Michael Konrad, President, Aqueous Technologies Corporation
Michael Konrad, President, Aqueous Technologies Corporation
I'm sure I am not alone when I say that I look forward to seeing 2009 in my rearview mirror.
Challenging as last year was, it also allowed (forced) us to become more efficient. In fact, through increased efficiencies and related cost savings in our purchasing, manufacturing, sales distribution, and marketing departments, we were able to avoid layoffs. While we did experience a decline in revenue, our net profits were only minimally affected.
We are looking forward to an improving economy in 2010. 2009's fourth quarter sales and revenue produced an 18-year record high with orders spilling over into January and February.
Aqueous Technologies' engineering department remained active during 2009 with the introduction of the award-winning Zero-Ion G3 cleanliness tester. Our 2010 engineering programs are on track to release the latest version of our award-winning Trident automatic defluxing and cleanliness testing system at APEX.
I believe one of the strategies that allowed us to mitigate the negative effects of 2009 was our adherence to our core corporate values. Defluxing and cleaning related equipment is Aqueous Technologies' core competency.
Unlike other companies, we do not strive to be all things to all people. By concentrating on one single product range, and by being one of the few cleaning equipment suppliers who actually design and manufacture our own equipment, we are able to rapidly react to market conditions by way of engineering and marketing.
Being quick to react to our customers’ requirements, even in volatile times such as 2009, we were able to emerge from the world's worst economic condition since the great depression.
Michael Konrad, President Aqueous Technologies Corporation
March 18, 2010 Gary A. Tanel, CEO & President, Circuitronics Inc. Last November I accepted a position to lead a mature, profitable, and small EMS company to the next level in its evolution. After 28 years in the industry, I still feel energized and confident in the future. At Circuitronics, we have recently added capital, hired senior employees, purchased a new ERP system, and adopted ...
March 10, 2010 A. James McLenaghan, President, Creyr Innovation So far, we have no reason for pessimism at Creyr Innovation. As a matter of fact, we see cautious optimism with almost all of our customer's forecasts. A very different and pleasant outlook from what we saw going into 2009. However, the business climate is tougher than ever. We can only hope that investors will allow companies to bolster their infrastructure and product portfolio ...
March 8, 2010 Mark Brawley, National Sales Manager Americas, DEK The actions needed to prepare for 2010, and the much anticipated upturn, were taken in 2009. These included improving lines of communication with customers and channel responsiveness. Experience shows that agility is essential in an upturn. Manufacturers tend to ramp up faster than they scaled down, and they typically want even greater value. Which is why we also took the initiative to invest in our core printer platforms ...
March 5, 2010 Daniel F. Baldwin, Ph.D., Founder, Engent 2010 promises to be a strong year with respect to next generation packaging solutions for small form factor electronics systems as a result of prior years development efforts. With the improving economy, semiconductor companies are showing positive returns and are beginning to turn on the capital funding faucet once again. Military and Homeland Defense budgets are defined and beginning to solidify ...
March 4, 2010 Scott Wischoffer, Marketing Manager, Fuji America Corporation The first few months of the New Year will be slower than we'd like but much better than it has been. Consumer confidence in the economy is still very negative and the high unemployment rate has most everyone afraid to spend money keeping any manufacturing expansion to the minimum. Machine sales will increase but production capacity will not. New capital equipment purchases will be mainly niche markets, equipment ...
Last November I accepted a position to lead a mature, profitable, and small EMS company to the next level in its evolution. After 28 years in the industry, I still feel energized and confident in the future. At Circuitronics, we have recently added capital, hired senior employees, purchased a new ERP system, and adopted ... 
So far, we have no reason for pessimism at Creyr Innovation. As a matter of fact, we see cautious optimism with almost all of our customer's forecasts. A very different and pleasant outlook from what we saw going into 2009. However, the business climate is tougher than ever. We can only hope that investors will allow companies to bolster their infrastructure and product portfolio ... 
The actions needed to prepare for 2010, and the much anticipated upturn, were taken in 2009. These included improving lines of communication with customers and channel responsiveness. Experience shows that agility is essential in an upturn. Manufacturers tend to ramp up faster than they scaled down, and they typically want even greater value. Which is why we also took the initiative to invest in our core printer platforms ... 
2010 promises to be a strong year with respect to next generation packaging solutions for small form factor electronics systems as a result of prior years development efforts. With the improving economy, semiconductor companies are showing positive returns and are beginning to turn on the capital funding faucet once again. Military and Homeland Defense budgets are defined and beginning to solidify ... 
The first few months of the New Year will be slower than we'd like but much better than it has been. Consumer confidence in the economy is still very negative and the high unemployment rate has most everyone afraid to spend money keeping any manufacturing expansion to the minimum. Machine sales will increase but production capacity will not. New capital equipment purchases will be mainly niche markets, equipment ... 