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Companies Facts

million). Adjusted for exchange rate as well as acqui- sition effects, the operating sales growth was 24%. As a result, ALTANA did more than compensate for the crisis-related decrease in sales in the business year 2009, and was also able to generate significant growth in sales compared to the pre-crisis level of 2007. The increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was even more pronounced than in sales revenues. In 2010, EBITDA grew by 51% to EUR314.1 million, up from EUR208.4 million. The EBITDA margin was 20.5% and therefore clearly higher than the prior-year figure of 17.6%. For the first time ever, the BYK Additives & Instru- ments division generated sales of more than half a billion Euros in the past business year. Sales impro- ved by 29%, up from EUR419.9 million in 2009 to EUR541.2 million in 2010. Sales of ECKART Effect Pigments also rose noticeably from EUR282.3 million to EUR356.6 million; this corresponds to an increase of 26%. http://www.altana.com

W

ith the SSAL series ALPS ELECTRIC EUROPE (6770.T) offers horizontal single-side (right or

left) recoil type slide switches. These surface-moun- table components are remarkable for their compact, low-profile design with dimensions of only 7.6mm x 2.5mm x 1,2mm (W x D x H), high reliability, and sharp operational feeling. The 1Pole-2Position swit- ches are rated for switching currents of up to 10mA at a maximum of 5VDC or 50µmA at 3VDC. They have a long operating life of up to 100,000 switching cycles. The slide switches require an operating force of 1+0.5N. Operating temperatures range between -10° C and +60° C (14° F and 140° F). The travel

11-02/03 :: February / March 2011

length amounts to 2mm. Typical applications are mo- bile phones, personal audio devices, PCs, notebooks and peripherals etc.

The other specifications include a maximum initial contact resistance of 10Ω an insulation resistance higher than 100MΩ at 100VDC, and a voltage proof of 100VAC per minute. The switches are suitable for reflow soldering and are available in minimum packing units of 24,000 pieces. For automatic moun- ting, they are packaged on embossed tape with a width of 24mm.

Furthermore, ALPS ELECTRIC EUROPE has com- pleted development of the SCDG3 and SCDG6 series – a combination connector compatible with SD, MMC, MS Duo™, and MS PRO-HG™ memory cards. Mass production commenced in February this year. With the SCDG3 series and SCDG6 series, ALPS has developed its first combination connector compatible with SD, MMC, MS Duo, and MS PRO- HG Duo cards. Having realized a compact size of W29.8 mm × D31.4 mm× H4.4 mm, this product is designed to effectively utilize limited space available for installing components. http://www.alps.com

http://www.alps.com/products/e/npv_product/110225_ SCDG/SCDG_E.PDF

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ltair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Altairnano, NASDAQ: ALTI), a provider of advanced lithi-