December 2012
VIEW FROM THE TOP

Donald Shepherd
Chairman AR

Q: The importance of sustaining and developing technology has reached a point where states and cities are more actively building relationships with universities and recruiting high-tech companies. Good examples are New York State’s “East Coast Silicon Valley” and several cities in Ohio. However, there continues to be a shortage of engineering graduates, especially those focusing on RF and microwave technology. What would your company do (or is doing) to help promote careers in microwave engineering?

A: We have had no problem obtaining resumes for RF/Microwave engineers but finding the right person to fit into our family type organization with the right skills for our niche EMC and microwave market has sometimes been difficult. The trend has been that the majority of graduates have been concentrating on software disciplines instead of hardware design, so the pool of engineers has diminished. Promoting careers at the University level may be too late to reverse the trend. For numerous years we have been sponsoring the Cybersonics High School robotics team that participates in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competitions. We have given both technical and monetary support and they have been extremely successful in the above competitions. They have given our employees presentations and actual demonstrations of their latest inventions at our company sponsored Fourth of July picnic for the last several years. We have also had numerous interns working at our facility, some of which have become full time employees after their college graduations. In addition we are also planning to work more closely with University staff and students in the EMC, medical, and physics field where their applications require high power RF and microwave amplifiers.

Q: For those of you serving the military market, what do you expect 2013 will bring in terms of opportunities in this sector?

A: At our Souderton, Pennsylvania Instrumentation location we primarily concentrate on EMC and microwave marketplaces, and supply to both commercial and military customers. With increasing interference due to newer electronic devices, the demand for our type of equipment will continue to increase especially in higher power amplifiers and systems. Our Bothel, Washington facility is heavily into the strict military communications market and we see continued opportunities in our type of modules and booster amplifiers.

Q: If your company serves the commercial markets, are you encouraged by any particular emerging application or technology?

A: As previously discussed, we supply to the EMC and microwave markets at our corporate headquarters in Souderton, PA. With the increasing use of higher power amplifiers and systems we are continually evaluating new device technologies. Our other instruments such as our new line of MultiStar products which include a Precision DSP EMI Receiver, MultiTone Radiated Immunity Tester, and our Field Analyzer, also use the latest FPGA and other interfaces to offer the user a simple to use and remarkably fast platform.

Q: Last year, we asked what impact the global economic crisis was having on the markets you serve and on how you run your business. What is your current perspective?

A: The global economic crisis has not greatly impacted our business in terms of revenues due to our numerous new product developments and launches, but that doesn’t mean that you can put your head in the sand. We are continually refining the way we run our global business and have three distributors located in Europe.

Q: What countries or regions do you believe will provide the greatest growth potential for the wireless industry in 2013?

A: In terms of wireless products, we don’t specifically address this market, but we do sell products for device and system testing and for EMC applications. I believe the wireless industry here and abroad will continue to flourish due to customers requiring more services. ♦