API Closing Wis. Facility

Advanced Photonix Inc. (API) announced it will close its Dodgeville, Wis., assembly facility, terminate the 31 employees there and transfer all of the operations to its plant in Camarillo, Calif., by the end of the year.

API acquired the 15,000-sq-ft Dodgeville operation as part of its acquisition of Silicon Sensors LLC in August 2002. API is a supplier of optoelectronic photodetector components, subsystems and systems for telecommunications networks, medical diagnostics, military sensors, industrial quality control and homeland security screening.

API said it assessed capacity requirements considering the growth within its optosolutions product platform, the recent upgrading and current ongoing consolidation of existing wafer fabrication production to its Ann Arbor headquarters and the general operating requirements at each of its three manufacturing facilities and concluded that it needed to adjust production capacity to more appropriately match product demand and customer requirements, while improving the efficiency of the company's overall optosolutions manufacturing operations.

"The consolidation, while not pleasant, is in the best interest of our shareholders. We will work with our Dodgeville employees to insure a smooth transition," said Richard Kurtz, chairman and CEO of API.

API said, based on anticipated product demand, it will most likely need to increase its Camarillo work force slightly, but no decisions have yet been made. The company also said it will take a one-time charge of approximately $520,000 in the second quarter for the closure.

For more information, visit: www.advancedphotonix.com