Industry News, Trends and Technology, and Standards Updates

The World Cup is one of the greatest sporting events around the globe - and, for many parts of the world, it is THE sporting event of the year. This year, ABC & ESPN experienced an 80% gain in viewers during the opening matches... and the team at Cimetrix definitely helped contribute to that statistic. An avid fan, Cimetrix's CEO, Bob Reback, spearheaded the "soccer spirit" and organized several gatherings to view the matches.

With a worldwide customer base, it was fun to establish a friendly rivalry with the teams (and our friends) from other countries. However, with the US no longer in the running, we chose to focus our loyalties on the other strong teams: the Netherlands and Germany.  Our friends at Assembleon appreciated the support:

If you're new to football and/or the World Cup, you might want to check out "A step-by-step guide on How to Appreciate a Soccer Game." before the final matches.  And for the latest news and results, visit the official World Cup website: FIFA.

by Jentry Nourse,
AP/AR Coordinator

For months now the only think anyone has been talking about is Healthcare. Now that the bill has passed, it seems like everyone is wondering …..”what does this mean for me? And, how will my company/employer be affected?”

I was able to attend a webinar just 1 day after the Healthcare Bill was signed into law. It was offered through our benefits provider and, in an attempt to gain more knowledge on the upcoming changes, our HR Department attended. The webinar was conducted by Janet Trautwein, CEO of NAHU (National Association of Healthcare Underwriters.) Janet briefly went through the signed Healthcare Bill noting that a Reconciliation Bill would be proposed by the house and that the immediate impact could not be 

Timelines for these changes are easy to find and most of them show changes to the laws being implemented over the next 9 years to allow for the phasing in of the new changes and phasing out of the old procedures. The details are simply not outlined yet, making it hard to determine what the short term and long term effect will be.

With our benefits open enrollment just around the corner (July), we are actively looking at the upcoming changes and what they mean for our company and our employees, both short term and long term 

The next few months will be full of meetings with our providers to determine what we can do to keep healthcare premiums at a minimum as well as how to make healthcare work harder for our employees. Being able to provide a comprehensive benefits package is one of our top priorities. In order to successfully do this, it’s important to know what concerns / questions they have.

• What questions/concerns do you have with the newly passed Healthcare Bill?
• What do you like/dislike about our current benefits?
• What are your biggest concerns for the future of healthcare?

by Jodi Juretich,
Chief Financial Officer

Have you ever been through a hurricane or a blizzard or maybe just a really bad thunderstorm? I’ve been through them all and when the storm finally passes, we all go outside, assess the damage and immediately start cleaning up and rebuilding. Not too different from the economic storm of 2008-2009.

As a kid growing up in Florida, I remember boarding up windows, stocking-piling supplies, making sure the generator worked and everyone was accounted for. When the storm passed, it was always interesting to see which neighbors emerged defeated and ready to pack up and move out of the state and which neighbors emerged feeling victorious and ready to get right back in the game.

Like most companies across the world, Cimetrix was not spared the pounding forces of the recession. However, before the recession hit, we tightened up the ship and hunkered down, then licked our wounds after the storm passed and emerged feeling stronger and more determined than ever to rebuild and make Cimetrix, once again, VICTORIOUS! We are off to a good start by posting two consecutive quarters of POSTIVE NET INCOME in the last two quarters and 2009. The forecast for 2010 is Bright and Sunny!

When you are faced with rebuilding, it’s a good opportunity to assess what you can do differently to improve operations, generate growth and increase shareholder value. One of the many changes Cimetrix recently implemented was to our IT operations. In November, 2009, Cimetrix made the brave move to outsource all of our IT operations. There was some resistance at first and I even paused at the idea before fully embracing it. After all, it is so nice to call your on-site guy to your computer, at the drop of a hat, to retrieve your missing icon or re-configuring your dual monitor or some of those other voo-doo things that they do!

We selected a local and reputable company and they are virtually available 24 x 7 and can be on-site in minutes, if need be. To my surprise, the transition of not having someone physically present at my computer when I have an issue has not been as traumatic as I expected. Their team of dedicated IT professionals can directly remote in to my computer (with my permission, of course) and do all they need to do without leaving their office. Some of the other advantages of replacing a one-man on-site IT shop are the expanded wealth of knowledge a TEAM of people bring to the operations rather than a single source. Since partnering with ITNow.net, we’ve outsourced and upgraded our email, upgraded numerous aging engineering hardware and software, consolidated hardware for more efficient performance, reduced down-time with monitoring equipment and redundant back ups which all leads to increased efficiencies through out the entire organization. Increased efficiencies translates into reduced costs, revenue growth and ultimately, increased shareholder value!

So if you are looking for opportunities to make improvements to your company’s infrastructure, make sure IT outsourcing is on your list to consider.

by Mohammad Islam,
Software Engineer

Before joining Cimetrix, I used to work for a bigger company in California with lots of benefits. I liked the location and the money part of the job. However, I did not have any mental satisfaction working there as the work environment was very hard to deal with.

When I joined Cimetrix in 2004, I was little worried how things would turn out as it was a small company with a very few non-American employees. However, it turned out that joining here was one of the wisest moves that I've made in my life which I am really grateful about. Being a small company, everyone knows everyone here, we are like a family. The work environment is amazing. They give me my freedom; they trust me and that is very important to an employee. They care about what I do and my opinions. All this makes me feel like I am a valuable member of this company. Moreover, my family and I are very grateful to the Cimetrix Executives and Management for all the help and support they offered us throughout the immigration process.I must also mention that it feels very good to beat Mr. President occasionally at the “Ping Pong” table. He is a very tough competitor and never likes to loose.

In conclusion, I just want to say that this is the best place to work for, especially in this kind of economical era. Cimetrix survived the worst economic downfall in decades which implies that it's a strong company with good people, that's bouncing back very strongly.

by DeAnn Rowan,
Marketing

As a blog reader, we would like to ask you a question:

So….What do you think?

We’ve been at this blogging thing for 6 months (almost to the day) now. We’ve seen a lot of interest as the traffic to our blog posts continues to rise at a rapid pace. The entire Cimetrix team has provided contributions and feels passionate about the information that we have been sharing with readers.

Some of our most popular posts to date – and ones you’ll want to check out if you haven’t already - include a narrative touting the benefits of software frameworks, a comparison of the data collection functions of SECS/GEM and Interface A, and the answer to the “He Said/ She Said” game between equipment and host.

What have you found to be the most valuable?
What topics would you like to see discussed more? Or less?

We want to be a resource of information for you regarding the SEMI connectivity standards and their implementation. As you read through our blog, please feel free to ask questions or provide insight on the topics being discussed. We welcome your comments!

In addition to this blog, we encourage you to interact with us, and others within the manufacturing community, via various social media networks:

Use these avenues as an alternative means to ask questions, provide feedback, and stay abreast of any industry or Cimetrix updates.

Thank you for your continued readership and we look forward to future discussions.

Connect with Us on LinkedIn:

• Bob Reback, president and CEO
• Jodi Juretich, CFO
• Dave Faulkner, EVP Sales & Marketing
• Bill Grey, Director of Research & Development
• Brent Forsgren, Director OEM Solutions
• Doug Rust, Director Product Engineering & Customer Support
• Brian Rubow, Manager Customer Support
• Stu Benger, Director of Sales North America
• Bruce Febvret, Director of Sales Europe

by Peggy Faulkner,
Assistant Controller

When I confided to a long-time friend with whom I used to work in the financial arena at General Electric that I was thinking of returning to work after 20 years of raising a family, and that I would be doing Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance work for Cimetrix, she gasped, and blurted, “I am SO sorry!” I was pretty sure her dismay was not an indictment of me returning to work, nor to Cimetrix—it was all about SOX.

When SOX was federally mandated in 2002, as a financial regulatory response to the Enron and Worldcom (and others) scandals, the intent was to soothe panicked investors and restore confidence that our public companies operate under sufficient financial control, oversight, and transparency. Revenue level or company size matter not—all public companies must comply, and compliance places a disproportionately heavier cost burden on small companies such as Cimetrix. Annual auditing must be performed by an independent, registered public accounting firm, and an extra layer of control in the form of reporting and certification is included in all SEC filings by financial management. Transparency to financial reports is now greater, and penalties for financial fraud or misrepresentation are harsh.

In an economic downturn, such as we are now experiencing, the cost of compliance becomes even more burdensome. Nonetheless, Cimetrix is fully compliant with all SOX regulations, and has been for some time now, due to the diligence of the Finance team. Long before I joined the company, measures were taken to reorganize, analyze, report, and verify financial data at a SOX-mandated level.

Currently, cross-training and report collaboration within the department ensure an additional level of review. Our goal this year is to become paperless—in keeping with environmental concerns, and our connection to the PV industry, perhaps?

Eighteen months after talking with my old friend, when she asks how things are going, I smile and say, “Piece of cake!”

Now, if I could just win the company Soup Cook-off!!

By Jodi Juretich,
Chief Financial Officer

You might be thinking, “What does healthcare costs have to do with a factory automation and equipment control software solutions company?” Well, directly, not much but indirectly, it’s one of many benefits that play a role in retaining and attracting talented employees.

Gone are the good old days where 100% employer paid benefits were the norm. The average health-care cost for a family plan now costs roughly $13,000 a year and employees are paying anywhere from 25% to 50% of that cost. Multiply that times the number of employees in your company and, well, you get the idea. And that’s only health care. There are other benefits such as life, disability, dental, vision and workman’s comp, to mention a few. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2009 Employer Benefits Survey, health insurance premiums have increased by 138% over the last decade. With increases like that, an employer has to be smart on designing health plans to keep their employees focused on their jobs and not stressing about how they are going to pay for health care.

Your typical health care plans have co-pays, out of pocket maximums and life time maximums and all of these options, depending on how they are designed, can drive the premiums way up. If your company is paying attention to these options, they can manage the cost by implementing a Health Reimbursement Account Plan (“HRA”) to supplement, for example, higher out of pocket maximums. A strategy like this is designed so the employee does not feel the financial burden if they fall in to that very small population of hitting their out of pocket maximum in a plan year. Why pay a higher premium that caters to the whole population when only a very small percentage will use that part of the benefit.This approach saves the employee money by reducing employee share of the monthly premiums. It saves the company money by reducing its overall expenses which directly impacts a company’s ability to maintain competitive pricing to its customers and ultimately drives the company’s EPS and shareholder value.

At Cimetrix, we take very seriously the retention of our key employees and understand that a competitive benefits package plays an important role in that process. Our team is our most valuable asset, providing you – the customer – with the highest quality support, services and solutions. With sound financial planning, we can create a program in which both the company and the employees win.

Next time your benefits are up for renewal, ask your employer if they have a financially smart plan design for healthcare costs.

At Cimetrix, we thrive on customer interaction, continous improvement, and a passionate dedication to providing an elevated level of quality in both our products and services.  In an effort to solicit more feedback from our customers and colleagues, we will be launching a blog in the coming weeks. 

Readers can expect to see posts regarding industry trends and updates, product  & company announcements, tips for smooth implementation of the SEMI standards (SECS/GEM, GEM300, and EDA), and common incidents and how to avoid them.

Check back soon!