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JANUARY 2003 INDUSTRY NEWS

Agilent Technologies Announces New Calibration Services

Agilent Technologies will unveil the availability of new calibration services on February 3rd. Agilent's quality services are being paired with new flexible options and lower pricing to keep customer's test and measurement equipment in peak condition. This announcement will be the first in a series of new services and solutions for the calibration industry. If you would like details about this announcement and how it fits into Agilent's services and solutions strategy, a spokesperson for Agilent's Services and Solutions Unit will be available for interviews through January 31, 2003. To request an interview or more information, please contact Annie Lennon at 425-452-5452, alennon@webershandwick.com

For general information about Agilent Calibration Services, please visit the Agilent Metrology Forum special interest site devoted to calibration issues at http://metrologyforum.tm.agilent.com/.

 

Precision Thermometry Workshop

National Institute of Standards and Technology - Gaithersburg, MD has scheduled a Precision Thermometry Workshop on March 24-28, 2003 to provide advice and assistance on measurement and calibration problems, tracing to NIST the accuracies of measurement standards needed for research work, factory production, or field evaluation. These workshops are intended for calibration laboratory personnel and others who wish to undertake precision temperature measurements. Applicants should posses undergraduate training in physics or engineering and should have some laboratory experience in metrology. Topics covered include temperature scales, platinum resistance thermometry, vapor pressure and gas thermometry, low temperature calibrations, thermistor thermometry, liquid-in-glass thermometry, and thermocouple thermometry.

Another Workshop is scheduled for October 20-24, 2003.

For more information visit www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/new030324.htm

 

7th Annual Radar Cross Section (RCS) Certification Conference

The National Institute of Standards and Technology - Boulder, CO has scheduled a conference on March 26 - 27, 2003 to share with the Radar Cross Section Measurement community progress and plans related to the RCS measurement range certification program. The topics presented will be certification process and procedures; lessons learned preparing for or participating in a certification effort including costs, benefits, and impacts; uncertainty analysis, including methodologies, applications, and anomalies; calibrations, including methodologies, applications, and anomalies; ISO 25 / ISO 17025 / ANSI Z540; reports of measurement related to supporting certification; inter-facility and/or inter-range comparisons; and other topics that impinge upon certification of RCS measurement facilities. Secret clearance is required to attend this meeting, though the conference is unclassified.

For more information visit www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/new030326.htm.

 

Teradyne Announces Fourth Quarter Results

Teradyne, Inc. reported sales of $333.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2002, and a net loss on a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis of $423.8 million, or $2.31 per share.

The pro forma net loss for the fourth quarter of 2002 was $36.5 million, or $0.20 per share before a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, product inventory write downs, restructuring charges, asset impairments, product divestitures, and the impact of accelerated depreciation. The GAAP net loss includes a one time, non-cash tax charge for the reversal of the opening balance of Teradyne's net deferred tax asset of $280 million.

"The combination of a weak economy, weak demand for technology products and the uncertain world situation overwhelmed the recovery we had begun to see in the first half of 2002," said George Chamillard, Teradyne Chairman and CEO. "Unfortunately, none of those negative factors has changed as we enter 2003. Therefore, our guidance is for sales in the first quarter to be between $310 and $340 million, about flat with the last two quarters. We expect to sustain a loss of between 25 cents and 33 cents per share, before any special items, and assuming no tax benefit from the losses."

"Although we have a cautious outlook for the industry in the near term, we're pleased with Teradyne's relative position and recent performance," Chamillard added. "We had improvement in gross orders across our various product lines and businesses, with those orders growing sequentially 24% quarter-to-quarter, and 45% year-to-year. Our performance was particularly strong in semiconductor test, with gross orders increasing 43% quarter-to-quarter, and 122% year-to-year. This performance is further confirmation of our product strategies by our customers."

 

LeCroy Corporation Reports Second Quarter Results

LeCroy Corporation, a major supplier of high-performance digital oscilloscopes, announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2003 ended December 31, 2002.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2003, LeCroy reported revenues of $26.6 million and pro forma operating income of $200,000, before a $2.3 million charge to write down impaired intangible assets. This compares with revenues of $28.4 million and pro forma operating income of $400,000 in the second quarter of fiscal 2002, before charges of $3.6 million for excess and obsolete inventory and $1.9 million for severance. The second quarter impaired intangible asset charge reflects the Company's strategic decision to exit certain product lines and further refine its manufacturing strategy.

Pro forma operating income for the second quarter before this charge exceeded the Company's previous guidance of an operating loss ranging from ($300,000) to ($600,000). Pro forma net income in the second quarter of 2003, before the impaired intangible asset charge, was $100,000, or ($0.04) per diluted common share, including preferred charges. Pro forma net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2002, before the excess and obsolete inventory and severance charges, was $300,000, or ($0.02) per diluted common share, including preferred charges. Including all charges, LeCroy reported a net loss of ($1.3) million, or ($0.18) per diluted common share, including preferred charges, in the second quarter of fiscal 2003 compared to a net loss of ($3.2) million, or ($0.36) per diluted common share, including preferred charges, in the second quarter of fiscal 2002.

"We are very satisfied with LeCroy's performance for the second quarter," stated President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic. "During the quarter, we launched the world's highest-performance serial data analyzing oscilloscope, gained share by growing our orders 11% year-over-year, and increased gross margins to more than 52% (on a pro forma basis) by improving operational efficiencies. We also reduced inventories from last quarter -- even while ramping up to support product launches. In addition, we controlled expenses and generated operating margins in excess of our initial projections."

"Orders for our new Serial Data Analyzer (SDA) exceeded initial expectations, our high-end WaveMaster oscilloscopes continued to perform very well in the market and sales of our low-end WaveRunner oscilloscopes were even greater than we had anticipated," added Reslewic. "This month, we are launching our new WavePro 7000 product line with WaveMaster-based silicon germanium (SiGe) hardware and our unique MAUI operating system. With this launch, our industry-leading and award-winning scope technology now will be available on all mid- and high-end LeCroy oscilloscopes."

"Driven by sales of the WaveMaster oscilloscopes and the Serial Data Analyzers, orders from the Computer and Semi-conductor segment increased for the fifth consecutive quarter to 26% of product orders. Data Storage, Military/Avionics, and University/Research each contributed approximately 15% of product sales. Second-quarter fiscal 2003 orders grew more than 11% from the second quarter a year ago. In terms of geography, year-over-year the US market grew by more than 40%, Asia-Pacific region grew by approximately 9% and Europe declined by 5%," continued Reslewic.

 

FARO Technologies Reports 28% Increase In Sales For 2002

FARO Technologies, Inc. reported sales of approximately $45.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2002, a 28.2% increase from approximately $35.1 million in 2001. The Company expects to issue its full earnings release for the fourth quarter and full year of 2002 on March 12, 2003.

 

www.CMMTalk.com - The Cyberspace Community for CMM Professionals

CMMTalk, www.CMMTalk.com, launched itself on 4th February 2002 as the first independent cyberspace community dedicated to the tens of thousands of CMM Programmers and Professional Users of CMM's in North America. Currently no community exists that is CMM Manufacturer independent.

Managed by CMM Professionals the stated mission of www.cmmtalk.com is "To create, manage and maintain a professional independent cyberspace location for the CMM community to visit for enrichment of their own knowledge while passing on their experiences and knowledge to fellow professionals"

CMMTalk.com believes that the role of the CMM professional is undervalued in importance to organizations in today's advanced manufacturing economy and their underlying skills, knowledge and capabilities rarely understood. CMMTalk eventually aims to conduct salary surveys and post the results, and other relevant statistics, to aid in the valuation of The CMM Professional.

The site boasts a vendor specific CMM Hardware, Software & Probing chat room arena where CMMTalk can occur freely on related issues and experiences.

A Recruitment Section to be added later will host both a state-by-state CMM vacancy listing service and visitors can confidentially upload their Resume to the Job Bank for submission and consideration by potential recruiters. A Buy/Sell area will allow surplus equipment to be listed along with miscellaneous equipment wanted postings.

CMM professionals can submit their measurement tips to the TalkMaster@cmmtalk.com and win national recognition for their ingenuity in overcoming complex metrological problems or 'work-arounds' for specific CMM hardware, software or probing limitations.

In addition hyperlinks to relevant CMM Magazines Articles, Trade Shows Event Schedule, On-Line Magazines and other industry relevant links will round out the depth and experience for site visitors.

Suggestions for additions and improvements are welcomed as CMMTalk focuses on serving the CMM Professionals of North America. For more information contact: the Talkmaster@cmmtalk.com

 

New Policy for A2LA Accredited Laboratories

At the June meeting of the A2LA Board of Directors, a new policy was issued requiring all laboratories to have an official copy of ISO/IEC 17025. Laboratories are being asked to confirm, in writing to A2LA, that the official copy is available on-site. To view and print the ISO/IEC 17025 confirmation form visit A2LA's web site at www.a2la2.net.

 

South Yorkshire International Weighing Conference 2003

The South Yorkshire International Weighing Conference scheduled for June 17-18, 2003 is a conference with an international flavor, for industry, for weighing machine users, and for mass metrologists and those interested in weighing. To emphasise the standing of the event this year, an NPL Mass & Weighing Club meeting will again be included in the program and international companies Mettler-Toledo Ltd and Sartorius Ltd, along with the National Physical Laboratory are providing co-sponsorship. The conference will include speakers from industry, manufacturers, calibration laboratories, and government including UK, German, and Singapore laboratories

Papers on: Laboratory Accreditation, Redefinition of the kilogram, All you need to know about magnetic properties of weights, Latest developments in weights and weighing, and Balance specifications and their use will be presented.

Visit www.sytsu.co.uk to learn more and view a program outline and learn registration details.

 

CATLab™ Achieves ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation

In October 2002, CATLab completed its transition from ISO/IEC Guide 25 to ISO/IEC 17025. Following its successful A2LA audit in August, including the addition of certain parameters to its accredited scope, CATLab and its parent company, Control Automation Technologies Corporation, offers its customers the highest confidence in laboratory competence.

CATLab's standards, procedures and documentation are structured to adhere to ISO/QS 9000 and when applicable ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. CATLab utilizes the most state-of-the-art laboratory equipment available and includes such standards as Wavetek Precision Electrical Calibration System, Druck High Precision Dead Weight Pressure Systems, Hart Scientific Temperature calibration systems and Thunder Scientific Humidity Chambers as well as other precision equipment and automated software, much of which is now the standard in many military laboratories.

Contact a CATLab representative today for our accredited scope, capabilities or a price quote. Toll Free (877)4CATLab or visit www.catlab.net.

Editors of Test & Measurement World recently selected National Instruments 2.7 GHz RF Signal Analyzer as a Best in Test 2002 finalist for Test Product of the Year 2002.

In addition, editors recognized the new NI PXI-4070 FlexDMM as a Best in Test 2002 honorable mention. Both of these new PXI products expand the power of virtual instrumentation and enable test engineers to acquire, analyze, and present signals with up to 6˝ -digits of resolution and frequencies up to 2.7 GHz using industry-standard computers.

"Each year, technical editors at Test & Measurement World choose a handful of products we feel are particularly innovative or useful," said Larry Maloney, vice president, publisher and editorial director of Test & Measurement World. "We selected the RF signal analyzer because this compact 3U PXI instrument incorporates a 14-bit RF digitizer with better than 80 dB dynamic range to perform the gamut of RF power and frequency measurements."

Test engineers can perform RF measurements up to 200 times faster than before with the National Instruments PXI-5660 RF signal analyzer. The measurement throughput of the RF signal analyzer makes it ideal for any demanding RF production environment. Its software-defined measurement capabilites and integration with the PXI platform make it the best choice for unique measurements in applications ranging from consumer electronics to avionics, satellite and missile testing. The included Spectral Measurement Toolkit (SMT) for NI LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI provides common measurements such as power spectrum, peak power and frequency, power-in-band, adjacent channel power and occupied bandwidth.

The NI FlexDMM shatters traditional DMM speed barriers and extends the acquisition capabilities of virtual instrumentation to 6˝ digits. It achieves remarkable throughput rates while maintaining precision and stable measurement accuracy. The speed, accuracy and functionality of the FlexDMM make it ideal for the most demanding automated test and validation applications both on the production floor and in research and development laboratories. This combination of speed and accuracy was previously available only with higher resolution DMMs costing thousands of dollars more.

"The RF analyzer and FlexDMM show the unique capabilities of the modular PXI platform and virtual instrumentation," said John Graff, NI vice president of marketing. "Customers have successfully integrated these products in systems that have delivered significant performance gains at a much lower cost.

"Test & Measurement World publishes its list of Best in Test products in December and asks readers to vote for the Test Product of the Year. Readers must return ballots by Feb. 14, 2003. The results will be announced in the spring of 2003.

 

American Official Assumes Presidency of International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Mr. Oliver R. Smoot takes office on January 1, 2003 as President of the International Organization for Standardization, a worldwide federation of national standards bodies with representatives from 145 countries. Smoot served as President-elect of the organization for the past year; he succeeds Mario Cortopassi of Brazil as the organization's chief elected officer. He is the second American to hold this position within the past decade.

Smoot's term, extending through December 31, 2004, comes at a point when international standardization is called on to respond to the globalization of trade, the issues posed by new challenges such as sustainable development, and the requirements of the information society.

"As I succeed to the Presidency, I witness ISO clearly focusing all its efforts to ensure that its standards and guides are truly Globally Relevant, meeting the needs of all, enabling valid tests and supporting valid conformity assessment," Smoot stated.

ISO is in a unique position to provide International Standards based on consensus among the economic stakeholders, while taking into account the needs of developing countries. Today, there are nearly 14,000 ISO standards addressing all economic sectors. ISO's members are the national standards institutes of countries large and small, industrialized and developing, in all regions of the world. As the first of several key issues he sees facing the organization, the new President identified the need to get the developing countries of the world more actively involved in the technical work of ISO.

"There are a lot of technical areas where the interest is probably higher in developing countries than in developed countries, and they don't have the capacity to take them all on," Smoot stated. "We would like to increase the range of different economies and the number of ISO members participating in technical work, to make sure that the ISO standards are actually global standards."

Another of his key issues focuses on the identification of new areas for standardization, such as services, and the development of innovative ways to inform participants in the technical area of what ISO can do for them. Smoot also identified the importance of obtaining the views of industry, consumers and other stakeholders on their future needs. "We will not achieve global relevancy if [ISO] documents do not meet identified needs or are untimely," he said.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary consensus standardization and conformity assessment system and the U.S. member body to ISO, nominated Smoot during 2001 to be ISO's president-elect and then president. "We believe that his expertise in the standards, technology and law communities makes him uniquely qualified to lead ISO," stated Dr. Mark W. Hurwitz, CAE, ANSI president and chief executive officer. "ANSI extends its appreciation to Mr. Smoot for his leadership and guidance as our chairman, and we wish him every success as President of ISO." Smoot served as chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board of Directors from January 2001 through December 2002; he previously served in numerous leadership posts within the organization. As vice-president for external voluntary standards relations of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Mr. Smoot supports ITI's activities in voluntary standards domestically and internationally. He is also an active member of the American Bar Association and currently serves as chairman of its Technical Standardization Law Committee; he has previously served as chairman of the Section on Science and Technology Law. Active in international copyright law, Smoot participated in five projects of the World Intellectual Property Organization to develop copyright as a legal protection for computer programs. He also served in numerous positions with the Computer Law Association, culminating as President, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Three Americans preceded Smoot as Presidents of ISO. Mr. Howard Coonley (1947-1949); Dr. Francis L. LaQue, a leading authority in the field of corrosion and corrosion resisting materials (1971- 1973), and more recently, Mr. John A Hinds, an executive with experience in telecommunications, nuclear and environmental engineering as well as international management (1992 - 1994). For more information about ANSI, please visit www.ansi.org. For more information about ISO, please visit www.iso.org.

 

Tektronix Reports Results For Second Quarter Fiscal 2003

Tektronix, Inc. reported net sales of $204.6 million and net earnings from continuing operations, before non-recurring items, of $10.2 million or $0.12 per share, for the second quarter ending November 30, 2002. This compares with net sales of $207.6 million and net earnings from continuing operations, before non-recurring items, of $10.2 million or $0.11 per share, for the same period last year. Including non-recurring items, net income from continuing operations for the second quarter was $6.9 million or $0.08 per share, as compared with $7.4 million or $0.08 per share, for the same period a year ago.

"We continue to operate in a difficult environment. With little notable improvement in our markets, we continue to drive profitability and generate cash - as can be seen by our solid results again this quarter," said Rick Wills, Tektronix Chairman and CEO. "We believe our long-standing investment in product development, which enabled us to be the first to market on performance leading products, has positioned us well to take market share in our core market areas."

"We continued to sharpen our focus with the completion of several strategic transactions. During the quarter, we completed the transaction to acquire Sony's interest in our Japanese joint venture, Sony/Tektronix, a long-term strategic investment that will give us better access to the Japanese market and enable us to leverage engineering resources. We divested non-strategic businesses with the sale of our VideoTele.com subsidiary and the sale of selected optical test products. And, as we have throughout the downturn, we remain committed to making further investments in the areas where we have particular strength," said Wills.

"Although the downturn is longer and steeper than we originally anticipated, we continue to structure our business to drive operational efficiency and increase market share," concluded Wills.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2003, the company expects sales to be down approximately 3%, compared to the same period a year ago. Operating margins are expected to be in the low-to-mid single digits, excluding non-recurring items of around $15 million. The company expects non-recurring costs in the third quarter largely associated with reductions in staffing levels in Japan.

A2LA Newsletter News -- Last Hard Copy of A2LA News

The December 2002 issue is the last hard copy issue of A2LA News. All 2003 issues will be published electronically only and posted to the A2LA web site. If you wish to receive notification when the new issues are posted, be sure to subscribe to their free news information service.

To subscribe, go to the A2LA web site, www.a2la2.net, and select the link "Subscribe to our mailing list" that is located on the home page.

Visit A2LA's website to read the December Newsletter.

The Table of Contents --
A2LA signs IAAC Recognition Arrangement
A2LA Recognized Under Florida Building Code
Labs Must Notify A2LA Before Moving
ISO/IEC 17025 Internal Audit and Management Review Requirements

 

Electro Rent Corporation Reports Fiscal 2003 Second Quarter Results

Electro Rent Corporation announced that net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2003 ended November 30, 2002 was $1.9 million, or $0.08 per diluted share. This compares to net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2002 of $3.2 million, or $0.13 per diluted share. Revenue for this year's second quarter was $28.8 million compared to $39.1 million for the second quarter last year.

For the six months ended November 30, 2002, net income was $4.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, on revenue of $59.8 million. For the first six months of fiscal 2002, net income was $7.2 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, on revenue of $82.0 million.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Greenberg said, "Conditions in the test and measurement and computer-related equipment markets remained difficult in the second quarter, as they have been for some time, and required us to take additional steps to simplify the business by reducing costs, equipment purchases, and our employee base."

Greenberg continued, "On a positive note, the company continued to generate a significant amount of cash. The combination of our net income for the year's first half, a reduction in accounts receivable, and lower payments for equipment purchases led to an increase in our cash position of more than $27.0 million since the end of fiscal 2002 to $142.9 million at November 30, 2002. Our most important tasks right now are to remain focused on Electro Rent's long-term health and viability, to maintain a disciplined approach which will help us employ our cash effectively, and to continue to work closely with our customers to identify ways to enhance our service offerings so that we will be ready to resume a more rapid pace of activity when the business climate improves."

Purchases of test and measurement and computer-related equipment during the fiscal 2003 second quarter totaled $7.6 million. This compares to equipment purchases of $7.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2002. Sales of excess equipment amounted to $6.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2003 versus $7.6 million a year earlier. The book value of Electro Rent's equipment pool was $101.9 million at November 30, 2002 compared to $119.7 million at May 31, 2002.

 

Announcing the 49th International Instrumentation Symposium

The 49th International Instrumentation Symposium will convene in Orlando, FL on May 4-8, 2003 at the Adam's Mark Hotel.

This annual symposium is sponsored jointly by the Aerospace Industries and Test Measurement Divisions of ISA - The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society. This symposium has become recognized as the outstanding forum for discussion of new and innovative instrumentation techniques, development and applications.

Topics to be presented include: Measurements/Sensors along with measurement uncertainty and metrology and calibration, Instrumentation Systems, Data Systems, and Advanced Systems/Sensor Technology.

Individuals interested in submitting papers should know that paper review drafts are due January 6, 2003 and final papers are due February 8, 2003.

For more information visit www.isa.org.

 

International Society of Weighing & Measurement Certification Programs

ISWM sponsors the following Certification Programs for candidates pursuing the titles of: Certified Weighing Professional (CWP)
Certified Weighing Salespersons (CWS)
Certified Weighing Technicians (CWT)

Candidates must meet the eligibility requirements in effect at the time of their application. The examination is administered by Credentialing Services, Inc. (CS) for the International Society of Weighing and Measurement (ISWM).

Certified Weighing Technicians have a broad range knowledge of the technical and regulatory requirements of the industry, including installing, evaluating and servicing the customers weighing needs. The Certified Weighing Technician has:
Technical knowledge in areas of testing, calibrating and troubleshooting for small/light capacity, medium/heavy capacity scales and balance weighing products.
Technical knowledge in the area of systems and systems communications.
Knowledge and proper completion of testing, reporting and documentation required within the weighing industry.
Knowledge of testing and legal regulations, as they relate to each customers particular requirements.
Knowledge to reduce safety hazards by understanding and practicing safety standards as they relate to the customer's requirements.
Knowledge of the proper use and maintenance of testing equipment and tools used within the weighing industry.

For more information about the CWT and the other certification programs visit www.iswm.org/role.asp.

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