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Technology Stocks : Intermagnetics (IMG) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Linzmeier who wrote (3189)	10/6/1999 6:23:00 PM
From: Wafa SHIHABI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3448

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.