- New Conductus production machine operational -
- Strong customer demand for Conductus continues to outpace supply -
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:SCON) ("STI"), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, reported its one kilometer RCE system (RCE-1000) completed final assembly, meets all required design specifications and is operational. Now STI is focused on software testing and process development as it prepares to scale production for the commercial launch of Conductus® wire.
"With our RCE-1000, SDP and IBAD machines operational, we are positioned to produce Conductus wire on a commercial scale," said Jeff Quiram, STI's president and chief executive officer. "Previously, the limited capacity of our pilot equipment constrained our customers' evaluation and qualification process. We are very excited we have the ability to increase Conductus supply, which will enable our customers to conclude testing in their electrical devices and initiate their production orders."
"Our customer demand is increasing as the industry begins to focus on commercialization of superconducting products. We continue to strengthen relationships with existing customers as well as engage with new ones who initiated evaluation for the qualification of Conductus wire for use in their devices. During the third quarter of 2014, we shipped Conductus wire to four new and six existing customers. Of these ten customers, seven are in Stage 1 evaluation, including wire characterization and performance testing, and three are for Stage 2, involving significantly more rigorous testing to simulate devices for commercial deployment. The additional orders continue to outpace our supply, and the commercial RCE-1000 will alleviate this constraint as we ramp availability in late 2014 and beyond."
Conductus® Superconducting Wire Manufacturing
To produce Conductus wire there are three key manufacturing processes:
(1) Solution Deposition Planarization (SDP) to smooth commercial-grade stainless steel or hastelloy substrate;
(2) Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD) to produce a template, allowing for the right surface conditions for the growth of superconducting material; and
(3) The proprietary Reactive Co-evaporation Cyclic Deposition and Reaction (RCE-CDR) of superconducting materials onto the manufactured template.
About Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI)
Superconductor Technologies Inc., headquartered in Austin, TX, has been a world leader in HTS materials since 1987, developing more than 100 patents as well as proprietary trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. For more than a decade, STI has been providing innovative interference elimination and network enhancement solutions to the commercial wireless industry. The company is currently leveraging its key enabling technologies, including RF filtering, HTS materials and cryogenics to develop energy efficient, cost-effective and high performance second generation (2G) HTS wire for existing and emerging power applications, to develop applications for advanced RF wireless solutions and innovative adaptive filtering, and for government R&D. Superconductor Technologies Inc.'s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol "SCON." For more information about STI, please visit http://www.suptech.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release regarding our business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability of our suppliers, who we do not control, to produce and deliver equipment on a timely basis; our ability to incorporate and fully assemble new equipment effectively and on time into our production processes; our ability to calibrate and use new equipment to produce wire in accordance with our timetable; our limited cash and a history of losses; the limited number of potential customers; the limited number of suppliers for some of our components and our HTS wire; there being no significant backlog from quarter to quarter; our market being characterized by rapidly advancing technology; overcoming technical challenges in attaining milestones to develop and manufacture commercial lengths of our HTS wire; customer acceptance of our HTS wire; fluctuations in product demand from quarter to quarter; the impact of competitive filter products, technologies and pricing; manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties; our ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our operations (whether through registered direct offerings or otherwise), and the impact on our strategic wire initiative of any inability to raise such funds; the impact of any such financing activity on the level of our stock price, which may decline in connection with the sales under registered direct offerings or otherwise; the dilutive impact of any issuances of securities to raise capital; and local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers, such as the current worldwide recession.
Forward-looking statements can be affected by many other factors, including, those described in the "Business" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of STI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and in STI's other public filings. These documents are available online at STI's website, www.suptech.com, or through the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and STI has not assumed any duty to update any forward-looking statements.