News in brief: Bookham, TRW and Northrop Grumman, and Modulight
Bookham Technology has announced that it will consolidate production at two of its four facilities. The manufacture of ASOC components will continue at its Milton, UK, facility with the production of active components remaining at the former Marconi Optical Components site in Caswell, UK.
The company believes that with the levels of current and predicted demand for its components the two UK sites will be able to handle all production and development needs, permitting it to close its other two facilities in Maryland, US and Swindon, UK. The closures are intended to reduce the company’s cash burn while allowing it to maintain production at current levels but also with the capacity to meet future increases in demand.
Northrop pays $7.8 billion for TRW
Northrop Grumman has acquired TRW in a stock deal valued at $7.8 billion, making it the second largest defense contractor in the US. The deal involves TRW’s Velocium subsidiary, which designs and fabricates GaAs- and InP-based ICs for fiber-optic and wireless telecommunication applications. TRW also owns Cutting Edge Optronics, a manufacturer of high-power laser diodes.
Northrop is also involved with compound semiconductors, and has a GaAs foundry service in Linthicum, Maryland. although it has scaled back some of this activity in recent times. After acquiring Litton Industries, Northrop sold the former Litton Airtron SiC operation to II-VI Inc. in late 2001 and also closed down its GaAs substrate production facility at about the same time.
It is not yet known how the acquisition will impact upon TRW’s compound semiconductor activities or how Velocium will be affected.
Modulight appoints South Korean rep
Modulight, a manufacturer of optoelectronic (OE) epiwafers, OE chips and packaged chips, has signed a marketing and sales partnership agreement with Jinsan Scientific to sell and promote Modulight s products in South Korea.
"For an agile company like Modulight it is important to be present where things happens rapidly," said Petteri Uusimaa, Modulight s CEO Korean telecommunication market grows with a high pace and adopts quickly new technologies. This trend can also be seen in optical communication.
"Korean manufacturers are constantly looking for cost effective, stable, alternative suppliers for epiwafers and laser chips," continued Uusimaa. "Jinsan Scientific has a wide coverage in Korean markets and long experience in the semiconductor industry. This agreement ensures fast and efficient service for our customers at Korea."
