Merix Corporation Explained

Merix Corporation
Type:Public
Foundation:1994, Oregon
Key People:William C. McCormick, Chairman
Mike Burger, CEO
Industry:electronics
Products:printed circuit boards
Revenue:$287 million USD (FY 2009)
Operating Income: $49 million USD (FY 2006)
Net Income: $49 million USD (FY 2006)
Num Employees:2,950 (2009)
Parent:TTM Technologies
Divisions:Merix San Jose
Merix Asia
Merix Oregon
Footnotes:Financial data[1]

Merix Corporation was an American printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer based in Beaverton, Oregon.[2] Prior to a merger in 2010 with Viasystems, the company had been the 31st largest public company in Oregon based on market capitalization as of 2006.[3] [4] The company is now part of TTM Technologies.

History

Merix Corporation was started in 1994 as a spin-off from Tektronix, Inc. in Oregon's Silicon Forest, employing 700 people.[5] Tektronix continued to own 27% of the new company.[6] The City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development awarded Merix a BEST Award in 1997 for water conservation.[7] Merix lost $9.6 million on revenues of $87 million in 2002, and followed that with losses of $30 million in 2003 on revenues of $95 million.[8]

In December 2004, the company bought Data Circuit Systems and named the unit Merix San Jose.[8] That fiscal year, Merix returned to profitability with a $20,000 in earnings from $156 million in revenues.[8] On September 29, 2005, Merix purchased the operations of Eastern Pacific Circuits Holding Limited. Merix renamed these operations as Merix Asia.[9] In February 2007, the company was warned by NASDAQ for failing to have a full three member independent audit committee as required by NASDAQ listing rules.[10]

For the 2006 fiscal year they had revenues of $309 million and a profit of $1.4 million.[8] In January 2008, Merix announced the closing of their Wood Village, Oregon, factory they opened in 2004.[11] The company laid off 180 people company-wide as part of a restructuring plan at that time.[11] Another 230 people were laid off in early 2009,[12] and the company then lost $8.4 million on nearly $60 million in revenues in the quarter that ended in May 2009.[13]

Also in 2009, the company expanded its military and aerospace customer base, adding contracts to companies such as Rockwell Collins.[14] In October 2009, Merix announced they would merge with Viasystems with the combined entity headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.[15] Merix reported a quarterly profit for the second quarter of their 2010 fiscal year, the first such profit since 2007.[16] The merger with Viasystems was completed in February 2010.[17] Viasystems was acquired by California-based TTM Technologies in May 2015 for $368 million.[18] [19]

Operations

The company's main domestic production facility was located in Forest Grove, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area.[20] The 250000ft2 facility employed about 800 people and was the city's largest employer.[20] Merix's other U.S. plant is located in San Jose, California.[20] Company headquarters were in Beaverton, Oregon, also in the Portland area,[20] with Mike Burger serving as the chief executive officer since 2007.[14]

Merix produced printed circuit boards used in various electronic equipment worldwide. This was primarily multi-layered rigid PCBs used in the automotive industry, communications equipment, testing equipment, and the computer industry. The manufacturing facilities were located primarily in China.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2009 Annual Report. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714074625/http://www.merix.com/files/2009%20Annual%20Report.pdf. dead. July 14, 2011. July 30, 2009. Merix. 5 January 2010.
  2. http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/gen/Merix_Corp_3B18EF40FC374EBDA116A870BE643938.html Merix Corporation (MERX).
  3. Web site: The Oregonian Top 50 . OregonLive.com . July 2, 2006 .
  4. http://www.merix.com/North+America.aspx?id=8&rid= Merix North America.
  5. "Tektronix In a Spinoff", The New York Times, April 4, 1994.
  6. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E4D71F31F934A2575AC0A96E958260&scp=1&sq=merix&st=nyt Company News; Tektronix, posting a loss, plans 10% cut in work force.
  7. http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?a=bbbibb&c=ebije 1997 BEST Winners.
  8. http://b2i.api.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EdgarPro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?SessionID=hBKzCa5iihMcNFY&ID=4619256 Merix Corporation 2006 Annual Report.
  9. http://wrightreports.ecnext.com/coms2/reportdesc_COMPANY_590049102 Merix Corporation - Company Profile Snapshot.
  10. http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/02/19/daily6.html NASDAQ warns Merix.
  11. Trevison, Catherine. Merix to lay off 180, close plant. The Oregonian, January 10, 2008.
  12. News: Merix lays off 230. February 6, 2009. Portland Business Journal. 2009-10-09.
  13. News: Merix reports $8.4 million loss. July 13, 2009. Portland Business Journal. 2009-10-09.
  14. News: Merix gains a foothold in aerospace market. Siemers. Erik. June 26, 2009. Portland Business Journal. 2009-10-09.
  15. News: Oregon's Merix merging with circuit-board maker Viasystems. Hunsberger. Brent. October 6, 2009. The Oregonian. 2009-10-07.
  16. News: Merix posts first profit in nearly three years. Rogoway. Mike. January 4, 2009. The Oregonian. 5 January 2010.
  17. News: Viasystems completes Merix purchase. Rogoway. Mike. February 16, 2010. The Oregonian. 17 February 2010.
  18. Web site: Mueller . Angela . 2014-09-22 . TTM Technologies acquiring Viasystems Group . 2022-07-11 . www.bizjournals.com.
  19. Web site: Form 10-K . 2022-07-11 . www.sec.gov.
  20. News: Merix to merge. Christensen. Nick. October 9, 2009. The Hillsboro Argus. A1. 2009-10-09.
  21. https://archive.today/20120715214151/http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/fullDescription.asp?rpc=66&symbol=MERX.O Company profile for MERX.