CPS Technologieg Corp. - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Karlll]

Ich will mal versuchen, mit diesem kleinen Wert, der heute seine
Zahlen für das 2. Quartal veröffentlicht hat, eine Diskussion anzu-
schieben.

Es handelt sich um einen OTC-Wert von dem doch nur recht wenige
Stücke umgehen. Heute habe ich, obwohl der Titel gar nicht reagiert
hat auf die excellenten Zahlen, eine kleine Posi aufzubauen.

Wichtig für mich war, das die Fa. Gewinn erzielt und keine Verbind-
lichkeiten hat.

Ich habe nicht bis in die Einzelheiten verstanden, wie genau die
Bauteile, die in Windenergieanlagen, EV, HEV, Computern und Eisen-
bahnen verbaut werden, wirken, wohl aber, daß sie für das Energie-
management zuständig sind, wirken. Da ich aber investiert bin rund
um den Bereich des Elektromobils und der Energiespeicherung, denke
ich, kann diese Fa. hier eine interessante Ergänzung darstellen.

Hervorgegangen ist die Firma CPS im März 2007 aus der ehemaligen
"Ceramics Process Systems", daher die Namensgebung.


Hier der Link zur Homepage:

http://www.alsic.com/




10.08.2010 00:02
CPS Technologies Corporation Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results

NORTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/09/10 -- CPS Technologies Corporation (OTCBB: CPSH), a provider of advanced material solutions, today announced revenue of $5.2 million and net income of $450 thousand or $0.04 per basic share and $0.03 per diluted share for the fiscal quarter ended June 26, 2010. This compares with revenue of $3.6 million and net income of $66 thousand or $0.01 per basic and diluted share for the fiscal quarter ended June 27, 2009.

Grant Bennett, President, said, "We are indeed pleased with the 44% increase in revenues in Q2 2010 compared to the same period a year ago. Demand has been very volatile over the last two years because of the economic environment; we believe the Q2 2010 demand does represent real, underlying and sustainable demand rather than fluctuations relating to inventory adjustments or other economic factors."

We also believe demand is growing for our key product families including lids and heatspreaders primarily for network and internet switches and routers, and baseplates for motor controllers used in applications such as trains, subway cars and wind turbines. Worldwide demand for traction motor controllers is up for several reasons including the growing demand in China related to the long-term build out of the Chinese rail network. We are participating in this growing demand through our customers. We are also participating in the growth of hybrid and electric vehicles as our AlSiC baseplates are used in motor controllers for hybrid and electric cars. The demand for hybrid cars currently using our baseplates is increasing and we have achieved important design wins in the first half of 2010 in the hybrid car market which will begin generating recurring revenue next year. In Q2 2010 revenue from metal hermetic packages, including AlSiC packages, is also up.

Revenue under our Cooperative Agreement with the Army for development of armor was down in Q2 2010 compared to Q2 2009, due simply to the timing of specific tasks. Technical progress in this area continues to be very positive.

Net income increased 581% in Q2 2010 compared to Q2 2009 as a result of increased demand as well as improving manufacturing efficiencies. Net income increased sequentially in Q2 2010 from Q1 2010 due to reduced reliance on overtime as we have hired personnel in our manufacturing facility throughout the first half of the year in order to reduce our reliance on overtime.

Our products are used in high-power, high-reliability applications, providing both higher performance and improved efficiency in the use or generation of energy. These applications are in the mainstream of the growing movement towards alternative energy and "green" lifestyles. Management believes underlying demand for these applications is growing, and that CPS is well positioned to capture that growth.

This release does contain forward-looking statements. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, a continued or deepening general economic or business downturn in 2010 or a downturn in the electronics industry.

CPS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
(OTC Bulletin Board: CPSH)





Part I

Item 1. Business.

CPS Technologies Corporation (the `Company` or `CPS`) (formerly Ceramics Process Systems Corporation) provides advanced material solutions to the electronics, power generation, automotive and other industries. In 2008 the Company also entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army to further develop its composite technology to produce armor.

The Company`s products are generally used in high-power, high-reliability applications. These applications always involve energy use or energy generation and the Company`s products allow higher performance and improved energy efficiency. The Company is an important participant in the growing movement towards alternative energy and "green" lifestyles. For example, the Company`s products are used in mass transit, hybrid and electric cars, wind-turbines for electricity generation as well as routers and switches for the internet which in turn allows telecommuting.

Our primary advanced material solution is metal matrix composites (MMCs), a new class of materials which are a combination of metal and ceramic. CPS has a leading, proprietary position in metal matrix composites. Metal matrix composites have several superior properties compared to conventional materials including improved thermal conductivity, thermal expansion matching, stiffness and light weight which enable higher performance and higher reliability in our customers` products.

Like plastics several decades ago, we believe metal-matrix composites will penetrate many end markets over many years. CPS management believes our business model of providing advanced material solutions to a portfolio of high growth end markets which are, at any point in time, in various stages of the technology adoption lifecycle, provides CPS with the opportunity for sustained growth and a diversified customer base. We believe we have validated this model as we are now supplying customers at all stages of the technology adoption lifecycle.

CPS is the leader in supplying metal matrix composites to certain high growth electronics end markets which are well along in the adoption lifecycle and therefore generating significant demand. These end markets include high-performance integrated circuits and circuit boards used in internet switches and routers, as well as motor controllers used in high-speed electric trains, subway cars and wind turbines. CPS supplies heat spreaders, lids and baseplates to customers in these end markets. CPS is a fully qualified manufacturer for many of the world`s largest electronics OEMs.

CPS also assembles housings and packages for hybrid circuits. These housings and packages may include components made of metal-matrix composites; they may include components made of more traditional materials such as aluminum, copper-tungsten, etc.

Concurrently, CPS is participating in certain end markets that are at an earlier stage of the adoption lifecycle. Management believes these end markets will generate additional growth in both the intermediate and longer term. An example of such an end market is motor controllers for hybrid automotives and trucks. In 2009, hybrid automobiles containing the Company`s baseplates were introduced into the market by two of the major automobile manufacturers.

We are also actively working with customers in end markets at the beginning stages of the adoption lifecycle. An example of such a market is the market for armor. In 2008 the Company entered into a cooperative agreement with the Army Research Laboratory to further develop large hybrid metal matrix composite modules which integrally combine metal matrix composites and ceramics by enveloping ceramic tiles with MMCs. This system offers a lighter weight, durable, multi-hit capable and cost competitive alternative to conventional steel, aluminum and ceramic based armor systems. CPS hybrid hard face armor modules are comprised of multiple materials completely enveloped within and mechanically and chemically bonded to lightweight and stiff aluminum metal matrix composites.

The Company believes that its hybrid hard face armor tiles will find application in many military vehicles as well as armored commercial vehicles.

Our products are manufactured by proprietary processes we have developed including the QuicksetTM Injection Molding Process (`Quickset Process`) and the QuickCastTM Pressure Infiltration Process (`QuickCast Process`).

CPS was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1984 as Ceramics Process Systems Corporation and reincorporated in Delaware in April 1987 through a merger into a wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary organized for purposes of the reincorporation. In July 1987, CPS completed our initial public offering of 1.5 million shares of our Common Stock. In March 2007, we changed our name from Ceramics Process Systems Corporation to CPS Technologies Corporation.

Overview of Markets and Products

Electronics Markets Overview

Consumer demand continues to motivate the electronics industry to produce products which:
- operate at higher speeds;
- are smaller in size; and
- operate with higher reliability.

While these three requirements result in products of ever-increasing performance, these requirements also create a fundamental challenge for the designer to manage the heat generated by the system moving at higher speeds and/or higher power. Smaller assemblies further concentrate the heat and increase the difficulty of removing it.

This challenge is found at each level in an electronic assembly: at the integrated circuit level speeds are increasing and line widths are decreasing; at the circuit board level higher density devices are placed closer together on circuit boards; and at the system level higher density circuit boards are being assembled closer together.

The designer must resolve the thermal management issues or the system will fail. For every 10 degree Celsius rise in temperature above a threshold level, the reliability of a circuit is decreased by approximately half. In addition, heat usually causes changes in parameters which degrade the performance of both active and passive electronic components.

To resolve thermal management issues the designer is primarily concerned with two properties of the materials which comprise the system: 1) thermal conductivity, which is the rate at which heat moves through materials, and 2) thermal expansion rate (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion or CTE) which is the rate at which materials expand or contract as temperature changes. The designer must ensure that the temperature of an electronic assembly stays within a range in which the differences in the expansion rates of the materials in the assembly do not cause a failure from breaking, delaminating, etc.

CPS combines at the microstructural level a ceramic with a metal to produce a metal matrix composite which has the thermal conductivity needed to remove heat, and a thermal expansion rate which is sufficiently close to other components in the assembly to ensure the assembly is reliable. The ceramic is silicon carbide (SiC), the metal is aluminum (Al), and the composite is aluminum silicon carbide (AlSiC), a metal-matrix composite. CPS can adjust the thermal expansion rate of AlSiC components to match the specific application by modifying the amount of SiC compared to the amount of Al in the component.

CPS produces products made of AlSiC in the shapes and configurations required for each application, for example, in the form of lids, substrates, housings, etc. Every product is made to a customer`s blueprint. The CPS process technology allows most products to be made to net shape, requiring no or little final machining.

Although our focus today is on AlSiC components, we believe our proprietary Quickset- Quickcast process technology can be used to produce other metal-matrix composites which may meet future market needs.

Today, the problem of thermal management is most acute in high-performance, high-density applications such as high-performance microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits for internet routers and switches, motor controllers for trains, subway cars and wind turbines, and components for satellite communications. However, as the trends towards faster speeds, reduced size and increased reliability continue, and as high-density circuitry is used in a larger number of applications, we believe our products will be used in an increasing number of applications across many end markets.

Structural Markets Overview

Structural applications perform primarily a mechanical rather than electrical function. In any mechanical assembly with moving parts the stiffness and weight of moving parts can have a significant impact on the performance and energy efficiency of the assembly. In particular, in equipment with reciprocating components increasing the stiffness and reducing the weight of reciprocating components improves the performance and energy efficiency of the equipment.

Today many mechanical components are made of steel because steel has the stiffness required for the particular application. AlSiC has approximately the same stiffness as steel, but is only one-third the weight of steel. AlSiC is, however, higher cost than steel. However, we believe there are many mechanical applications where the customer will pay the higher cost for AlSiC because of significant improvements in performance resulting from the superior stiffness-to-weight ratio of AlSiC.

Examples of structural applications for which we are developing and supplying components include armor, robotic arms for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and certain components for specialty internal combustion engines.

Specific Markets and Products

Lids and Heat Spreaders for High-Performance Microprocessors, Application-Specific Integrated Circuits and Other Integrated Circuits ("Flip-chip Applications")

Increases in speed, circuit density, and the number of connections in microprocessor chips (CPUs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are accelerating a transition in the way in which these circuits are packaged. Packages provide mechanical protection to the integrated circuit (IC), enable the IC to be connected to other circuits via pins, solder bumps or other connectors, and allow attachment of a heat sink or fan to ensure the IC does not overheat. In the past most high-performance ICs were electrically connected to the package by fine wires in a process known as wire bonding. Increasingly high-performance semiconductors are connected to the package by placing metal bumps on the connection points of the die, turning the die upside down in the package, and directly connecting the bumps on the die with corresponding bumps on the package base by reflowing the bumps. This is referred to as a "flip-chip package". Flip chip packages allow for connection of a larger number of leads in a smaller space, and can provide other electrical performance advantages compared to wire bonded packages.

In many flip chip configurations a lid or heat spreader is placed over the die to protect the die from mechanical damage and to facilitate the removal of heat from the die. Often a heat sink or fan is then attached to the lid. For a high-density die the package designer must ensure that the lid has sufficient thermal conductivity to remove heat from the die and that all components of the package assembly - the die itself, the package base, and the package lid - are made from materials with sufficiently similar thermal expansion rates to ensure the assembly will not break itself apart over time as it thermally cycles.

Our composite material, AlSiC, has been developed to meet these two needs: it is engineered to have sufficient thermal conductivity to allow the heat generated by the die to be removed through the lid, and it is engineered to expand upon heating at a rate similar to other materials used in the package assembly in order to ensure reliability of the package over time as it thermally cycles. We produce lids made of AlSiC for high performance microprocessors and application-specific integrated circuits used in servers, internet switches and other applications.

Most participants in the semiconductor industry believe the densities of ICs will continue to increase following the well-known "Moore`s Law". As IC densities increase, generally so does the IC size, and the amount of heat generated by the IC. We believe the need for thermal management will continue to grow rapidly.

Motor Controller Applications (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor ("IGBT") Applications)

The use of power modules to control electric motors of all sizes is growing. This growth is the result of several factors including emerging high-power applications which demand power controllers such as trains, subways and certain industrial equipment, and cost declines in power modules which increasingly make variable speed drives cost effective. Power semiconductors are a very significant portion of the cost of variable speed drives, and the cost of the module housing and thermal management system are also significant; declines in the costs of all these components is driving increased use of variable speed drives.

We provide substrates, baseplates and heat spreaders on which power semiconductors are mounted to produce modules for motor control. The power semiconductors are typically insulated gate bipolar transistors and these applications are often referred to as IGBT applications. Our AlSiC baseplates have sufficient thermal conductivity to allow for removal of heat through the baseplate, and have a thermal expansion rate sufficiently similar to the other components in the assembly to ensure reliability over time as the assembly thermally cycles. We believe this market will continue to grow as the use of power modules penetrates additional motor applications, and as electric motors themselves penetrate new applications such as the hybrid electric vehicle.

Today our primary products for IGBT applications are used in electric trains, subway cars, wind-generating turbines and hybrid and electric vehicles.

Major automobile companies around the world are introducing hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicle (EVs) at an increasing rate. This focus on more energy efficient vehicles is being driven by increases in energy costs and concerns about climate change. There are many varieties of HEVs and EVs, but all HEVs and EVs contain an electric motor and contain one or more motor controller modules. The Company provides baseplates on which motor controller modules are assembled; these baseplates are lighter weight and provide greater reliability than baseplates made from more conventional materials.

The Company is working with multiple tier one and tier two suppliers to the automobile industry on several new designs for future introduction. The Company believes the HEV and EV markets will be the source of significant and long-term growth for the Company.

Customers

We sell primarily to major microelectronics systems houses in the United States, Europe and Asia. Our customers typically purchase prototype and evaluation quantities of our products over a one to three year period before purchasing production volumes.

In 2009, our four largest customers accounted for 25%, 24%, 13% and 9% of revenues, respectively. In 2009, 81% of our revenues were derived from commercial applications and 19% from defense-related applications.

Research and Development

In 2009, research and development costs were incurred related to the Cooperative Agreement with the US Army. These costs consist of materials, labor, overhead expenses, sales general and administrative expenses, and equipment purchases. Total expenditures incurred in 2009 under this Cooperative Agreement amounted to $1.775 million of which $1.541 million are included in cost of research and development under cooperative agreement in the Statement of Income. $1.679 million of these costs were funded by the US Army in 2009 and are classified as research and development cooperative agreement revenues in the Statement of Income. The $89 thousand funded by CPS consists of $81 thousand of direct and indirect costs in connection with the contract included in costs of research and development under cooperative agreements and the Company`s allocated portion of general and administrative expenses allowed under the contract included in selling, general and administrative expenses of $8 thousand. An additional $7 thousand is included in total expenditures in 2009 and was unbilled to the US Army as of December 26, 2009.

Unfunded research and development costs, if any, are charged to expense as incurred and were $0 in 2009, 2008 and 2007.

Availability of Raw Materials

We use a variety of raw materials from numerous domestic and foreign suppliers. These materials are primarily aluminum ingots, ceramic powders and chemicals. The raw materials we use are available from domestic and foreign sources and none is believed to be scarce or restricted for national security reasons.

Patents and Trade Secrets

As of December 26, 2009, we had 13 United States patents and three United States patent pending. We also have several international patents covering the same subject matter as the U.S. patents. Our licensees have rights to use certain patents as defined in their respective license agreements. As of December 26, 2009, none of our licensees are producing products under license agreements signed previously, and we do not expect the license agreements in place to generate additional license revenues in the future.

We intend to continue to apply for domestic and foreign patent protection in appropriate cases. In other cases, we believe we are better served by reliance on trade secret protection. In all cases, we seek protection for our technological developments to preserve our competitive position.

Backlog and Contracts

As of December 26, 2009, we had a total backlog of approximately $8.9 million consisting of product backlog of $8.4 million and backlog remaining on the second-year funding under the Cooperative Agreement with the US Army of $508 thousand.

The total backlog as of December 27, 2008, was approximately $8.6 million. We shipped 100% of the year-end 2008 backlog in 2009.

Competition

We have developed and expect to continue to develop products for a number of different end markets and we will encounter competition from different producers of metal-matrix composites and other competing materials.

We believe that the principal competitive factors in our end markets today include technical competence, product performance, quality, reliability, price, corporate reputation, and strength of sales and marketing resources. We believe our proprietary processes, reputation, and the price at which we can offer products for sale will enable us to compete successfully in the many electronics end markets. However, many of the American and foreign companies now producing or developing metal-matrix composites have far greater financial and sales and marketing resources than we do which may enable them to develop and market products which would compete against those developed by us.

Government Regulation

We produce non-nuclear, non-medical hazardous waste in our development and manufacturing operations. The disposal of such waste is governed by state and federal regulations. Various customers, vendors, and collaborative development agreement partners of CPS may reside abroad, thereby possibly requiring export and import of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished products, as well as potential technology transfer abroad under collaborative development agreements. These types of activities are regulated by bureaus within the Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury.

In 2008, the Company entered into a cooperative agreement with the US Army Research Laboratory to perform research and development concerning hybrid metal matrix composite encapsulated ceramic armor technology. The Cooperative Agreement is a four-year agreement which is 95% funded by the US Department of Defense and 5% funded by CPS.

Revenues from this Cooperative Agreement are recognized proportionally as costs are incurred. We are reimbursed for reasonable and allocable costs up to the reimbursement limits set by the Cooperative Agreement. All payments to the Company for work performed on this Cooperative Agreement are subject to audit and adjustment by the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Adjustments are recognized in the period made.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100326/CPS-TECHNOLOGIES-CORP…

[Karlll]

Schön wäre, wenn mir jemand vielleicht mit akademischer Vorbildung im Bereich Elektrotech-
nik oder Materialwissenschaft kurz verdeutschen könnte, für welchen Einsatzbereich direkt
die Teile von CPS verwandt werden, und wie die Teile wirken.

Gruß
Karlll

[MrRipley]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 39.961.919 von Karlll am 10.08.10 21:32:38

Stell die Frage speziell mal im Zenn-Thread, dort sind einige unterwegs die "etwas" Ahnung haben

[MrRipley]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 39.961.919 von Karlll am 10.08.10 21:32:38

Bin vor zwei Wochen auf die Aktie aufmerksam geworden und ist in der Watchlist, für mich jedoch uninteressant im Bereich E-Mobilität.

[Karlll]

Also, mittlerweile ist mir definitiv klar, worum es hier geht.

Habe den entsprecvhenden Link zum Keramverband angefügt. Auf der letzten Seite des PDF-
Dokuments steht:

Ziel der MMC-Entwicklung: Durch lokales Werksoffengineering sollen Schwächen von Leicht-
metallen kompensiert werden.


Aha !!!

[Karlll]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 39.965.597 von Karlll am 11.08.10 13:15:54

Sorry, Link vergessen.

http://www.keramverband.de/keramik/pdf/02/sem02_15.pdf

Gruß
Karlll

[Karlll]

Nun, 2 Tage nach meinem Kauf und dann in diesem Umfeld ein Plus von 11,43%. So kann es
weitergehen.

Ich vermute einmal, daß etliche Zeitgenossen das Teil auf ihrem Schirm hatten, aber dieser
Fehlmeldung bezüglich Bekanntgabe des Quartalsergebnisses aufgesessen waren.



CPS Technologies Corp. expected to report Q2 2010 results on August 12, 2010. This event was calculated by Capital IQ (Created on August 6, 2010).
08/6/2010


Zeit Kurs* Stück kumuliert


16:15:00 1,95 USD 2.000 9.990
16:12:00 1,95 USD 2.500 7.990
15:58:41 1,95 USD 2.500 5.490
15:57:34 1,85 USD 390 2.990
15:57:22 1,95 USD 2.500 2.600


Nur weiter so !!!

[Karlll]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 39.975.255 von Karlll am 12.08.10 16:54:59

Tja, als Tiger gestartet und dann als Kätzchen gelandet. Am Ende stand es wieder wie am
Vortag mit Kurs von 1,75$.

Aber: Wir hatten den höchsten Umsatz innerhalb der letzten 12 Monate.

Also: weiter so, dann werden die Gewinne dauerhaft.

[Karlll]

EBOOM CAPITAL: Investors Are Picking Energy Efficiency ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’
By Terry McDonald
Created 2010-08-19 05:19


Just about everybody agrees that energy efficiency is the low hanging fruit in the economy’s transition to fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Here are three small and innovative companies that investors have been picking with enthusiasm this summer and throughout 2010: Energy Focus, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFOI [2]), Amerigon, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARGN [3]), and CPS Technologies Corp. (OTC: CPSH [4]).

Energy Focus, Inc. [5] (NASDAQ: EFOI), based in Solon, Ohio, with offices in Nashville, Tennessee; Pleasanton, California; and the United Kingdom, provides energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products and turnkey energy efficient lighting solutions, holding 69 relevant lighting patents. The company says its solutions provide energy savings, aesthetics, safety and maintenance cost benefits over conventional lighting.

* Energy Focus had a Q2 2010 net loss of $1.8 million on revenues of $9 million, compared with Q2 2009‘s net loss of $2.4 million on revenue of $3.3 million and Q1 2010’s net loss of $3.57 million on revenue of $8.4 million. The company expects Q3 2010 sales to exceed $9 million and to be cash flow positive for 2010. However, it is noteworthy that the company does not give guidance on profitability for the rest of the year and does not include bottom line performance in the news releases that accompany the company’s quarterly financial statements.
* Shares are up 257 percent year to date, up 76 percent over the past three months, up 85 percent over the past month and up 31% over the past five days. The past month’s trading volume has been the highest of any month in 2010, peaking at 451,000 shares per day yesterday.

Amerigon Incorporated [6] (NASDAQ: ARGN), based in Northville, Michigan, develops and markets products based on its thermoelectric device technologies for a range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The company’s principal product is the Climate Control Seat, which is offered in 44 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Tata.

* Conventional air conditioning in a vehicle reduces fuel economy by 15 to 20 percent. The National Renewable Energy Lab [7] in Golden, Colorado, conducted a study that showed using a ventilated seat can cut air conditioning use in a vehicle by four percent, which translates to a national fuel savings of almost a quarter of a billion gallons of gasoline.
* Amerigon had Q2 2010 net income of $2.4 million on revenues of $28.8 million, compared Q2 2009‘s net loss of $0.87 million on revenue of $10.7 million and Q1 2010’s net income $1.65 milllion on revenue of $24.2 million.
* Shares are up 37 percent year to date, up 19 percent over the three months, up 32 percent over the past month and up five percent over the past five days. Over the past month, daily trading volume peaked at 510,000 shares July 22.

CPS Technologies Corporation [8] (OTC: CPSH), based in Norton, Massachusetts, provides advanced (aluminum silicon carbide, or AlSiC) material solutions to the electronics, power generation, automotive and other industries. These applications always involve energy use or energy generation and the company’s products allow higher performance and improved energy efficiency. The company says it is “an important participant in the growing movement towards alternative energy and ‘green’ lifestyles”, with its products being used in mass transit, hybrid and electric cars, wind-turbines for electricity generation as well as routers and switches for the internet which, in turn, facilitates telecommuting.

* CPS had Q2 2010 net income of $450,000 on revenues of $5.19 million, compared with Q2 2009’s net income of $66,000 on revenues of $3.6 million and Q1 2010’s net income of $165,000 on revenues of $5.41 million.
* Shares are up 43 percent year to date, up 37 percent over the past three months, up three percent over the past month, and down six percent over the past five days. Over the past month, daily trading volume peaked at 28,000 shares August 12 and there were 10 days with no trades.

Photo credit: Amerigon Incorporated

DISCLOSURE: The writer has no positions in, or professional connections with, these companies.

[Karlll]

Global Advanced Ceramics Market to Reach US$56.4 Billion by 2015, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:13:47 EDT



Sep 27, 2010 (PRWeb.com via COMTEX) --

Advanced ceramics market has been witnessing growth in both traditional and new application areas. In traditional applications, growth comes from performance enhancement either through a supplementary role or through substitution of conventional materials, while in newer applications, advanced ceramics are assuming greater role of delivering specific performances not feasible earlier. Technology innovations have over the years helped make performance and productivity improvements, a key factor instrumental in popularizing the usage of advanced ceramics in several industries.

Given that demand for advanced ceramics primarily depends upon the health of major end-use markets such as electronic components & electrical equipment, automotive, defense, chemical, and general engineering, among others, the deceleration in growth momentum witnessed over the last two years thus comes as no surprise. The electronic components industry, particularly in developed markets such as the US and Europe, remained sluggish, with poor economic climate dampening consumer purchases of electronic devices such as mobile phones, pagers, and electronic gaming systems, and subsequently the demand for components used in electronic products. Therefore, demand for electronic ceramics remained largely limited. The electrical equipment market, which is presently characterized by a saturated marketplace and limited product development, also posted a deceleration in its production volume over the past two years, thereby limiting market opportunities for advanced ceramics in products such as insulators.

Although the recession canceled out the heady growth patterns and overly optimistic expectations, the advanced ceramics market (http://www.strategyr.com/Advanced_Ceramics_Market_Report.asp… has successfully ridden the worst-ever downturn without recording erosions in market value. This is because the sheer magnitude of current and potential applications make advanced ceramics lesser prone to windfall erosions in market net worth. Additionally, the predominantly high-end, premium application areas of advanced ceramics like in medical products, where quality and functionality are factors not compromised with cost/price, cushions the market against steep declines, despite walking an economic tightrope. Factors expected to drive growth during the post recession period include continued penetration into new application areas such as cutting tools, membranes and joint implants, where they are highly preferred for their performance capabilities, recovery in the construction and housing sector, and growing preference for high-end technologies like advanced ceramics in automotive construction and design.

Technology improvements, especially in the fracture properties of ceramics, and evolution of new high-temperature fibers based ceramic composites, will also offer ample opportunities for growth. Chemically bonded ceramics will find extensive uses in advanced cement based construction products, such as, electrical fittings, wall panels, floors, roof tiles, cabinets and pipes. Extensive use of coated machinery components, strong future demand for advanced coatings, and breakthroughs in deposition processes will magnetize commercial opportunities for ceramic coatings. In the area of industrial equipment, ceramic heat exchangers will rise in popularity in industrial furnaces, gas turbine engines, industrial cogeneration, and fluidized bed combustion, thus spurring demand in the marketplace. The traditionally tough and beleaguered automotive end-use industry is expected to generate encouraging gains for advanced ceramics, largely as a result of the growing popularity of ceramic filters, a fallout of industry's focus on advanced technologies. As the diesel engine technology continues to develop in the future, advanced ceramics will find potential applications in components, such as, turbocharger valve train components, glow plugs, piston, cap cylinders, exhaust train insulation, liners, air bearings, high-temperature bearings, and low friction liquid, lubricant-free bearings, among others.

Given the robust long-term opportunities in this industry, manufacturers are expected to look beyond the current weakness in market demand, to focus resources and investments on research and development, optimization of ceramic fabrication processes, installation of technologically superior processing and quality control equipment, and tailoring targeted marketing strategies.

As stated by the new market research report on advanced ceramics, Japan continues to remain the largest regional market for advanced ceramics. Growth prospects in Asia-Pacific remain encouraging, driven by rapid development in the IT and electronics industries in the region, particularly the electronics segment, which is the primary consumer of advanced ceramics. Market for advanced ceramics market in this region is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 7.0% over the analysis period. By product, electronic ceramics market (http://www.strategyr.com/Advanced_Ceramics_Market_Report.asp… is the largest segment. Banking upon the continued proliferation of new applications in the electronics industry, the electronic ceramics will continue to remain the most prominent segment over the analysis period. The structural ceramics market (http://www.strategyr.com/Advanced_Ceramics_Market_Report.asp… is the fastest growing product segment, displaying a robust CAGR of more than 7.0% over the analysis period.

Major market participants include Applied Ceramics Inc., Brush Engineered Materials Inc., Ceradyne Inc., CPS Technologies Corporation, CeramTec AG, COI Ceramics Inc., CoorsTek Inc., Cookson Group PLC, Covalent Materials Corporation, General Electric Company, International Ceramic Engineering, KEMET Corporation, Kyocera Corporation, AVX Corp., American Technical Ceramics Corp., Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., Morgan Technical Ceramics, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., NGK Insulators Ltd., Rauschert GmbH, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Company Ltd., Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd., TDK Corporation, Vishay Intertechnology Inc., Yageo Corp., among others.

The research report titled "Advanced Ceramics: A Global Strategic Business Report", published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of trends, product developments, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections for the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific and Rest of World. Product segments analyzed include Electronic Ceramics, Chemical Processing & Environmental Ceramics, Ceramic Coatings, and Structural Ceramics.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit - http://www.strategyr.com/Advanced_Ceramics_Market_Report.asp…

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) (http://www.strategyR.com/) is a reputed publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company is globally recognized as one of the world's largest market research publishers. The company employs over 800 people worldwide and publishes more than 1200 full-scale research reports each year. Additionally, the company also offers thousands of smaller research products including company reports, market trend reports, and industry reports encompassing all major industries worldwide.

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