News out on JMAR SEMICONDUCTOR, first major contract!
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JMAR Receives $1.5 Million Semiconductor
Development Contract
Sale Marks Semiconductor Division's Entry Into Underserved Military Readiness Market
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1998--JMAR Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:JMAR - news), a growing provider of precision micro-technology products, announced that its wholly-owned JMAR Semiconductor, Inc. (JSI) division has been awarded a $1.5 million contract for the development of new programmable microcircuit architecture and devices for the replacement of obsolete integrated circuits used in operational military systems.
The contract was issued by TRW Space and Electronics Group acting as a prime contractor for the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) at McClellan AFB in Sacramento, CA. The award is part of the Defense Department's Advanced Technology Support Program (ATSP).
Under the contract, JMAR will develop an advanced, programmable generic microcircuit that will emulate and replace a range of obsolete logic families widely used in military electronic systems. The microcircuit being developed by JMAR Semiconductor will enable DMEA to provide a quick replacement for the obsolete part.
Obsolescence in electronics systems is a growing problem for the military and other government agencies, as the commercial semiconductor industry continues its push for higher performance microcircuits. Military systems generally take a number of years to design, build and deploy. Once deployed, they must remain viable and repairable for many years, often under adverse conditions.
As fast moving, commercial technologies dominate the production strategies of most major semiconductor producers, lower volume products for military use are often ignored as economically undesirable. This leaves the military without critical replacement parts for the systems in the field, but creates a potentially significant business opportunity for a company that can produce such items on a timely and cost-effective basis.
Marvin Sepe, President of JMAR Semiconductor, noted that his organization's unique capabilities were instrumental in positioning it to earn this contract. ''We are proud and pleased to have been selected by TRW to work with them in support of the DMEA,'' he said. ''We listened very carefully to the marketplace before repositioning JSI last year. Securing this substantial contract indicates that the market is highly supportive of our new strategic focus.
''JSI's wealth of semiconductor design expertise and quick-turn fabless production capability makes us a compelling choice for work on this critical program and many others planned for the immediate future,'' Mr. Sepe continued.
''Those capabilities give us a decided advantage in approaching this challenge, which calls for JSI to develop a single, fully programmable, generic microcircuit capable of being programmed to emulate hundreds of different logic devices from a simple,
menu-driven programming box. The finished devices will be able to mirror precisely the form, fit and function of the obsolete circuits they replace and must be able to be installed in equipment already in the field. Our highest priority is ensuring that our circuits meet these demanding criteria, and that the equipment they support can be fully depended upon by the service personnel who use them,'' he emphasized.
John S. Martinez, Ph.D., JMAR's Chairman and CEO commented, ''This contract award constitutes a major step in the metamorphosis of our semiconductor division from a small volume, sub-critical operation originally known as ''California ASIC'' to the entrepreneurially-driven, technically innovative JMAR Semiconductor, Inc. With its in-depth semiconductor design, engineering and processing skills developed in recent years, JSI is now embarked on a dynamic sales growth path we are confident will positively impact our bottom line within the near future.''
He continued, ''We believe this award to be the first of several related DMEA/ATSP contracts that JMAR expects to receive within the near future.'' Dr. Martinez added, ''Furthermore, this contract also allows JMAR the rights to use the technology we develop for proprietary commercial applications, adding attractive additional future revenue opportunities well beyond the direct DMEA applications.''
Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements regarding JMAR's future sales or profit growth, size of potential markets, competitive position or products, projects, or processes currently under development and the ability of the company to successfully introduce those products into the commercial marketplace or to apply or otherwise transfer those products, projects or processes to alternate applications are forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, including delays in shipment or cancellation of orders, failure of expected orders to materialize,
concentration of sales to certain markets and customers, timing of future orders, customer reorganizations, failure of advanced
technology to perform as predicted, uncertainties associated with the timing of the funding of government contracts, fluctuations
in demand, delays in development, introduction and acceptance of new products, changing business and economic conditions in various geographic regions, natural events such as earthquakes, flood and fire and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in the company's reports which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
JMAR Semiconductor, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JMAR Technologies, Inc., is headquartered in Irvine, CA with operations also recently initiated in Sacramento. JMAR Technologies, Inc., which is headquartered in San Diego, manufactures and markets precision measurement, process control and laser manufacturing systems, provides custom semiconductor products for the microelectronics industry and is a leading developer of advanced lithography point sources for production of future higher performance semiconductors. |
