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ROTEM Industries Developed Hyper-hemispherical sapphire dome

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The Hyper-hemispherical sapphire dome will help Israel to equip airlines with laser-based anti-missile systems

ROTEM-SAPPHIREThe Crystals Division of Rotem Industries (Mishor Yamin, Israel) has manufactured the first production series of Hyper-hemispherical (240 degrees or more) sapphire domes dedicated for DIRCM/CIRCM applications.

The new developed Hyper-Hemispherical sapphire domes solve problem in current systems’ design such as limited field of view, optical obstacles and huge drag. This development demonstrates how real terrorism threat led toward a rapid efficient development of the new Hyper Hemispherical Sapphire Domes that enables new capabilities that were not available before.  The threat is all those shoulder-fired missiles used by terrorists aiming to take down commercial aircrafts or helicopters mainly during landings or takeoffs.

The compelling event in entering this project was the decision of Israeli Ministry of Transportation to equip Israeli airlines with laser-based anti-missile systems. Elbit Systems was chosen as the main contractor, while Rotem Industries provides the sapphire hyper-hemispherical domes. Elbit’s system, called MUSIC, is based on fiber laser technology and counters MANPADS (man portable air defense systems). It emits a laser beam towards an approaching missile causing the missile to veer off course.

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MUSIC: Elbit’s solution to protect civil aircrafts against heat seeking missiles

“This development enables design of new DIRCM/CIRCM and other optical systems with new high performance levels never seen before'” said Benny Ballin , Head of the Crystals Division at Rotem. “This technological breakthrough will arouse interest and widen new systems’ boundary limitations for optical designers, allowing a whole new  approach for systems capabilities.”

DIRCM (Directional Infrared Counter Measures) and CIRCM (Common Infrared Countermeasures ) are two United States Government and Army initiatives intended to develop systems to protect commercial aircraft and U.S. helicopters from infrared homing (“heat seeking”) man-portable missiles.

Chinese Fosun Pharma Acquired Alma Lasers for $240 Million

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Fosun Pharma will establish Alma Lasers as a management platform for the R&D, manufacturing and sales

ALMA-SOPRANOThe Chinese Medical Devices group,  Fosun Pharma, began its expansion into worldwide markets through a multi-million dollars acquisition: Today it announced an agreement to buy the Israeli laser treatment systems provider, Alma Laser for approximately US$240 million.

Alma Lasers is an internationally well-known manufacturer of laser, light-based, radiofrequency and ultrasound products with integrated product portfolios for aesthetic and medical applications. Founded in 1999, the company’s R&D headquarters is situated in Caesarea, Israel and its global support centre is located in Chicago, USA.

Strong Patent Portfolio

According to a Harris Williams report, Alma Lasers has a 15% market share in the global high-end medical and beauty laser products industry with annual revenue of about US$100 million. As of the end of 2012, the near 40-strong R&D team that he leads has 74 patents, and applications for an additional 23 patents. The company entered the China market in 2003 and has since become the leader in this industry.

Mr. Chen Qiyu, Chairman of Fosun Pharma, said, “We are confident in the growth of the global aesthetics industry, especially in China, Brazil, Russia and India. This represents a huge development space in developing countries. We will continue to support the global business development of Alma Lasers.” Fosun Pharma will establish Alma Lasers as a management platform for the R&D, manufacturing and sales of high-end medical devices, providing an internationalized development path for the company.

Fosun Pharma is a leading healthcare company in the PRC. The Group was established in 1994 with headquarters located in Shanghai, and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1998. In October 2012, though the international financial environment was unfavorable, the Company successfully completed offering and listing H shares in Hong Kong.

 

 

Charles Flore Fund plans to invest in Exodus

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“The first stage is to create a US based proxy for the Israeli companies”

The US based Charles Flore investment fund, owned by Bruce Friedman, have decided to invest in Exodus (Exodus Communication & Technologies Group), a private company owned by Rami Nakash.

Exodus operates three business “Accelerator Hubs” in Petach Tikva, Israel. The hubs help connect dozens of software and start-up companies and private entrepreneurs in a number of fields of activity.

Bruce Friedman (right) with Rami Nakash
Bruce Friedman (right) with Rami Nakash

Bruce Friedman told Techtime that the planned investment amount has not been finalized yet. “We plan to further develop Exodus business model to meet Israeli start-up companies. Israeli start-ups are often pioneers in their fields, which makes the Israeli scene a great indicator for emerging trends in the world. One of our goals is to help some of the companies, currently working within the Exodus hub, gain recognition worldwide.

US based branch

“The first stage is to create the US based proxy for the Israeli companies; the next would be to re-create a similar accelerator hub to serve the needs of US based start-ups. This model (shares in start-up companies in exchange for business development acceleration) could be successfully replicated in US.” Rami Nakash noted that the plan is to extend Exodus’ activities, by creating an additional US based branch.

The Charles Flore fund uses both the traditional investment fund and the investment club (“Angel”) business models. The fund represents a group of private investors (mostly HNW American families) that are interested in allocating part of their assets to investments in start-up companies. Typically, the fund invests $1-1.5 Million in a company.

Friedman was a founder of PartMiner, that built a successful electronics parts distribution and database business. He met Rami Nakash, when Nakash built the Israeli branch of PartMiner in the early 90’s. In 2000, Friedman sold PartMiner to IHS and used the proceeds of the sale as the seed capital for his investment fund. An interesting side-note… Besides investing in high-tech companies, the fund makes investments in the distressed consumer companies via its Evergreen division. Evergreen purchases distressed consumer beauty/cleaning American brands (e.g., Tame, Lavoris, Silkience) and restructures them.

Elbit’s new Joint Company in South Korea Targets the Korean Future Fighter Program

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Elbit Systems target key avionic systems for the most advanced defense contracts in the country, the Korean Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) and the Korean Future Fighter (KFX) development projects.

Korea's current light attacK, FA-50
Korea’s current light attacK, FA-50

Today the company announced the establishment of Sharp Elbit Systems Aerospace, Inc. (SESA), a jointly owned company in South Korea, with Sharp Aviation K Inc., located in Seoul, South Korea. Elbit Systems will own 19% with a growth option to  50% ownership.

SESA will operate in the town of Ansan (south of Seol) and will offer maintenance, repair and manufacture of advanced military aircraft avionics as well as research and development of systems and avionics for local projects, such as the Korean Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) and the Korean Future Fighter (KFX) development projects. Contracts currently operated by Sharp Aviation K will be transferred to SESA as part of the transaction.

The Ministry of Defense in Korea is planning to develop a light attack variant of its utility helicopter, Surion, that is produced by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Another National defense projet that attract Elbit is the the Korean Future Fighter. It is 4.5G Jet fighter plane with 2 engines with certain stealth capabilities. The Korean Air Force wishes to receive the new jet plane by 2020.

As a Korean company, SESA will also be able to offer offset solutions to foreign suppliers and OEM’s selling defense goods and services in Korea. Mr. Soon-Suk Paik, President and CEO of Sharp Aviation K commented: “SESA will offer the Korean aerospace market advanced solutions and systems, made in Korea and based on Elbit Systems’technological portfolio”.

Mr. Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, Elbit Systems’ President and CEO, noted: “The establishment of this new company is a significant step for Elbit Systems in Korea, which we consider to be a very important market.” Sharp Aviation K Inc. is an aviation services company in Korea engaged in nationwide commercial and defense programs.

EMS Collaboration: IMI and PM ready to run their first mutual projects

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“Customers want regional production solutions”

Olaf Gresens, VP for Global Sales and Marketing in IMI
Olaf Gresens, VP for Global Sales and Marketing in IMI

Olaf Gresens, VP for Global Sales and Marketing in the giant Electronic Manufacturing Service provider from the Philippines, IntegratedMicro-Electronics Inc., has visited Israel last week to initiate a cooperation agreement with the local Partner Manufacturing Ltd.

Gresens told Techtime the he intends to promote joint business activities with PM, following the initial agreement for cooperation between the two companies that was received at the end of 2012. “We started the process of moving the first projects for mass production” he said.

Local-global Offer

“Our goal is to help PM customers expand their possibilities, whenever their needs extends the production capacity of the PM, and to offer new options for customers who seek EMS solutions in the Far-east.”

IMI is one of the fastest growing manufacturing contractors in Southeast Asia. The company employs approximately 14,000 employees in 15 locations around the world: the Philippines, China, Singapore, Bulgaria, the CzechRepublic and the United States and Mexico. Overall production infrastructure includes more than 130 SMT production lines.

In 2012 its sales grew 15% to approximately $662 million. The company is owned by Ayala Corporation, a giant industrial and commercial conglomerate that is believed to responsible for about 30% of the Philippine market capitalization.

The Israeli PM is owned by the Adler family (50%), STG (25%) and AY Electronics (25%). It is operated from Rosh-Pina in the Galilee and the town of Petach-tikva near Tel-Aviv. PM has about 200 employees and its production infrastructure includes six pick & place SMT lines.

Testing station at PM facility in Petach-Tikva, Israel
Testing station at PM facility in Petach-Tikva, Israel

Mega-trends reshape EMS Industry

Gresens is familiar with the local technology community. Two decades ago he was responsible for EMEA region in AMI Semiconductor, an ASIC company that held a joint-development center in Israel. Since than, he says, little has been changed: “I’m steel impressed by the engineering capabilities of the Israeli engineers, and their ability to improve the latest technologies and bringing cutting-edge products to the market. As a company engaged in mass production, we are very interested in this market, since Israel triggers an extremely large amount of activity in the world.”

The collaboration with PM goes hand in hand with recent industry trends. “Although China is still the most important player in the electronics manufacturing field, there are new demands that re-shape the industry. Customers want regional production solutions, in places such as Europe, the US and even Israel. They are now making more educated decisions than before. They are taking into account technology issues and calculate factors such as logistics costs, labor costs (rising in China) and time to market. This is clearly opens up new opportunities for EMS providers in the Philippines and Israel.”

Autotalks Introduced Vehicle-to-Vehicle Development Platform

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 Nir Sasson, CEO of Autotalks. “The long list of OEMs and Tier1s ordering PANGAEA3 validates the need for a superior and complete solution.”

V2VAutotalks from Kfar-Netter, Israel, announced general availability of its series-production vehicle-to-vehicle communication development platform.

The platform, dubbed “PANGAEA3”, is the third generation of Autotalks’ development platform, and the first to use CRATON, the world’s first and most advanced vehicle-to-vehicle communication VLSI set. PANGAEA3 serves field tests and software application development. It accepts two antennas that can concurrently support two independent channels or one channel with optimal antenna diversity. An additional antenna feeds the integrated GPS receiver.

Autotalks PANGAEA 3
Autotalks PANGAEA 3

It is fully adheres to European and US specifications, which are widely adopted worldwide and includes a comprehensive software stack with an extensive API for application development. The same application can run either on the embedded ARM Cortex R4F inside CRATON, or on any external CPU connected using Ethernet and the same API.

In October 18, 2012 the company has released the world’s first VLSI for vehicle-to-vehicle communication at the 19th ITS World Congress, Vienna. CRATON is manufactured by Fujitsu Semiconductors, and supports wide temperature range of -40º to +85ºC. Together with Autotalks’ PLUTON, advanced RFIC transceiver, it forms a comprehensive, automotive grade, VLSI solution enabling OEMs’ deployment of vehicle-to-vehicle in 2015 model year.

“The launch of PANGAEA3 is another major milestone toward vehicle-to-vehicle market readiness. PANGAEA3 is significantly stronger than any other platform and the only one ready for first series-production,” said Nir Sasson, CEO of Autotalks. “The long list of OEMs and Tier1s ordering PANGAEA3 validates the need for a superior and complete solution.”

An Android computer application is supplied for controlling and monitoring PANGAEA3 operation. The application displays at real-time the communication performance and includes replay and performance analysis features. PANGAEA3 is a low-cost platform without licensing fees.

“Autotalks is the only company that provides all building blocks for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, including: modem, protocol stack, and security hardware and software. With that, Tier1s have a one-stop-shop for V2V solutions with the benefits of total responsibility, and the shortest series-development process,” said Onn Haran, CTO of Autotalks.

 

IAI won Amos-6 satellite deal, for $195 Millions

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AMOS-5 satellite launch

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) won the contract for the design, production, preparation for launch and operation of the Amos-6 satellite. The deal’s worth is estimated at some $195 million. The agreement was signed last week.

Amos-6 is intended to significantly expand the variety of communication services provided by Spacecom to the international market from the orbit slot 4° West, and to replace Amos-2 satellite, which is expected to end its service during 2016. Amos 6 will operate in parallel to Amos-3 satellite.

IAI reported that technological enhancements will make Amos-6 one of the world’s most advanced communication satellites. These enhancements include the integration of electric propulsion technology, to gain significant savings in the satellite’s launch weight and costs. With Amos-6, IAI enters to the field of large communication satellites with launch weight of 5,500 kg and payload power of 9,000 Watts.

The communication payload includes 45 transponders in three frequency bands:  Ku, Ka and S. They enable the satellite to provide a variety of communication services, including direct satellite home internet services. Today, IAI also works on the production of the communication satellite Amos-4. According to the agreement, the satellite will be delivered to Spacecom by 1 August 2015. Spacecom’s contract for Amos-5 was won by ISS Reshetnev – a Russian government-backed company. It was launched in December 2011 from Baikonur (Kazakhstan) and is now in orbit.

• Amos-6 payload will include: 39 segments in the Ku-22 frequency band, covering the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Pan Europe, 24 active beams in the Ka-19 frequency band, covering areas in Africa and Europe, and two transponders in the S-4 frequency band.

Spacecom also signed a $20 million agreement with the government of Israel for provision of services via the Amos-6. David Pollack, CEO of Spacecom said: “The  Amos-6 satellite further strengthens the technology might of the company, improves its satellite capabilities and opens new channels and markets around Europe, Africa and the Middle East for many years.”