vibration & Shock Testing Measurements, Analysis, Calibration, HALT, HASS & ESS Workshop.

The Workshop is scheduled for May 21and May 22, 2002 and is being held at The Depot Room, Patmos Library in Hudsonville, Michigan.

Day 1 is a comprehensive one-day vibration study workshop presented by Mr. Wayne Tustin, nationally recognized educator in vibration research and testing. Mr. Tustin is the founder of Equipment Reliability Institute (ERI). This course is an essential training module for anyone involved in today's research, testing and measuring mechanical vibration, shock inputs, analysis and calibration. A full day of valuable study and applied demonstrations is planned.

Day 2 is offered for training on the Vibration VIEW Controller, with emphasis on gathering and using data for field data replication. An overview of the Vibration Research Process Spectrum Monitor, a predictive/proactive maintenance tool, will be provided. This training session will be presented by Mr. John VanBaren, President of Vibration Research Corporation.

Participants may register for both days or either one-day session. For a more detailed description of the workshop, its benefits, and registration information, visit www.vibres.com/registration.

 

Essco Calibration Laboratory Services

Multi-Product Calibrators can now be sent to Essco's primary standards lab in Chelmsford, Massachusetts and returned to you within a week.

Essco's metrology technicians have been trained by the manufacturers and can perform calibrations using the manufacturers procedures and recommended primary standards. Essco can provide commercial level calibrations and they are one of the few labs in the country to offer A2LA accredited ISO/IEC 17025 calibrations as well.

Essco has the capability to calibrate calibrators made by all the major manufacturers. The next time your calibrator is due for calibration give Essco a call and they will give you the fast turnaround you need and the competitive price you want.

For a complete list of Essco's capabilities and services visit www.esscolab.com. For specific questions regarding your calibrator call 800-325-2201 or e-mail at: info@esscolab.com.

 

Pharmaceutical Calibration Interaction Meeting

GlaxoSmithKline Applied Technology is hosting a meeting, "Pharmaceutical Calibration Interaction Meeting" on April 19, 2002 in Research Triangle Park, NC. The forum is scheduled from 10 AM to 3 PM and pharmaceutical calibration representatives from several different pharmaceutical companies will discuss various issues faced each day in our careers.

Lunch will be provided and there is a limit of 30 people. Todd McCulloch (Chair of the NCSL Pharmaceutical Healthcare Metrology Committee) of Pharmaceutical Calibrations and Instrumentation, LLC is organizing the meeting and will send an additional email to interested participants to find out what issues are popular and warrant discussion. A survey is also being designed. This will be distributed prior to the meeting and the results will be shared with attendees.

Please respond as soon as possible if you or a designee are interested in participating. Contact Todd McCulloch at tmcculloch@pci-llc.com or 919-781-7787 ext. 224.

 

XCALIBIR Measurement Uncertainty Reduced

Ulf Griesmann, a Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) researcher at NIST, uncovered and corrected a major source of measurement uncertainty that limited the performance of the MEL X-Ray Calibration Interferometer (XCALIBIR).

XCALIBIR, designed at NIST, is a world class instrument used to measure the form of flat, spherical and aspheric optics. This correction reduces the systematic uncertainty of XCALIBIR for measurement of optical flats to 0.5 nm over the entire field of view. During his analysis, Ulf discovered that noise patterns at the center of the field of view were caused by light that is scattered back into the interferometer by surfaces of the beam expander used in XCALIBIR's large aperture mode. Although the amount of light reflected by these surfaces is very small, the imaging optics concentrated the light at the center of the field of view where it caused a noise peak 100 times larger than the uncertainty goal of XCALIBIR.

To resolve this situation, Ulf designed and installed a spatial filter in the imaging arm of the XCALIBIR. This filter completely eliminates the dominant contributor of noise in XCALIBIR phase images that had limited the performance during the 3-flat tests conducted in December 2001.

Further analysis and development is ongoing to achieve the XCALIBIR design performance goal of 0.25 nm uncertainty over the entire field of view. For more information about NIST's Manufacturing Engineering Lab visit www.mel.nist.gov/index.htm

 

Call For Papers For IDW2003

The Call for Papers has been issued for IDW2003. The theme is "Dimensional Metrology - The Uncertainty of Measurement Uncertainty." The IDW2003 is planned for May 12-15, 2003 at the Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you would like to be considered to present a paper please contact Ed Pritchard, Workshop Director, at pritchardew@y12.doe.gov, phone: 865-574-4261, fax: 865-574-2802.

 

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time ... Anytime

Two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have developed a technique that offers designers and users of precision machines such as scanning tunneling microscopes or coordinate measuring machines a more dependable way to acquire quality control and production data than current methods.

The new process is called "Spatial RAM" due to its use of a RAM memory chip to hold predetermined data acquisition locations and its reliance on an external sensor that monitors the probe of the measuring instrument as it moves through space.The Spatial RAM circuitry commands the measuring instrument to record data on some property of the product, such as a semiconductor chip, whenever the external sensor detects a match with the preloaded value in the RAM. Unlike data collection based on presumed probe speed-which can be incorrect if the probe movements are changed by conditions such as temperature changes or gradients- Spatial RAM always collects the data where it is needed.

NIST's Tom Wheatley, who devised the patented technique with colleague Clayton Teague, said, "Even tiny changes in high precision data collection can be detrimental in manufacturing today's miniaturized machine parts. The Spatial RAM system avoids this potential problem by simplifying the measuring process. Because data acquisition values are loaded into the RAM operating circuitry, the sensor or probe does not have to be at a particular spot at a particular time to acquire the data from that particular spot. Anytime the probe arrives at the spot is the right time."

Since Spatial RAM allows for any data value to be loaded and matched, manufacturers also can create non-uniform or unequal spacing over samples or use values that compensate for known errors.

For more information, contact Tom Wheatley at (301) 975-3449.

 

Lawrence Eicher, Official of International Organization for Standardization, Remembered

Dr. Lawrence D. Eicher, chief executive officer of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), died March 21 in a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland following complications from a heart attack and heart bypass surgery. He was 63.

In a message issued today to members of the U.S. standardization community, Dr. Mark Hurwitz, CAE, ANSI President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "for those of you that knew Larry Eicher, I'm sure you will agree that you were touched by a very special human being. He will be greatly missed." "We at ANSI are overwhelmed with grief and sadness," Dr. Hurwitz added. "Larry's remarkable leadership, warmth and friendship extended well beyond the traditional work bond. He worked together with the ISO team and its membership as one family, caring for and helping each other."

For more information about Mr. Eicher and his career please visit ISO's website at www.iso.org.

 

Electro Rent Corporation Reports Fiscal 2002 Third Quarter Results

Electro Rent Corporation announced that net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 ended February 28, 2002 declined to $1.8 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, from $7.5 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2001. Revenue declined to $32.0 million compared to $50.8 million for the same period a year earlier.

For the nine months ended February 28, 2002, net income was $9.0 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, on revenue of $114.0 million. This compares to net income of $25.1 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, on revenue of $162.6 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2001.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Greenberg said, "The environment for the technology sector in general, and our business in particular, during the third quarter was the most challenging in memory. Our computer rental business declined by more than 50% from last year as the recession and the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks had a fundamental impact on the convention and training event market. T&M revenue declined by nearly 25% for the quarter as the contraction of the telecommunications industry created a surplus of T&M equipment, which not only reduced rental opportunities but also contributed to a serious erosion of rental rates. These factors more than eclipsed whatever headway we made in the aerospace/defense sector of our business.

"We have responded to these difficult conditions by reducing our workforce by almost 30% since the end of last year's third quarter, and by lowering selling, general and administrative costs by nearly 24%. These cost cuts did not match the revenue decline because we need to retain key resources that protect the core strengths of the business. We will continue to take the steps required to maintain our economic health during this period of contraction while we prepare to return to higher profitability in the future. "Despite these brutal conditions, we remained profitable during the third quarter, and the company's cash flow remained strong. As a result, our cash position increased by $18.4 million during the third quarter to $99.1 million, and we remain debt-free."

Greenberg added, "We have been tested by downturns before, and our management team is experienced, resilient and resolute. During this period of weakness we will husband our financial strength, protect our operating platform and our national sales and marketing capabilities, and initiate policies that position the company to prosper over the longer term. We remain convinced that proposed increases in defense spending will have a positive effect on our business later this calendar year as new weapons systems go into development and production. We also are ready to participate in the eventual recovery of the telecommunications sector, and continue to explore a variety of ways to invigorate our computer rental business. Finally, as Electro Rent grows stronger financially, we patiently await the appearance of acquisition opportunities that make economic sense."

The book value of Electro Rent's equipment pool was $134.4 million at February 28, 2002 compared to $167.5 million at May 31, 2001. Electro Rent Corporation (www.ElectroRent.com) is one of the largest nationwide organizations devoted to the short-term rental and leasing of personal computers, workstations and general purpose electronic test equipment.

 

National Instruments Officially Opens First Overseas Manufacturing Plant

National Instruments celebrated the official grand opening of its Hungary manufacturing facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception. Speakers at the ceremony include Victor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary; Janet Garvey, Charge d'Affaires (Acting U.S. Ambassador to Hungary); Lajos Kosa, Debrecen Mayor and Hungary Parliament Member; Dr. James Truchard, NI President and CEO; Ruben Mangin, NI Vice President of Manufacturing; and Laszlo Abraham, Managing Director for NI Hungary.

"NI went from breaking ground on the Hungary building to producing products in five months," said Ruben Mangin, NI Vice President of Manufacturing. "We stayed on schedule largely because of the great teamwork we had with national and local officials in Hungary. With this new site, we are closer to our European markets, which means we can respond more quickly to customer demand in the region and diversify our manufacturing capabilities."

NI chose Hungary as the home for its new facility because of its close proximity to NI's European markets, the well-educated workforce, and the favorable business environment. The 13,400 square meter (144,000 square foot) facility, NI's first overseas manufacturing site, is located in Debrecen, Hungary and has been operational since October of 2001.

"With National Instruments coming to Debrecen, the city is one step closer to our goal of becoming the Hungarian Silicon Valley," said Lajos Kosa, Debrecen Mayor and Hungary Parliament Member. "The relationship that the city of Debrecen has built with NI is an excellent example of the strong community partnerships in Eastern Hungary."

As part of the grand opening, NI plans to donate its award-winning LabVIEW(TM) graphical development software to Hungarian universities. With the NI software, students learn engineering concepts through computer-based learning. NI actively participates in schools and communities worldwide and is already working with universities in Hungary to sponsor school project competitions and internships in addition to the product donations.

NI currently employs more than 100 local workers at the Hungary manufacturing site and plans to double that number by the end of 2002. The manufacturing facility produces computer circuit boards that perform various measurement and automation tasks from the research laboratory to the manufacturing floor.

 

NIST Seeks End to a Problem of Large (and Small) Dimensions

What if information on dimensional specifications and tolerances could flow easily-and without a glitch-from part design to analysis of inspection results? Together, automakers and their suppliers would save hundreds of millions of dollars. But to go from design to final inspection, this information may have to pass through almost 40 interfaces, according to a recent NIST analysis. When these interfaces are incompatible-as they often are-they become costly, time-consuming roadblocks to data exchange.

At the request of several automotive companies and makers of measurement equipment, NIST has helped launch efforts to eliminate these interoperability problems. Organized under the umbrella of the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), a team is developing: candidate standards for representing part features and tolerances in computer-aided design programs; tools for creating portable inspection programs that can be used on any coordinate measuring machi

In support, NIST is creating a distributed testbed for evaluating prototype interface specifications and measurement-related software using these prospective standards. Software and hardware are located at factories and facilities of companies participating in the pilot tests. To aid software vendors, NIST also is developing standard test cases and methods that software firms use as they incorporate candidate interfaces into their products.

For more information, contact Al Wavering, (301) 975-3461, albert.wavering@nist.gov.

 

The L.S. Starrett Company Launches New Subsidiary, Starrett Calibration Services

The L.S. Starrett Company has launched a new subsidiary, Starrett Calibration Services. This new venture was established to provide fast, economical calibration of precision tools and gages.

Operating out of a modern lab in Durham, South Carolina, Starrett Calibration Services also repairs all major brands of precision tools with a large selection of parts in stock. Additional services include calibration and testing of electronic instruments, torque gages, pressure gages and onsite calibration for larger equipment.

This new division compliments the services already available from Starrett Athol, Webber Gage, and granite products from Mount Airy, North Carolina. These locations will continue to provide a larger vertical scope than that available through Starrett Calibration Services, with the ability to offer more extensive capabilities, repairs and rebuilding of Starrett products.

For additional information on Starrett Calibration Services, please visit the Starrett website at: www.starrett.com/calibration.

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