Now, that is all heading in the right direction (sounds like Epstein's been reading this thread). Thanks for the lead. I am posting below the text of the article:
Intermagnetics weighs its
options
Colonie -- New CEO talks of shifting focus from
research to more lucrative markets
For years Intermagnetics General Co. was run more like
a university than a business. There was plenty of time for
research and science for science's sake.
The system worked. Intermagnetics is now a pioneer in
the field of superconductivity, making magnets, wires,
gases and other materials that can be used to conduct
electricity almost without resistance, and thus creating a
more efficient flow of power.
But new CEO Glenn Epstein wants to make the
company more market sensitive. Outside of the lucrative
MRI market, Intermagnetics hasn't made enough of an
effort to find the best commercial markets for its
inventions. Instead, the company took on too many
low-paying research projects that didn't result in a new
product line or market area.
"It's a huge cultural shift for the company,' said Epstein,
who joined Intermagnetics two years ago as president.
Epstein was brought on board with the notion that he
would eventually succeed CEO Carl Rossner, the
principal founder.
The company is a leader in making the magnets used in
the magnetic resonance imaging systems. Those are
tubelike systems employed in hospitals and clinics to
obtain images of patients' central nervous systems and in
soft tissue areas. It's been posting more than $100
million in sales and provides 600 jobs globally, including
300 in the Capital Region.
No more pure research. "If somebody wants us to build
one or two things, we say that somebody else could do
that better for you. A few years ago, we would have
said: Yes, please,' said Epstein.
Rossner, who is still chairman, turned 70 this year, and in
June turned over the CEO title to Epstein.
Epstein, 41, brings a blend of engineering and
management experience to Intermagnetics. He was
previously president of competitor Oxford Instruments
Nuclear Measurements Group in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and
had worked before that in both engineering and
management at General Electric Co.
He's changed the face of the company in a number of
ways. Some upper-level managers quit or were fired
because they couldn't make the transition to being a
more market-oriented company, he said.
At the same time, other employees were given the
freedom to dress casually on days when they were not
meeting customers. Now there are barbecues and
employee appreciation days.
Most importantly, the company is looking closely at a
new market for the future: the utilities that provide
electricity across the country.
With the electric industry in the throes of deregulation
now, utility companies are going to be looking for ways
to deliver power more cheaply and reliably, Epstein said.
It's a natural conclusion that some will want to buy
superconducting materials, especially since they are also
facing the need to upgrade transmission equipment
installed more than 30 years ago.
"Anything you can make out of copper can be made out
of superconducting materials,' Epstein said.
The utility market will take time to develop, he
acknowledged, perhaps till 2003 to get market
acceptance of superconducting products.
But it's a market the company can't ignore, he said. And
in the meantime, the MRI market -- about 70 percent of
the company's revenues -- continues to grow at 10 to 15
percent a year.
More hospitals and clinics continue to install MRI
systems, and to replace older, larger systems with
smaller, more efficient models. Older systems are resold,
often to hospitals in poorer countries, he said.
Epstein plans to explain the strategy in more detail next
month at the annual meeting of shareholders at company
headquarters, 450 Old Niskayuna Road. In past years,
the meeting was in New York City.
Epstein said it's not yet clear how much company
revenues will grow. Profits may increase more quickly
than sales, he said, as the company shifts more attention
to higher-margin sales.
The CEO is also looking for improvement in the
company's stock price, which has stayed around $6,
except for an unsustained and unexplained spike to $13
a share earlier in the year.
Epstein said he is also hoping to get stock analysts
interested in the company. Currently, no analysts are
covering the company, he said. |
