found this for you guys...
Latham, N.Y., Magnetic Technology Firm CEO Sees Opportunity on Horizon
Jo-Ann Johnston
11/11/1999
KRTBN Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News: Times Union - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Copyright (C) 1999 KRTBN Knight Ridder Tribune Business News; Source: World Reporter (TM)
COLONIE, N.Y.--In two to three years, the same technology now used to take internal images of the human body could be employed to test food packages for spoilage, or double-check the dosages in pill bottles.
Those are a couple of the new markets Intermagnetics Technology Corp. wants to seize, CEO Glenn Epstein told 80 shareholders at the annual meeting Tuesday at the company's Latham headquarters.
But Epstein pledged to pounce on these ideas faster than the company has in the past. "My goal is to steer the company to perform better on key business opportunities faster than we have before," said Epstein, who earns a base salary of $250,000 before performance bonuses, according to company documents.
Intermagnetics has made its mark on the world by producing big magnets, such as the ones used in hospital magnetic resonance imaging systems, or MRIs, to get internal views of the human body, and related technical products. Some of those products include wires, gases and other materials needed to conduct electricity at low temperatures, allowing the magnets to work.
The MRI market has been the bread and butter of the $100-million-sales company.
Epstein told shareholders he plans to grow sales by 10 percent in the company's existing products. And he wants to boost profits 15 percent annually. The company incurred a loss of $7 million in the last fiscal year, partly because of some restructuring charges.
Improvement started showing in the current fiscal year. First-quarter earnings were up 19 percent. Earnings for the current, second fiscal quarter, will be released in early January.
The near-term improvements are only the first step, Epstein said. Intermagnetics is looking at new markets, new product possibilities and joint-venture and acquisition opportunities.
The company is also investigating a product that cools computer chips, Epstein said. Because the boards inside computers get hot, IBM is now using cooling technology in some of its mainframe computers. Intermagnetics has an investment in a company called KyroTech 's commercializing cooling systems for computer makers.
In five years or more, Intermagnetics hopes to sell superconducting materials to electric utility providers.
As utilities in America upgrade the 50-year-old transmission systems now in use, they will need the superconducting materials that allow power to be transmitted with almost no resistance, Epstein said. More efficient generation and transmission of power is particularly critical in that industry, because it is being deregulated and former monopolies are getting new competitors.
Not every product has been a winner, Epstein acknowledged. One line of refrigerant gases has encountered tough competition and not sold as well as expected, he said, and the company is still considering whether it should keep marketing that product.
Epstein wants to get analysts interested in Intermagnetics ; most haven't covered the company in recent years. Executives will meet with stock analysts next week in the Midwest, and then with more analysts after the start of the new year, he said.
Intermagnetics employs 600 people globally, including 300 in the Capital Region.
The company's stock performance has been lackluster. It closed at $6.19 Tuesday, up 19 cents.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
