Endicott Interconnect program leads to additional DoD funds

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 23, 2008 by Tampone, Kevin

ENDICOTT - Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. recently received another contract modification from the U.S. Department of Defense for one of its longstanding projects.

The new modification, announced May 6, is worth more than $148 million. The deal, which runs through December, continues a program the Endicott-based firm has been working on almost since it was formed in 2002.

"This is probably the fourth significant dollar amount for this program," says Eric Hills, director of military and defense programs. "This was one we kind of thought was coming, but we had to demonstrate our capability to meet the delivery schedule."

In the end, Hills says, Endicott Interconnect was able to meet that schedule and also deliver its products on budget and at a high quality level. That added up to the additional dollars, Hills says.

Under the contract, the company produces components used in high-performance computing for the military.

Hills says it is an area Endicott Interconnect expects to work in for quite some time. Although the current program won't continue forever, he says the company expects to continue working for the Defense Department on computing.

"We don't see this as the last project in this area," he says. "This is the first of some next-generation stuff coming down the pipe."

Endicott Interconnect has 2,000 employees and generated $371 million in revenue in 2007.

The high-speed computing work was one of the company's first projects after its formation in 2002. Today, that project has grown to include research, development, and production of a variety of circuit boards and other materials.

Hills says the program touch-es nearly every aspect of what the company does. Last year, the high-speed computing work for the Defense Department led to contracts worth more than $164 million.

Endicott Interconnect began life as the microelectronics division of IBM in Endicott. IBM said off the division to a group of Binghamton-area investors in 2002. Today more than a quarter of Endicott Interconnect's work is in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Roughly half of its business comes from the information-technology and server market. The remain ng revenue emanates from the medical, advanced-testing equipment, and semi-conductor markets.

The company began a concerted effort in 2003 to win more government work and last year even won a two-year deal from defense contractor Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) to provide circuit boards for the F-22 Raptor attack fighter. Endicott Interconnect leaders are hopeful they can parlay the F-22 work into even more deals with defense companies.