Textron expects $1.5 billion in Telecom purchases
PROVIDENCE (Bloomberg) — Textron Inc., the largest U.S. maker of commercial helicopters, said it expects to spend as much as $1.5 billion by the end of next year on acquisitions to increase telecommunications-equipment sales. Textron has annual sales of about $500 million from telecommunications gear, most notably equipment for testing and installing fiber optics made by its Greenlee unit. The company has made several acquisitions in this area recently, including its purchase of Rifocs Corp. and Chesilvale Electronics Ltd. Those companies also make fiber-optics tools. Hoping to rely less on businesses that run in cycles, such as airplane sales and components for automakers, Textron is moving rapidly into areas such as telecommunications, where sales are increasing steadily and quickly. Textron had sales of $11.6 billion in 1999.
Maine renews Network Six contract
WARWICK – Network Six, Inc. announced that the state of Maine has extended the company’s support contract for Maine’s MACWIS child welfare system for another year, beginning July 1. Thecontract is valued at about $1.7 million. Network Six began development of the system three years ago. It is now used statewide and automates many of the functions that were performed manually by caseworkers.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
Alpha Industries predicts it will add 300 jobs
WOBURN, Mass.- Alpha Industries, anticipating an increasing demand for semiconductors to power wireless phones and broadband Internet access, predicted it would add 300 jobs by the end of the year, including 200 in Massachusetts. For may years the company was dependent on defense contracts, but I the last five years it has switched its focus to the production of tiny processors that power many cell phones, including Motorola and Nokia. Alpha employs 1,000 persons now, 700 of them in Massachusetts, most of that number at its Woburn plant.
Toysmart.com gets $1 million to help it close
NEEDHAM, Mass. – Toysmart.com, the Waltham-based online toy retailer has obtained a $1 million line of credit to assist the company remain in business while it maximizes the sale of its assets. Paragon Capital LLC, of Needham, is the lender.
PhotoDetection gets grant to launch business
BOSTON – PhotoDetection Systems, Inc., the first photonics technology company spun off Boston University’s Photonics Center, announced it had received a $2.75 million round of venture capital investment and is relocating to Acton to start its business. The source of the investment was not disclosed. PhotoDetection hopes to develop a prototype for a low-cost three-dimensional imaging system to detect tumors and determine whether they are cancerous, based on technology developed by Boston University physics Professor William Worstell.
CyOptics opens new facility in Yokneam, Israel
BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE) — CyOptics Inc. last week announced that it is has opened a new development and manufacturing facility in Yokneam, in Northern Israel. Yokneam is situated between Tel Aviv and Haifa, the two Israeli centers of high-technology expertise, giving CyOptics access to one of the world’s most talented and dynamic work forces. With its convenient access, and its beautiful location in the Carmel Mountains near the Mediterranean Sea, Yokneam is rapidly becoming one of Israel’s premier high-technology centers. Along with a high concentration of companies focused on wireless communications, microelectronics and telecommunications Yokneam offers a depth of auxiliary development services, including ISO 9000 certification expertise and EMI and EMC test facilities.
Xerox to publish all Olympic results on CD-ROMs
SYDNEY, Australia (BUSINESS WIRE)– While the Olympic torch burns brightly this September at the Sydney 2000 Games, Xerox Corporation will be lighting fires of a different sort. The Official Olympic Partner plans to “burn” the results of every race and competition onto single CD-ROMs, creating Electronic Results Books. The Sydney Organizing Committee will then distribute the CDs to accredited journalists and Olympic sports organizations at the end of the Games. Xerox (NYSE: XRX) has developed new software based on Adobe Acrobat that will allow staff working at the Olympics Xerox d-Print Centre to easily convert all results files into complete electronic books, which are then transferred to the CDs. That means results information about all winners – from synchronized swimming to weightlifting – will be only a few computer clicks away. Xerox will make results books for each of the 28 Olympic sports (37 titles total), which compiles all information about every competition’s outcome.
WebCT licensing agreement with over 30 schools
PEABODY, Mass. & VANCOUVER, B.C. (BUSINESS WIRE)– WebCT last week announced that it has signed a province-wide site licensing agreement for over 30 post secondary institutions in Ontario, offering these institutions the option to access WebCT’s course management system. The Office for Partnership for Advanced Skills (OPAS) and the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) coordinated this arrangement. The announcement increases the number of provinces and states participating in consortium licensing agreements with WebCT to 10.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
