With increasing demands in the electronics industry for higher performance, electronics devices begin to display “undesirable phenomena,” such as cross-talk and electrical interference, said Linda Chen, assistant professor at Washington State University Vancouver’s school of engineering and computer science.
That is, there are too many signals being sent in too small of a space, and they interfere with each other – negatively affecting performance.
Will Miller, vice president of engineering and chief technology officer at Vancouver-based Efficere Technologies Inc., along with company chairman and chief executive officer Mike Gerard, saw this problem looming in 2004, when they founded the company.
The company’s aim is improving signal transfer from material to material, such as from wire to substrate to connector, Gerard said.
To the general consumer, this may sound hyper-specialized, but it is an expertise that can be applied to hundreds of electronic devices, ranging from computer chips and high-definition TV to high-fidelity sound systems.
“Many keynote speakers (at conferences) have stated that billions are being spent on silicon and software, but there is not the same focus on improving the interconnect,” Gerard said.
He compared this approach to owning a fast sports car but being stuck in a traffic jam on a bridge.
“It’s just an expensive place to sit,” Gerard said.
Chen, an experienced researcher in the field of computer-aided design automation and optimization, will work closely with Efficere to conduct a feasibility study and prototype development of a software toolset to make designing electronics easier and more efficient.
The first phase of the project is funded by a $24,788 grant, awarded in late January by the Washington Technology Center.
“Signal integrity has become a major issue,” Chen said.
The electronics design process involves many stand-alone tools created by diverse vendors, such as electronics design automation layout editors, CAD geometry modelers and electromagnetic field solvers.
Currently, these various tools don’t communicate well with each other, Chen said. Working with Efficere, she hopes to demonstrate the possibility of streamlining the design process and create interoperability between these stand-alone solutions.
Growing the solution
Efficere started out concentrating on a market niche to establish its reputation. The company’s first products were test adaptor cards that sit between two devices “talking” to each other – such as a Tektronix High-Definition Multimedia Interface and a Sony TV. The cards test the quality of the signals, but are themselves virtually “electrically invisible,” and therefore do not contaminate the test results.
In three years, the company has grown from a handful of employees to 16, with plans for 50 by the end of 2009. Gerard said the company met its 2007 revenue forecast of $2.8 million and projects revenues of $4.2 million in 2008, and up to $34.5 million in 2011.
Efficere previously had loftier goals, but because of changing global economies and strategic reasons, is taking a more conservative approach to financial projections, he said.
The company plans to grow its profits by extending its product line into hot, high-volume electronics markets.
First, it will begin designing cables and cable assemblies (collectively called interconnect products). The actual manufacturing of these products will be outsourced to United States companies such as Beaverton, Ore.-based Axiom Electronics and CB RAM Electronics.
This market alone could provide $46 million in revenue by 2011, Gerard said.
Additional plans include developing high-speed, high-density connectors and high-speed, high-performance memory modules.
“We’re well-positioned for growth,” he said.
One way Efficere has established itself so quickly in the electronics market is working with standards committees, such as the DisplayPort, HDMI, Small Form Factor and 100 Gigabit Ethernet committees, Gerard said.
Participation in such committees allows the company to “understand real problems and understand the need for real solutions,” he said.
Alongside such industry giants as Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi and Fujitsu, Efficere may seem miniscule – Gerard admits the company is the “only company our size there trying to position itself.”
While it was somewhat risky to spend money on such committee participation, he said the investment has been well worth it to allow the company to develop relationships that allows it to grow.
International scope
Since March, Efficere has garnered 43 new customers, bringing the total to more than 70, scattered across 26 countries. To help manage this international growth, the firm hired a new president on Feb. 1, Irl Davis.
Davis has vast international trade experience, having served on the World Trade Center board of directors in Tacoma and the 2005-2006 Washington State Global Competitiveness Council. He received the WTC’s Marco Polo award for his contributions to international trade.
Davis said the company’s upside potential is significant, pointing to its “leading-edge technology, excellent team and growth opportunity in multiple market segments.”
Efficere’s recent WTC grant and the international flavor of Efficere’s business has attracted attention from Washington’s governor’s office.
On Feb. 21, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen visited the company to speak about its future and the relationships between the state, academic institutions and private enterprise.
“It’s interesting to have that level of attention from Olympia,” Gerard said.
WTC FOSTERS PUBLIC-PRIVATE RELATIONSHIPS
The Washington Technology Center is nearing its 25th birthday, and since its inception, has helped businesses commercialize technology and create jobs. Its role is growth of the economy through innovation, said Executive Director Lee Cheatham.
For 15 years, the Seattle-based Research and Technology Development grant program has distributed about $1 million per year, funding an average of 12 projects. Local companies Efficere Technologies Inc. and nLight Photonics are recent recipients.
The WTC estimates its latest round of funding will generate more than 400 full-time technology jobs in Washington in the next five years, Cheatham said.
The program fosters partnerships between universities and companies, and grant monies are awarded to projects that are not only backed by quality science, but a significant medium-term (five years) financial impact on Washington’s economy. For every $1 invested by the WTC, $15 of revenue is generated, he said.
Mike Gerard, Efficere’s chairman and chief executive officer, is looking forward to leveraging the award.
“WTC allows us to accelerate our product development, create more jobs, generate more revenue,” he said.
Washington State University Vancouver Assistant Professor Linda Chen, who will collaborate with Efficere on its research project, said the partnerships WTC fosters are mutually beneficial to researchers and private industry.
“The WTC really provides a great opportunity for us and industry,” she said. “Part of our role is to support local industry, and (these projects) help us researchers keep up to date.”
Chen met Gerard at a WTC seminar on the WSUV campus, and after a bit of discussion, Gerard recognized the quality match of Chen’s depth of research talent and Efficere’s needs.
Cheatham said RTD-funded projects tend to be in fields of medical devices, energy systems, electronics and some software because of the RTD’s economic requirements. However, he said the following sectors are key to the state in a more general sense:
• Energy, especially new technology that mitigates climate change and energy prices
• Value-added agricultural products (not just food), such as chemicals and fuels
• Life sciences, like cancer research
• Heavy transportation, such as heavy trucking and aerospace, especially in the area of new materials
• Software, particularly Internet and gaming packages
• Electronics and semiconductor materials and devices
The next proposal deadline for the Research and Technology Development grant program is April 24. The maximum award is $100,000, with an average award of $80,000 to $83,000.
More information is available at www.watechcenter.org/re/rtd.
To achieve its goal, the WTC provides access to innovative ideas, funding and specialized facilities, such as its microfabrication lab in Seattle.
And local companies may soon have access to another WTC facility – a semiconductor testing facility on the WSUV campus, which is in the planning and design phase and should be completed in about 16 months.
The facility is planned to dovetail with the region’s innovation zone plan, Cheatham said.
He described Southwest Washington as an emerging market in innovation and technology.
“Folks are really thinking about what else they can do, how they can differentiate themselves,” he said.
