Intel to build I/O Interconnect test lab in Beijing
BEIJING, CHINA — Intel has announced the formation of I/O Interconnect Labs for testing of next-generation interconnect technologies on Intel architecture server platforms. The first lab, located at Intel's Beijing R&D facility, is a joint effort between Intel Corporation and Tomen Corporation, a distributor of enterprise technology solutions in China.
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Initial technology configurations offered in the Interconnect Lab will focus on Intel architecture server clustering solutions featuring InfiniBand architecture, a clustering technology in initial deployment in multiple data centers in China. Currently the lab features InfiniBand technology products from Agilent, InfiniCon, Mellanox, and Tomen. Over time the I/O Interconnect Lab will augment its technology focus to include the PCI Express architecture, a high-speed, general-purpose, serial I/O interconnect that provides a unifying standard, consolidating the number of I/O interconnects within a platform.
"Customers have shown an acute interest in testing the latest I/O technology on Intel architecture server platforms," said Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing for Intel's Enterprise Platform Group. "With new enterprise interconnects including InfiniBand architecture and PCI Express technology becoming available on Intel Architecture server platforms over the next year, lead users need to have an easy access point to test our latest server clustering configurations. We're pleased to help deliver the first I/O Interconnect Lab in Beijing."
"InfiniBand technology on Intel architecture server platforms enables Tomen to confidently introduce next-generation networking capabilities to our customers in China and Japan, offering them higher performance levels and the infrastructure they will need to support," said Morihiko Tashiro, president of Tomen Corporation. "China is the world's fastest-growing spending nation on information and communication technology. Our relationship with Intel positions us to establish an early foothold on the initial opportunities in the market."
PCD sells off industrial/avionics division to Amphenol
PEABODY, MA — After struggling to find a workable financial strategy, PCD Inc., a manufacturer of electronic connectors currently in bankruptcy, has announced the completion of the sale of substantially all the assets and operations of PCD's Industrial/Avionics division in Peabody, MA to Amphenol Corporation. Amphenol acquired the assets for approximately $14 million plus certain assumed liabilities subject to further adjustments after the closing of the acquisition. In addition, Amphenol will assume some of PCD's long-term contracts. Amphenol is one of the world's largest interconnect suppliers, with over $1 billion in sales and 11,000 global employees.
The division, renamed Amphenol Pcd, Inc., continues to operate from its Peabody location and remains focused on avionic and industrial control interconnects and terminal blocks. Amphenol emphasized that all of the division's operations are conducting business as usual, and the division will continue to accept customer orders and service its customers with existing facilities and personnel.
Following the closing of the transaction, and as part of the Chapter 11 process, PCD will finalize the distribution of proceeds to creditors. PCD's creditors will receive the proceeds from the sale of PCD's assets to Amphenol and UMD, as well as any additional cash on PCD's balance sheet after the close of the transactions. As announced on March 21, 2003, to facilitate the sales of PCD's two business divisions: the Industrial/Avionics Division and Wells-CTI Division, headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, PCD Inc. and its domestic subsidiary, Wells-CTI Inc., filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The Company's Japanese subsidiary, Wells-CTI KK, was not included in the bankruptcy filings, although its shares will be included in the sale of Wells-CTI. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts approved the sale of the Industrial/Avionics Division to Amphenol on May 1, 2003.
John L. Dwight Jr., chairman and CEO of PCD, stated, "A key element of our resolution strategy was that our business segments would be acquired by strong companies with the appropriate financial and management capabilities, and that we have the resources to continue operating our businesses as usual while their sales as going concerns are completed. The size, market strengths, and international organization of Amphenol, and the technical strengths and focus of UMD are an excellent fit with the Industrial/Avionic and Wells-CTI divisions, respectively."
Though PCD's business and cash position had remained stable for several months, the dramatic drop in the semiconductor market, exacerbated by a prolonged, albeit less severe, slowdown in the industrial/avionics market, caused the financial difficulties of the company. "After reviewing alternatives for addressing our capital structure," said Dwight, "we determined that selling our businesses to new owners, whose capital structures will be better aligned with the revenues from these businesses, would be in the best interests of our customers, suppliers, employees, and lenders. A Chapter 11 filing is the most effective way for PCD to complete the sales of our business segments and help assure that they have the resources to continue operating as usual until the sales are finalized."
Bel acquires passive components business of Insilco
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Bel Fuse has announced completion of the previously announced acquisition of the passive components group from Insilco Technologies, Inc.
On December 16, 2002, Bel announced a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the passive components business from Insilco Technologies, Inc. for approximately $35 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. The agreement to acquire the assets of Insilco Technologies subsidiaries Stewart Connector Systems, Inc., InNet Technologies, Inc., and Signal Transformer Co., Inc., was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware on March 7, 2003. The transaction has closed and the acquired businesses now operate as Bel companies.
Daniel Bernstein, president, said, "The purchase of Insilco's passive components group is a logical strategic fit with Bel's current products and markets. We believe this acquisition strengthens Bel and enables us to offer a larger customer base a wider breadth of products. With the increased diversification of our product line, Bel becomes a more attractive supplier to current customers seeking a greater variety of products."
Both Bel and the acquired Stewart Connector Systems operate in the growing integrated connector module (ICM) market. Consolidating the engineering, manufacturing, and sales capabilities of Bel and Stewart is expected to help improve Bel's product leadership and growth rate in this market. Bel's expertise in electrical engineering and high-volume, low-cost manufacturing complements Stewart's strengths in mechanical design and engineering.
As an example of the increased diversification this brings to Bel's product line, the Signal Transformer acquisition adds a new market—custom and high-frequency transformers—and thousands of new customers to Bel's business. Additionally, Bel plans to use the Signal Transformer brand name to develop a magnetics distribution business serving current customers who are looking for a "one-stop magnetics shop" specializing in lower-volume builds and orders.
The acquisition also increases Bel's manufacturing capacity, especially in China, where expansion plans were already underway to meet growing demand. The enhanced manufacturing capacity and the acquisition of Insilco's passive components group is expected to increase Bel's market presence and customer base in Europe. In combination with the December 23, 2002 acquisition of the Communications Products Division of APC in the UK, Bel's strategy remains to improve reach and results in key European and world markets.
TIA publishes two new fiberoptic test procedures
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has published two new standard fiberoptic test procedures (FOTPs). FOTP-198, "Measurement of Polarization Dependence of Insertion Loss of Single-Mode Fiberoptic Components by a Mueller Matrix Method," is classified as TIA-455-198. FOTP-219, "Multifiber Ferrule Endface Ferrule Hole Inside Diameter" is TIA-455-219. FOTP-198 measures polarization dependence of the insertion loss in single-mode fiberoptic components by a Mueller matrix method. The result of the test is the total variation in insertion loss over all polarization states of light launched into the specimen. For any single-mode passive component, including connectors, splices, and couplers, this procedure measures the total range of insertion loss as page description language (PDL) due to changes in polarization of the launch state. It cannot be used to measure polarization-maintaining components or to measure the polarization dependence of return loss nor is this method applicable to measuring the polarization dependence of higher-order attributes such as center wavelength and bandwidth of filters. Meanwhile, FOTP-219 is part of the series of test procedures included within recommended standard TIA/EIA-455A. This document defines a test procedure to assess endface geometry in guide-pin-based multifiber ferrules. The primary attributes are fiber height and endface angle relative to the guide-pin bores. This test method is based on the use of precision fixturing, and is intended for use with interferometric measurement equipment. The procedure assumes that the ferrule face surrounding the region of interest is equal to or lower in height than the surface inside the boundaries of the region of interest.
WHAT'S NEW:
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CABLES AND SOCKETS — This new range of copper cable assemblies and corresponding PCB-mount receptacles comply with IDB/IEEE 1394 standards. The cable assemblies with lengths of up to 10 m include: bilingual plug to bilingual plug, bilingual plug to beta plug, bilingual plug to IEEE 1394 audio video plug, and bilingual to IEEE 1394-95 plug. This interconnect system can support transmission speeds of up to 1,600 Mbit/s. The socket is fully shielded and is designed to withstand 7,500 mating cycles. LUMBERG, MIDLOTHIAN, VA.
www.lumberg.com
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AUDIO JACKS & PLUGS — OEMs can specify a variety of sizes, shapes, angles, and platings, or customize their design. Audio jacks are available in PC mount, 2/3/4/5/6 conductor, in sizes of 2.5, 3.5, and 6.3 mm, in surface-mount style, 4/5/6 conductor, 2.5, and 3.5 mm. Audio plugs are either male or female, 2/3/4/5/6 conductor, with sizes of 2.5, 3.5, or 6.3 mm for assembly or molding. SHOGYO INTERNATIONAL, PLAINVIEW, NY.
www.shogyo.com
NEWS BRIEFS:
SENKO inks distribution agreement with Sumitomo
SENKO America Corp. (Erlanger, KY) has become the first non-exclusive North American distributor of the Sumitomo Wiring System (SWS) line of connector products. The connectors are components of the automotive wiring harness, used in a wide range of automobiles, non-automotive vehicles, and appliances. With the new agreement, SENKO will continue to expand automotive-related sales throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Additionally, the agreement with SWS will allow SENKO to develop customers in new markets. Ken Nakamura, senior executive vice president of SENKO America Corp., stated, "We are very pleased to expand our relationship with Sumitomo Wiring Systems. SWS is a top-tier manufacturer of automotive components, and their products are a natural fit to our existing line of connectors, terminals, wire, cable, tapes, and related products used by a wide variety of OEMs and tier-one and tier-two suppliers."
www.senko.com
General Dynamics selects TriCN I/O interface technology
TriCN (San Francisco, CA), a developer of intellectual property (IP) for high-speed I/O interface technology, has announced an agreement to license its TriDL (digital dynamic deskewing link) SerDes technology to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS), known for electronics systems design and integration for government and commercial applications. TriCN is providing GDAIS with its TriDL SerDes, a technology employing a fully digital design. TriDL enables 2.5 Gbit/s throughput for GDAIS chip-to-chip communications applications in the IBM 0.13-µm process. Because of its purely digital implementation, TriDL saves power and chip area over comparable analog solutions, while eliminating interface performance degradation through the use of dynamic skew compensation.
www.tricn.com
New working group tackles overcurrent surge withstand protectors
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; Arlington, VA) has formed a new engineering working group to develop standards for telecommunications-related overcurrent surge withstand protectors. The new working group, designated TR-41.7.5, Overcurrent Surge Withstand Protectors, is part of TIA's engineering subcommittee TR-41.7, Environmental and Safety Considerations. The working group will be chaired on an interim basis by Carl Lindquist of San-O Industrial Corp. TR-41.7.5 will consider safety specification requirements associated with surge withstand overcurrent protectors (fuses and positive temperature coefficients) used in telecommunications equipment that will be subjected to testing per Telcordia GR 1089 and UL 60950. Initial work will include the development of suitable text for component safety requirements covering fuses and positive temperature coefficients to be employed in equipment addressed in the standards referenced above.
www.tiaonline.org
Agilent encourages customers to trade up
Agilent Technologies Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) has unveiled the Agilent Trade Up program to lower the costs of migrating to newer test and measurement (T&M) technology. The program applies to hundreds of qualifying Agilent products as well as select T&M equipment produced by other manufacturers. The program is centrally managed across product lines, and uses an automated system to calculate credits. The Agilent Trade Up program is available widely throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Customers contact Agilent to receive recommendations that will maximize their trade-in credits. Agilent's automated system calculates the available credit based upon the manufacturer, model, options, and age of the products being traded in, as well as the new products being purchased. Trade-in credits are applied to new purchases on the same purchase order. Additional information on the Agilent Trade Up program is available at their website.
www.agilent.com/ find/trade-up
Graybar adds Corning Cable Systems to VIP Fiber list
Graybar (St. Louis, MO) has added Corning Cable Systems to its VIP Fiber assurance program. The VIP Fiber program is the distribution industry's first, independent comprehensive laboratory test for multimode fiberoptic cabling systems. Corning Cable Systems passed VIP Fiber's testing and certification procedures, which screen components for their performance and interoperability in advance of installation and deployment. Corning Cable Systems' fiberoptic cable, connectivity, and hardware products for premises networks join other suppliers that were recently certified under VIP Fiber, following recent independent testing by ETL SEMKO Testing Laboratories. Under the VIP Fiber testing program, ETL SEMKO randomly selects cable and connectors from Graybar's off-the-shelf inventory for quarterly testing to ensure consistent quality.
www.graybar.com
Berk-Tek/Ortronics partnership announces new initiatives
NetClear, an alliance between Berk-Tek and Ortronics, has launched three new fiberoptic channel offerings that combine products from the two companies. NetClearMM1 fiberoptic solutions feature Berk-Tek's GIGAlite multimode fiber, guaranteed to support Gigabit Ethernet, and Ortronics OptiMo multimode (62.5/125 and 50/125) optical fiber connectivity. NetClearMM10 includes Berk-Tek's GIGAlite-10 multimode fiber as well as Ortronics' OptiMo10G multimode (50/125) optical fiber connectivity. The NetClearMM10 fiberoptic offerings support 10-Gigabit Ethernet applications. NetClear combines Berk-Tek's singlemode fiber with Ortronics OptiMo singlemode optical fiber connectivity for performance well beyond the IEEE and Fibre Channel distance limitations for standard singlemode fiber optic cable.
www.netclear-channel.com
ITT Industries, Cannon licenses new value-added reseller
ITT Industries, Cannon (Santa Ana, CA) has appointed Stratos Lightwave Inc. (Chicago, IL) a value-added reseller of its PHD multi-channel optical interconnects system. The agreement covers worldwide applications for Stratos Lightwave customers to use the PHD system to integrate such optical components as optical flex circuitry, transceivers, wavelength-division multiplexers, splitters, and couplers. Stratos Lightwave expects the addition to its portfolio to benefit its traditional customers as well as those within the military and industrial markets.
www.ittcannon.com
Changes ahead for OFS Brightwave
Following the announcement of a record annual loss, Furukawa Electric Co. (Tokyo, Japan) said it plans to cut several hundred jobs at OFS Brightwave (Atlanta, GA), its U.S.-based fiber operations that it owns jointly with CommScope Inc. (Hickory, NC). After posting a loss of $979 million for the fiscal year that ended last March, the company expects smaller losses in the coming fiscal year, with the second half of the year returning a profit as the telecommunications market begins to rebound and cost-cutting measures take hold. Furukawa says that demand remains flat in its North American operations; however, losses there in the coming fiscal year are expected to be half what they were in the previous 12 months. Reacting to the Furukawa announcement, CommScope says that it expects to incur charges from its minority stake in OFS Brightwave. The company projects ongoing price pressures and weak global demand for optical fiber products at least through the rest of this year.
www.ofsbwc.com
NEWSMAKERS:
The ILSCO Corp. (Cincinnati, OH) has appointed Bill Wolins as vice president of business development. ILSCO supplies electrical connectors and specialized products. Wolins will support ILSCO's top-line growth as well as expand efforts to find "additional corporate synergies." He had been the director of new product development since August 1998.
Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. (Endicott, NY) has added two vice presidents and a director. Michael Hills is the new vice president of business development. He will be responsible for business development, product management, and customer service. J. Michael Sapienti joins as the vice president of sales and marketing. Finally, the company named Karen Carpenter as the director of strategic marketing and communications. Carpenter will be responsible for corporate market analysis, planning, and strategy, along with corporate communications. Endicott Interconnect Technologies supplies organic semiconductor chip packaging, printed circuit boards, and assembly services.
 Bruce Mendoza |
ITT Industries, Cannon (Santa Ana, CA) announced several appointments and promotions within its worldwide sales organization. The Cannon worldwide sales management team now includes: Allan W. Hendry, director of sales for the Americas; Garry Bennett, director of sales for Europe; Bernard Poulain, director of sales for Asia-Pacific; and David Foster, director of worldwide distribution. In addition, the company has named Bruce R. Mendoza its director of human resources.
 John Yim |
John Yim has been appointed vice president sales, Asia, by Enthone Inc. (West Haven, CT), a Cookson Electronics PWB Materials & Chemistry business. He will be responsible for the sales and technical support of Enthone PWB products and processes throughout the Asia Pacific Region. Meanwhile, Professor Andreas Moebius has been appointed R&D Fellow by Enthone. Prof. Moebius will be responsible for identifying and evaluating new technology opportunities. Enthone supplies specialty chemicals and coatings used in the electronics and surface finishing industries.
 Prof. Andreas Moebius |
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 Joseph Jablonski |
Joseph Jablonski is the new vice president of engineering at SphereOptics-Hoffman (Contoocook, NH). The company makes radiometric and photometric products for a variety of light-measurement applications. Jablonski is now responsible for new product development and applications technical support.
 Matt Gilroy |
Universal Instruments (Binghampton, NY) announces the retirement of Neil Murphy from the position of regional manager northeastern USA after more than 27 years with the company. Murphy joined Universal in 1976 as a sales engineer covering eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and metropolitan New York/Long Island. The company selected Matt Gilroy to fill Murphy's position. Gilroy joined Universal in 1983. Most recently, he served as a corporate account manager, working closely with large, multinational customers.
BTC Electronic Components (Raleigh, NC), a value-added distributor specializing in commercial and military/aircraft interconnect products and other electronic components, has contracted with Arcadia Technical Sales for representation in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. Arcadia Technical Sales is a member of the Electronic Representatives' Association.
