Date: Dec 08, 2003 Author: Charles J. Murray Source: EE Times (
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PARK RIDGE, ILL. - Defense contractor Curtiss-Wright Corp. (Roseland, N.J.) has strengthened its electronics lineup picking up boards maker Dy4 Systems, Inc. (Kanata, Ontario) and communications products manufacturer Systran Corp. (Dayton, Ohio). The two acquisitions will add to a component portfolio that now includes graphics boards, high-speed interconnects, networking cards, and I/O products, as well as Pentium- and PowerPC-based CPU boards. Curtiss-Wright is expected to employ the new products in avionics systems, radar signal processors, sonar signal processors, mission control computers and servo controllers for the defense industry.
The company, which already makes sensors and actuators for such systems, has since 2001 acquired four electronics-based companies to augment the controls side of its business. It purchased Vista Controls (Santa Clarita, Calif.), an integrator and maker of board-level products, in November, 2001, and acquired Peritek Corp., a manufacturer of graphics boards, in August of this year.
"With the acquisitions of Dy4, Systran, Peritek, and Vista Controls, Curtiss-Wright now has the ability to integrate a more complete electronics package in its actuators," noted Doug Patterson, marketing manager for Vista Controls. Those actuators include electric motors and hydraulic servo valves, both of which require electronic control.
Curtiss-Wright said it acquired Dy4 for $110 million and Systran for approximately $18 million. The Dy4 acquisition put an end to speculation that the VME (versa module Eurocard) boards maker would be acquired by any of a number of potential suitors, most notably industrial giant GE Fanuc Automation North America.
The speculation began approximately two months ago, when Dy4's parent, Solectron Corp. (Milpitas, Calif.) announced that it would divest itself of subsidiary companies valued at between $500 and $600 million. Industry observers subsequently guessed that Dy4, along with sister company Force Computers (Fremont, Calif.), would be sold off. Industry observers said that the reason for the proposed sell-offs was that Solectron needed money. Analysts said, however, that they expected Solectron to be paid more for Dy4 than the announced $110-million price tag. "We were expecting it to be closer to the $200 million mark because VME COTS is a solid market now," said Eric Gulliksen, project director for Venture Development Corp. (Natick, Mass.) Gulliksen added that Curtiss-Wright appears to be a more compatible parent for Dy4 than Solectron was. "Curtiss-Wright is a prime contractor for the Department of Defense and Dy4 is mostly MIL/COTS (military/commercial off-the-shelf), so there's a good fit there," he said. "At Solectron, Dy4 and Force never really fit the core business." In contrast, said Patterson of Vista Controls, Dy4 and Systran offer good synergy for the Curtiss-Wright portfolio. Dy4, with its PowerPC-based processor boards, augments Vista's PowerPC- and Pentium-based lineups. Also, Systran offers inter-processor and intra-processor communication networks for use with boards by Dy4 and Vista.
Such technologies bolster Curtiss-Wright's presence in avionics platforms for tactical fighters, where the company is already said to be strong. It also gives Curtiss-Wright a stronger hand in its effort to supply electronic components for new control systems and vehicles for the U.S. Army.
