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EXHIBIT 99.1
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[ILLINOIS SUPERCONDUCTOR NEWS |
CORPORATION LOGO] | RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MAUREEN MURNANE
PHONE: 847-391-9426
INTERNET: [email protected]
ILLINOIS SUPERCONDUCTOR TO OPEN JAPANESE OFFICE
Mt. Prospect, IL (August 3, 2000) - Illinois Superconductor Corporation
(OTC: ISCO), a leading supplier of superconducting radio-frequency (RF) products
for the wireless industry, announced today that it is opening an office in
Japan. The office will be headed by Derek Schneideman. Until recently, Mr.
Schneideman served as the President and Representative Director of Gateway Japan
KK, the Japanese subsidiary of personal-computer manufacturer Gateway, Inc.
During Mr. Schneideman's four-year tenure, Gateway Japan grew from a start-up to
an 800-person organization generating approximately $800MM of annual revenues.
Prior to joining Gateway, Mr. Schneideman worked for Computer Associates Inc.
for ten years as Managing Director in Japan, Korea, Thailand and New Zealand and
as a senior executive in Australia. Mr. Schneideman serves on the Executive
Committee of the American Electronics Association in Japan and is a member of
the American Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Schneideman is also President of CTR
Ventures KK, a leading Japanese venture-accelerator, specializing in venture
capital investing and management consulting for technology companies.
Joining Mr. Schneideman in ISC's Japanese office will be Dr. Philip
Parker, who is also affiliated with CTR, as well as at least one other
professional being recruited by ISC. Dr. Parker holds a Ph.D. in engineering,
with a specialty in wireless telecommunications filter design. He established
and headed the North Asia office of Project Oxygen, a global telecommunications
submarine cable project. He is the co-founder and chairman of systemsGo
Corporation, a computer services company in Tokyo. Dr. Parker previously served
as a management consultant for over seven years at Arthur D. Little and AT
Kearney, concentrating on the telecommunications industry, with clients
throughout east Asia and Australasia. He helped raise $2 billion of financing
for telecommunications projects in Asia. Dr. Parker started his career working
at Alcatel, working on telecommunications switching and transmission systems in
Australia and Europe.
Dr. George Calhoun, Chief Executive Officer of Illinois Superconductor,
said: "The opening of our Japanese office is an important step for ISC. We will
continue to have able representation in Japan through our long-standing
distributor, Fuji Electronics, and ISC's management will continue to visit Japan
frequently. But we reached the conclusion some months
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ago that the time was right to have our own physical presence in Japan -- to
indicate our commitment to the Japanese market and to enhance our working ties
with our customers and partners there. We have spent several months planning
this step, and we are extraordinarily fortunate to have attracted individuals of
Derek Schneideman's and Philip Parker's caliber as well as the other resources
of CTR Ventures to create our Japanese presence.
"A Japanese office is one of many building blocks we have been putting
into place to pursue business in Japan and Korea. We have recently been asked to
submit proposals for 2G and 3G prototypes to four major Japanese companies, two
of which would represent repeat business. We have also begun co-development
efforts with a fifth Japanese company. Our understanding is that ISC's 3G
product meets the Japanese performance requirements and performs better than any
competing products. Our goal now is to meet customer-specific requirements
regarding size, weight and the like, and to make the product production-ready.
We feel this goal is attainable and are working very hard to be the first to
reach this objective. Having a Japanese office will help ensure that we
understand the customers' needs and that we expand and strengthen our
relationships in that country.
"We are devoting a large portion of our resources to the Japanese and
Korean markets, for good reason. Both countries have extraordinarily high
penetration rates for mobile phone usage. Japan is the pioneer for consumer
wireless internet applications and services through the spectacularly successful
introduction of NTT Docomo's i-Mode service last year, to be followed by the
multi-year roll-out of wideband (3G) wireless services starting in 2001. It is
already the case that more Japanese access the internet through their mobile
phones than through PCs. Korea is expected to introduce 3G service in a similar
timeframe. There are increasing indications that high temperature
superconducting (HTS) filters will ultimately be deployed in these 3G systems,
as evidenced by continued prototype orders from Japanese customers and published
research by highly respected NTT Docomo scientists. While the ultimate proof of
this proposition can only come from volume purchase orders, we are very focused
on accomplishing that objective."
Illinois Superconductor Corporation is a leader in the commercialization of high
temperature superconducting technology for the wireless telecommunications
industry. The Company develops, manufactures and markets radio frequency (RF)
products to enhance the quality and capacity of cellular telephone, personal
communications services and other wireless telecommunications services. More
information about Illinois Superconductor Corporation is available on the
Company's internet web site at http://www.ilsc.com.
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and reflect the Company's current expectations regarding the future results
of operations, performance and achievements of the Company. The Company has
tried, wherever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements by using
words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans,"
"intends," and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's
current beliefs and are based on information currently available to it.
Accordingly, these statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and
contingencies, which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or
achievements for 2000 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in,
or implied by, such statements. These important factors include, without
limitation, the failure of the SSI transaction to close, the ability to
integrate SSI's and ISC's businesses in the event that the SSI transaction is
completed, the Company's history of net losses and the lack of assurance that
the Company's earnings will be sufficient to cover fixed charges in the future;
the degree to which the Company is leveraged and restrictions imposed on the
Company under its existing debt instruments which may adversely affect the
Company's ability to finance its future operations, uncertainty about the
Company's ability to
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compete effectively against better capitalized competitors and to withstand
downturns in its business or the economy generally; the adverse effects on
liquidity of the Company's common stock because of its de-listing from the
NASDAQ National Market in June 1999; continued downward pressure on the prices
charged for the Company's products due to the competition of rival manufacturers
of front end systems for the wireless telecommunications market; the timing and
receipt of customer orders; the Company's ability to attract and retain key
personnel; and the effects of legal proceedings. A more complete description of
these risks, uncertainties and assumptions is included in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described under the
heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 1999. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or
uncertainties.
