Ultralife recharges with lithium
individual.com
July 26, 2000
HAILEY LYNNE MCKEEFRY
Ultralife Batteries Inc. is betting that rechargeable lithium
technologies will take off as a solution for weight- and
space-sensitive applications in which increasing run
times is key.
Based on unit volume, lithium chemistries offer one of the
highest amounts of energy in the rechargeable-cell
family, said Julius Cirin, director of corporate marketing
at Ultralife, Newark, N.Y. "On top of that, they're safe,
and they can't leak since they're a dry-cell technology,"
he said.
Established in 1991 with the acquisition of Eastman
Kodak's lithium-battery division, Ultralife was one of the
first companies to announce active involvement in
lithium-polymer technology.
"What differentiates them from others is that they are
specialized in lithium technologies, including
rechargeable," said Joel Tax, an analyst at Santa Clara
Consulting Group, Toronto, adding that there is room for
such specialty players.
However, Ultralife isn't banking on one application or
technology. The company develops and manufactures a
range of lithium batteries for industrial, military, and
consumer markets, offers a broad line of
high-performance primary (disposable) lithium batteries,
and provides production quantities of advanced polymer
rechargeable batteries.
"Ultralife is well positioned in many markets for many
applications, since we are producing both lithium primary
and polymer rechargeable batteries," Cirin said. "One
challenge that we've already identified and are facing is
to accurately identify and penetrate various markets
worldwide."
Last year, the company formed Ultralife Taiwan Inc. in
collaboration with PGT Energy, Quanta Computer, San
Yo Pharmaceutical, and Yungtay Engineering to produce
Ultralife rechargeable polymer batteries.
Ultralife is also aiming to make inroads in a variety of
vertical markets such as smoke detectors and medical
applications, as well as cell phones, computing
applications, and communications.
In January, smoke-alarm maker Fyrnetics Inc. signed an
exclusive agreement to use Ultralife's 9-V, 10-year
lithium batteries in its long-life smoke alarms.
"We've seen continued revenue growth every year," he
said, adding that the company has not yet released its
figures for fiscal 2000, which ended in June. "Our growth
is spread broadly over various markets."
For the nine months ended March 31, Ultralife's revenue
rose 28%, to $19.1 million from $15 million in the
year-ago period.
However, Ultralife must reverse a long stream of red ink.
The company lost $7.1 million in fiscal 1999 and $6.1
million in the first nine months of fiscal 2000.
In recent quarters, Ultralife has faced personnel issues
and other challenges. In December, the company
announced that chief operating officer Roger O'Brien
was leaving. He has not yet been replaced, and president
John D. Kavazanjian has added the title of chief
executive.
The company is counting on some long-term projects to
spur growth and product development.
In June, Ultralife entered into an agreement with the U.S.
Army Communications-Electronics Command to
complete the development of its primary
lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-Mn02) "pouch" batteries
for the Army for high-volume production on a flexible
manufacturing line.
During the project, which is expected to last about two
years, the government will fund approximately $2.8
million in engineering efforts. While Ultralife has already
designed the cells, it will continue to work to engineer the
batteries, which use a flexible pouch that can be molded
to fit different applications, and streamline the
manufacturing process.
In April, the U.S. Army Land Warrior program granted
Ultralife its second contract-valued at more than
$200,000-to provide its primary Li-MnO2 pouch
batteries for the next round of evaluation in the program.
The company recently extended its reach into the
consumer market with the addition of rechargeable
polymer batteries compatible with Nokia 5100, 6100, and
7100 cell phones.
ebnonline.com
Copyright c 2000 CMP Media Inc.
By HAILEY LYNNE MCKEEFRY |
