In brief: Riber, LED lighting in the UK, Synova
Riber cuts losses
French MBE equipment manufacturer Riber has made a significant recovery in fiscal 2005, with annual sales up by €4.1 million ($5.0 million) and losses cut to just €0.9 million.
On December 31, 2005 cash and cash equivalents stood at €8.7 million, up €2.9 million year-on-year.
The company's recovery looks set to continue into 2006. Its sales order backlog on March 30 was €14.0 million, and yearly sales of €17 million - €22 million are expected.
UK government pledges SSL cash
The Department of Trade and Industry in the UK has announced that £9 million ($15.6 million) in funding has been made available for collaborative research in electronics and photonics.
While some of that fund will be sent on the development of organic electronics, a large portion will be set aside for high-efficacy solid-state lighting systems.
White-light sources for illumination is one of the technology areas that will be emphasized when project awards are handed out in the future.
Synova revamps management
Swiss firm Synova, which sells laser systems for dicing of semiconductor wafers, has appointed an executive management team.
Now on the comapny roster is VP of research and development Martin Achtenhagen, who was previously a long-wavelength VCSEL specialist and also led the development of optical amplifiers at component giant JDSU.
Also joining the company are VP of sales and marketing Phil Durrant, CFO Quoc Phong Dang, and VP of operations Frank Meier.
