Laird Technologies Acquires Cushcraft, M2sys
Cushcraft designs high-performance antennas to enhance the coverage and throughput of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), and has products for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Broadband Wireless Internet and in-building communications applications. Cushcraft also develops artificial intelligence-based antenna designs using supercomputers to simultaneously optimize antenna size, shape, beam shape, frequency response and many other factors to meet the most stringent customer requirements.
Cushcraft's products are used by OEMs and service providers in industries including enterprise networking, inventory control/logistics, telecommunications and wireless Internet service, and has design and manufacturing centers located in New Hampshire, California and Utah.
Cushcraft sales revenues for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006 were $33.3 million.
"Cushcraft's leading position in key infrastructure markets complements Laird Technologies' strong position in antenna solutions for portable and mobile applications," said Martin Rapp, CEO of Laird Technologies. "The combination of the two companies uniquely positions Laird Technologies to grow the combined business in emerging markets of RFID and WiMax."
"By becoming part of Laird Technologies, we now have a broader geographic footprint, more engineering and manufacturing resources and greater financial strength, all of which will help us deliver leading-edge solutions to our customers globally," said Greg Czuba, CEO of Cushcraft.
M2sys designs and manufactures custom products based on proprietary and patented technology including pivot, slide and rotary-action assemblies that enable mechanical actuation of handheld devices while maintaining electrical integrity and performance. M2sys is based in Bucheon, South Korea and employs 80 people.
Concerning Laird's acquisition of M2sys, Mr. Bosung Jeing, founder and CEO of M2sys, said, "M2sys has leading-edge technology in the field of handheld device actuation mechanisms, and has been very successful in building relationships with the leading global handheld product manufacturers, and by becoming part of Laird Technologies we can rapidly expand our company due to Laird Technologies' massive global footprint."
In the year ended December 31, 2006, M2sys reported revenues of $13.5 million, an increase over the previous year of 164 percent, and operating profits of $1.6 million. Based on awarded customer programs, revenues are expected to more than triple in 2007 compared to 2006, requiring additional design, manufacturing and assembly expertise, production facilities and global logistic capabilities to satisfy demand. Laird Technologies will provide these resources and skills in order to meet customer schedules and accelerate M2sys' growth. The addition of M2sys' proprietary technology to Laird Technologies' product portfolio will allow more complex integrated designs and convergence of functions and components in future electronic applications.
"As advanced functions are designed into ever-smaller handheld devices, the ability to fold, pivot or slide the devices to expose screens and keypads has become very important and will be even more important in the future," said Martin L. Rapp, CEO of Laird Technologies.
SOURCE: Laird Technologies