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JULY 2006 INDUSTRY NEWS

 

Keithley Instruments Reports Fiscal 2006 Third Quarter

Keithley Instruments, Inc., a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announced results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter ended June 30, 2006.

Net sales of $38.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 increased 16 percent compared with net sales of $33.3 million in last year's third quarter. The effect of a stronger U.S. dollar negatively impacted sales growth by approximately one percentage point. Sequentially, sales decreased three percent from the second quarter of fiscal 2006. The Company reported net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 of $1.7 million, or $0.10 per share, including expenses of approximately $0.4 million after-tax, or $0.02 per share, for stock-based compensation. This compared with net income of $1.9 million, or $0.11 per share, during last year's third quarter.

Orders of $43.2 million for the third quarter increased 38 percent compared to last year's orders of $31.4 million. Geographically, orders increased 43 percent in the Americas, 20 percent in Asia, and 56 percent in Europe when compared to the prior year. Orders from the Company's semiconductor customers increased approximately 165 percent, orders from wireless communications customers decreased approximately 45 percent, orders from precision electronic component/subassembly manufacturers increased approximately 55 percent, and research and education customer orders decreased approximately five percent as compared to the prior year's third quarter. Sequentially, orders increased six percent from the second quarter of fiscal 2006, primarily due to higher semiconductor customer orders. Order backlog increased $4.5 million during the quarter to $22.0 million as of June 30, 2006.

"We were pleased with order levels for the quarter, which were the third highest in the history of the Company. These order levels continue to be driven largely by our semiconductor customers," stated Joseph P. Keithley, the Company's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Keithley added, "In May, we announced that we had been awarded Electronics Magazine Asia's Innovation Award for our recently introduced Model 2910 RF Vector Signal Generator. The Model 2910 features an unrivaled combination of high-performance, speed, flexibility, ease of use, and compact size which lowers the cost of testing for our customers."

Visit www.keithley.com for more company information.

 

Fisher Scientific Reports Record Quarterly Financial Results

Fisher Scientific International Inc. (NYSE: FSH), the world leader in serving science, reported record sales and earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006, reflecting continued strength across all core customer markets and the ongoing benefit of operating initiatives.

"We delivered strong results in the second quarter -- setting new records for both sales and earnings," said Paul M. Montrone, chairman and chief executive officer. "Customer demand for our products and services drove top-line growth, while contributions from recent acquisitions as well as synergies from our merger with Apogent resulted in record operating income."

On May 8, Fisher Scientific and Thermo Electron Corporation (NYSE: TMO) entered into a definitive agreement to merge the two companies. The company continues to expect that the merger will close during the fourth quarter.

Sales for the second quarter increased 9.1 percent to $1,465.8 million compared with $1,343.1 million in the corresponding period of 2005. Excluding the effect of foreign exchange, sales totaled $1,462.3 million in the second quarter, an 8.9 percent increase over the same quarter in 2005, with 6.3 points of this increase from organic growth in the core scientific-research and healthcare markets. Including the forecasted impact of reduced demand for safety-related products, organic growth was 4.1 percent.
Income from continuing operations for the second quarter increased to $121.4 million, or 92 cents per diluted share, from $85.6 million, or 67 cents per diluted share, in the same period of 2005. Income from continuing operations includes $16.8 million, net of tax ($26.8 million pre tax) of nonrecurring charges and special items, and $7.6 million, net of tax ($11.8 million pretax) of equity-based compensation expense related to FAS 123R, which is detailed in the attached supplementary tables.

Visit www.fisherscientific.com for more information.

 

Transcat Announces Fiscal Year 2007 First Quarter Results

Transcat, Inc., a leading global distributor of professional grade test, measurement, and calibration instruments and a provider of calibration and repair services, announced financial results for the fiscal year 2007 first quarter ended June 24, 2006.
Fiscal Year 2007 First Quarter Highlights

  • Net sales increased 10.3% to $15.5 million in the fiscal year 2007 first quarter.
  • Operating income for the fiscal year 2007 first quarter, which included a $0.1 million non-cash expense related to stock options vesting during the quarter, as we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 123R, was flat at $0.3 million. Excluding this expense, operating income increased by 44.8% for the fiscal year 2007 first quarter.
  • Net income for the fiscal year 2007 first quarter, which included a provision for income taxes, decreased $0.1 million to $0.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, from $0.2 million or $0.02 per diluted share, in the fiscal year 2006 first quarter.
  • Distribution Products - Net sales increased 12.3% to $10.5 million in the fiscal year 2007 first quarter from $9.4 million in the fiscal year 2006 first quarter. Distribution Products gross profit ratio for the fiscal year 2007 first quarter increased 1.6 points to 25.7% from the fiscal year 2006 first quarter.
  • Calibration Services - Net sales increased 6.5% to $5.0 million in the fiscal year 2007 first quarter from $4.7 million in the fiscal year 2006 first quarter. Calibration Services gross profit ratio decreased 5.6 points to 23.1% from the fiscal year 2006 first quarter.

Transcat said calibration services growth, excluding its recent N.W. Calibration Inspection acquisition, "is short of our expectations, and we are making changes in our selling processes to improve our growth rate in this segment."

For more information visit http://www.transcat.com/AboutTranscat/CompanyNews.asp.

 

Road to AC Voltage Standard Leads to Important Junction

After 10 years of research, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled the world’s first precision instrument for directly measuring alternating current (AC) voltages. The instrument is being tested for use in NIST’s low-voltage calibration service, where it is expected to increase significantly the measurement precision of industrial voltmeters, spectrum analyzers, amplifiers and filters.

To read more visit NIST Tech Beat at: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/current.htm#road.

 

Mercury Atomic Clock Sets Time-Keeping Record

An experimental atomic clock based on a single mercury atom is now at least five times more precise than the national standard clock, according to a paper by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the July 14 issue of Physical Review Letters*.

The experimental clock, which measures the oscillations of a mercury ion (an electrically charged atom) held in an ultra-cold electromagnetic trap, ticks at “optical” frequencies—much higher than the microwave frequencies measured in cesium atoms in NIST-F1, the national standard and one of the world’s most accurate clocks. Higher frequencies allow time to be divided into smaller units, which increases precision.

A prototype mercury optical clock originally was demonstrated at NIST in 2000. Over the last five years its absolute frequency has been measured repeatedly with respect to NIST-F1. The improved version of the mercury clock is the most accurate to date of any atomic clock. The current version of NIST-F1—if operated continuously—would neither gain nor lose a second in about 70 million years. The latest version of the mercury clock would neither gain nor lose a second in about 400 million years.

Improved time and frequency standards have many applications, including improved synchronization in navigation and positioning systems, telecommunications networks, and wireless and deep-space communications. Better frequency standards also can be used to improve probes of magnetic and gravitational fields for security and medical applications, and to measure whether “fundamental constants” used in scientific research might be varying over time—a question that has enormous implications for understanding the origins and ultimate fate of the universe.

Funding for the research was provided by NIST and the Office of Naval Research. For more detail, see: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/mercury_atomic_clock.html


Danaher Announces Record 2Q Results

Danaher Corporation announced that net earnings for its second quarter ended June 30, 2006 were $315 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, 40% higher than its 2005 second quarter net earnings of $229 million, or $0.70 per diluted share. Included in the 2006 second quarter results were the effect of a gain of $0.03 per share related to the sale of an interest in shares of First Technology PLC and the impact from certain tax reserve reductions of approximately $0.15 per share.

Sales for the 2006 second quarter were $2,350 million, 21.5% higher than the $1,929 million reported for the 2005 second quarter.

Net earnings for the first six months of 2006 including the effect of the gains were $530 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, compared with $417 million, or $1.28 per diluted share for 2005, an increase of 27%. Excluding the effect of the above described items, net earnings per diluted share for the first six months of 2006 would have been $1.46, a 21.5% increase over the comparable earnings per share for 2005. Sales for the first six months of 2006 were $4,493 million compared to $3,755 million for the first six months of 2005, an increase of 19.5%.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased to again report record quarterly earnings. Revenue growth from existing businesses, also known as core revenues, remained strong and accounted for just over 6% growth, with all three of our reporting segments contributing higher core revenue growth as compared to the same period in 2005. Total sales growth for the quarter also includes acquisition growth of 15.5% and a negligible impact from currency. Our operating cash flow for the first half of 2006 was $652 million, another record. The strength we continue to see across our businesses continues to reinforce our confidence in our ability to deliver positive results for the second half of 2006.”

Danaher Corporation is a leading manufacturer of Professional Instrumentation, Industrial Technologies, and Tools and Components. Visit Danaher at www.danaher.com for more company information.

 

Troemner Now Accredited for Calibration of 50kg and 20kg Weights to OIML Class E1

Troemner, the world’s leading manufacturer of precision weights and provider of calibration services, has announced remarkable new capabilities in the calibration of large weights. Recently Troemner was accredited by UKAS, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, to calibrate 50 kg and 20 kg stainless steel precision weights to OIML Class E1 specifications. Troemner is the only UKAS accredited laboratory in the United States able to produce such measurements.

To obtain such accurate measurements, Troemner recently acquired a Mettler Toledo AX64004 mass comparator. The capability of this mass comparator allows Troemner to produce extremely low uncertainties in its state of the art laboratories. With such precision, Troemner is able to meet the stringent specifications set out in the OIML E1 standard and produce some of the most exact measurements attainable in the calibration of precision weights. In fact, Troemner has achieved the lowest uncertainty for the 50 kg weight and therefore the best measurement capability in the world for this size weight.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service or UKAS first accredited Troemner’s laboratories in 1995. UKAS is widely recognized internationally through bilateral and multilateral agreements and through its participation in the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). UKAS accredited laboratories meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and EN 450001 which is the European standard widely accepted throughout the world for competence of calibration laboratories. Troemner is the only laboratory in the United States to achieve this international accreditation.

Troemner continues to be the premier company in the metrology industry and now enhances its calibration services to include UKAS accredited calibration of 50kg and 20kg stainless steel OIML Class E1 weights. Visit our website at www.troemner.com to learn more about Troemner’s weights and calibration services or call our Inside Sales Department now at 1.800.352.7718 to place an order.

 

Essco Labs Newly Acquired Pratt & Whitney Universal Lab Master

Essco Calibration Labs is pleased to announce that their newly purchased Universal Lab Master (ULM) is capable of measuring gage blocks, end standards, plain rings, threaded rings & plugs, API gages, pin & plug gages, tapered plugs, cylindrical setting gauges, micrometers, indicators, LVDTs, calipers, and snap gauges with instrument uncertainty to 2 millionths of an inch (0.05 micron).

It is suitable for virtually all ID and OD applications through its wide 0.020-inch (0.5 mm) to 14-inches (356 mm) measuring range. The ULM includes Pratt & Whitney’s GageCal software that automatically enters tolerances for rings, plugs, pins, balls, threads (calculates pitch/major diameter) and flags out of tolerance conditions.

Please visit Essco’s Calibration Laboratory for more information at www.esscolab.com or call 800-325-2201.

 

Make Plans to Attend Next Year’s Measurement Science Conference (MSC)

The 2007 MSC Conference will welcome Bob Fritzsche, NSWC Corona Division, as MSC’s new President. It will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center from January 22, 2007 to January 26, 2007. Lodging for attendees will be available at the nearby Hyatt Hotel.

Read the President’s message…..
In a global economy, it is more important than ever to ensure that a volt measured in Cairo is the same as a volt measured in Chicago, or that a meter in Berlin is the same as a meter in Brussels. To that end, the theme for the 2007 Measurement Science Conference is: “Apply Metrology…Rule the World”. In keeping with the theme, the conference will focus on how measurements are made, how they are managed, and how they are audited in order to support product quality, product maintenance, product safety, and interstate and international trade.

Some changes await the attendees of the 2007 MSC. Most notably, after years at the Disneyland Hotel, the conference is moving to the Long Beach Convention Center. Unlike previous years, the Exhibit Hall will open early on Wednesday to give the attendees more time to browse the booths and talk to our knowledgeable exhibitors about metrology products, services, and technology.

So…you ask…why Long Beach? There are a host of fine restaurants, activities, shops, and attractions within walking distance. You won’t want to miss the Queen Mary…and Catalina excursions depart right from Long Beach Harbor. In addition, it is conveniently located near beaches, amusement parks, museums, and more. Getting to Long Beach is easy, too. LAX, John Wayne, and Long Beach airports are each within a few miles. The new venue will provide attendees and their guests with new scenery, new faces, and the same standard of quality technical program and quality exhibits that you’ve come to expect from MSC.

I hope to see you in Long Beach to take part in what may well be the “Greatest Conference in the History of the World!”…the 2007 Measurement Science Conference. For more information, visit www.msc-conf.com.

 

Essco Labs Newly Acquired Pratt & Whitney Universal Lab Master

Essco Calibration Labs is pleased to announce that their newly purchased Universal Lab Master (ULM) is capable of measuring gage blocks, end standards, plain rings, threaded rings & plugs, API gages, pin & plug gages, tapered plugs, cylindrical setting gauges, micrometers, indicators, LVDTs, calipers, and snap gauges with instrument uncertainty to 2 millionths of an inch (0.05 micron).

It is suitable for virtually all ID and OD applications through its wide 0.020-inch (0.5 mm) to 14-inches (356 mm) measuring range. The ULM includes Pratt & Whitney’s GageCal software that automatically enters tolerances for rings, plugs, pins, balls, threads (calculates pitch/major diameter) and flags out of tolerance conditions.

Please visit Essco’s Calibration Laboratory for more information at www.esscolab.com or call 800-325-2201.

 

T&M World's Martin Rowe Records "Measurement Blues"

Test & Measurement World's senior technical editor, Martin Rowe, has written and recorded "Measurement Blues" a song about the trials and tribulations of the calibration lab. You can download the mp3 and get the lyrics at www.tmworld.com/blues

Read the entire article at:
http://www.reed-electronics.com/tmworld/article/CA6330209.html


2006 Combined Regional Measurement Assurance Program

The 2006 Combined Regional Measurement Assurance Program training sessions will be held October 29, to November 3, 2006 at the Omni Hotel in Broomfield (Denver/Boulder), Colorado. This is a combined meeting for CaMAP, SEMAP, NEMAP, MidMAP, SWAP, and WRAP and is an annual training requirement for State laboratories.Round robin results and planning break-out sessions have been arranged. More CRMAP meeting information can be found at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/061029.htm.
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