Teradyne And AMP Enter Second-Source Licensing Agreement; Agreement Aimed at Developing Global Connector Market

Business Wire, June 20, 1995

NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 1995 -- The High Density Metric (HDM) family of high-density, high-speed interconnection products developed for commercial applications by Teradyne Connection Systems (TCS) will now also be manufactured by AMP Inc., providing both manufacturers' customers with a second source of supply, it was disclosed today in a joint announcement.

According to both companies, the agreement is aimed at extending the global reach of leading-edge connector technologies to provide customers around the world with faster and easier access to high-performance interconnection products. The agreement, which extends the availability of HDM worldwide, reinforces the electronic equipment industry's acceptance of the product as the preferred 6-row, 2mm grid interconnection system.

Teradyne will support AMP in marketing the product line. The company will also assist with technology transfer and necessary tooling and manufacturing support required to ramp up production of HDM products in AMP's facilities. The two organizations have also agreed to institute a cross-testing program that will ensure product intermateability and performance. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

According to Teradyne's Rick Schneider, Marketing Manager, "We try to listen carefully to our customers. This second source agreement, like our prior HD( )(R) agreement, is driven by that market-in philosophy." Schneider added that the agreement will serve to expand the market for HDM connectors dramatically.

"The HDM connector family complements AMP's extensive line of connectors and offers our customers additional choices, particularly when multiple supply and global sourcing are important issues. AMP and Teradyne are both recognized as technical leaders for high-performance connectors and complete backplane systems," said Dean Hooper, AMP's vice president of US Sales & Marketing.

Each company will market HDM and shielded HDM PLUS connectors as individual components and as part of complete backplane systems.

Product Specifications

HDM is a metric-grid board-to-backplane interconnection system that provides high contact density, a modular architecture for design flexibility, and compatibility with the dimensional requirements of Futurebus( ). The connectors contain a six-row array of contacts arranged on the popular 2 mm metric grid. End-stackable signal, power, and polarizing/guidance modules can be arranged in virtually any configuration to achieve the best combination of density and features across a wide range of applications. Signal modules contain either 72 or 144 contacts, or 30 per cm (76 per inch). HDM is thus the highest density pin-and-socket connector currently available, representing a 90% increase in pin count over standard .1 x .1 inch grid four-row connectors.

HDM daughterboard connectors come in two styles: standard HDM and shielded HDMPLUS. Both versions mate with standard HDM backplane connector modules and can be used interchangeably on the same daughterboard.

AMP Corporate Background

AMP is the world's leading supplier of connectors and interconnection systems, serving customers around the world in a wide range of markets from consumer goods to communications and computer systems. Employing more than 30,000 people in 37 countries, the company ranks 285th in the Fortune 500 list and had record sales of $4.03 billion in 1994.

Teradyne Connectin Systems Background

Teradyne Connection Systems is a division of Boston-based Teradyne, Inc. The division had record sales of $137 million in 1994 and operates manufacturing facilities in Nashua, NH; Dublin, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan. In addition to the Connection Systems Division, Teradyne, Inc. is also a leading worldwide manufacturer of high-performance automatic test equipment for semiconductors, circuit boards, and telecommunications systems. In 1994, Teradyne, Inc. reported record sales of $677 million.

CONTACT: Christopher Van Veen

TeradyneConnection Systems

603/880-9461

vanveen.chris@teradyne.com

or

Michael Bayer

Miller Communications/Shandwick Technologies

617/536-0470

mbayer@millercom.com