Boeing Co. announced last week that it has completed the primary structures of the world’s first pair of all-electric satellites, which are expected to be delivered late this year or early next.
The company said work on the electric satellite project is about two-thirds complete. All the engineering, manufacturing and testing work is being done at Boeing’s El Segundo facility.
Electric engines, or ion engines as engineers call them, have been used as a component in satellite propulsion since the 1990s. Boeing’s will be the first satellites to operate entirely without chemical engines.
“We’ve been flying electric propulsion on our satellites for 20 years now,” said Bruce Chesley, vice president of business development at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. “The way we are thinking about it is we are taking the training wheels off and letting the electric propulsion do the job all by itself. … It’s really just getting the market comfortable with it.”
It turned out that the market is very comfortable with it, for it’s a much more affordable launch option.
Without carrying chemical fuel, satellites will become 10 times lighter and thus 10 times more efficient, Chesley said. The cost of getting the satellite into space also comes down because lighter payloads allow rockets to carry two all-electric satellites instead of one.
Getting rid of chemical fuel also makes the manufacturing process easier and safer, as those chemicals are usually hazardous to handle.
“We had been working internally on a prototype activity for this and we had projections for when we will sell that into the commercial marketplace,” Chesley said. “Market demand forced us to accelerate that.”
Boeing struck deals to sell the all-electric satellites to Asia Broadcast Satellite and Satélites Mexicanos in 2012, which he said was well ahead of Boeing’s expectations.
Floor Deal
Atlas Carpet Mills, a high-end manufacturer of commercial floor-covering products, was acquired in early march by Dixie Group Inc., a Chattanooga, Tenn., maker and marketer of carpet and rugs.
Other than saying it was an all-cash deal, the companies did not disclose terms.
Atlas, based in Commerce, will operate as a separate brand within Dixie’s portfolio. Most of its operations, such as coating, inspection and shipping, will continue as usual. There will be no changes of administration, product development and sales functions, but Atlas’ dyeing operations will be consolidated into Dixie’s Santa Ana facility.
“Atlas has a very strong sales force and excellent brand equity in the marketplace, which should maximize our opportunities for growth,” Daniel K. Frierson, Dixie’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Atlas’ top officers will remain in their positions under five-year contracts. Those include founder Jim Horwich, Executive Vice President Mark Nestler and Vice President of Manufacturing Scott Price.
Atlas was launched 44 years ago and specializes in design and manufacturing of broadloom carpet and carpet tile. The company reported revenue of about $53 million last year.
Driver’s Seat
U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc., a Carson automotive aftermarket e-commerce company, announced last week that it would be working with Timothy Maguire, managing partner of Maguire Asset Management and one of the company’s largest shareholders, to look for the ninth director for the company’s board.
The two parties have reached an agreement that U.S. Auto Parts will work with Maguire for 90 days to find a mutually agreeable independent candidate for the director position. If it a candidate is not identified after 90 days, the company will appoint Maguire to the board.
“We view this as a positive development that will benefit all stakeholders,” Maguire said in a statement. “We believe the stock is significantly undervalued and has tremendous long-term growth potential.”
Maguire Asset Management, which controls 5.3 percent of common shares outstanding, tried in September to buy out the about 28 percent stake of the company’s largest shareholder, Oak Investment Partners, so that it could better influence a turnaround of U.S. Auto Parts.
Timothy Maguire said in a letter at that time that the company’s share price had plunged more than 90 percent since its 2007 IPO, blaming management and the board for the decline. He was seeking to replace Chief Executive Shane Evangelist and add Sean Sweeney, former CEO at Philadelphia Insurance Cos., to the board in order to increase the number of independent directors.
In last week’s statement, Maguire said he was encouraged by the company’s recent progress.
Staff reporter Kay Chinn can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.
