Liquidmetal Advocate

Liquidmetal Part

2011-10-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

2010-08-19T17:16:00.001-07:00

A few years back I walked into a machine shop to see first hand all of the machinery and equipment needed for a typical machine shop to crank out a multitude of products.

This picture above is a summary of my visit.

One can readily see the tremendous investment in equipment as listed on the left needed to machine the displayed parts and components quite common to many industrial applications. One can also imagine all of the time consuming operations necessary to machine just one part from a block of metal: drilling, tapping, milling, routing, mitering, deburring, sandblasting and other finishing. In some cases, hours per piece can be consumed to yield a finished product.

One can see by the text in the middle just how many marketing areas there are for a machine shop, and this list is hardly exhaustive.

Now, look at the picture without the machine and equipment list on the left. Instead, envision one liquidmetal die casting or injection molding machine instead.

Then, look at all the parts pictured, a second time. All of them may be net-cast with liquidmetal in minutes. Double click on the picture to enlarge it.

John Kang, Resigns upon Jury Finding

2010-03-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

The Board of Directors of Liquidmetal Technologies has announced the resignation of John Ho Kang as Chairman of the Board and Director. Several years ago he was forced to step down as President and C.E.O due to his indictment for fraud in the inflation of the value of sales for Medical Manager just prior to its IPO. It is for this he was found gulty by a jury of his peers in Federal District Court in the Beaufort Division, South Carolina.

Inspite of his being found guilty by the jury, the Board of Directors failed to take swift action to terminate his services and replace him with a competent COB and CEO at the time of his indictment five years ago. Resultantly, the Company has languished and has lost its stock value once at $22.00 and now at 8 cents per share.

Incredibly, the Board of Directors is maintaining Kang on the Company roster. They have been in complete denial as they have let him move virtually all of the productive assets out of the control of Liquidmetal and into the hands of his brother, James Kang, who operates a company called Grace Metals in China.

The Company maintains a plant in Korea which is utilizing a fraction of its floorspace for a greatly downsized operation. Two new members of the Board, real estate magnates from Iran, have yet unload this property and use the proceeds to pay down the Company debt built up by the Kang Brothers over the years.

CORRECTED - UPDATE 2-Jabil says economy dampens forecast

2008-03-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:46pm EDT

(Corrects decline in share price for Flextronics)

(Recasts, adds executive comment)

By Scott Hillis

SAN FRANCISCO, March 25 (Reuters) - Contract electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc (JBL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) gave a profit forecast below Wall Street estimates, saying an economic "air pocket" was hurting demand for products like mobile phones and televisions, and its shares fell as much as 13 percent.

Jabil, which makes products for companies such as network gear supplier Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research), mobile phone giant Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) and personal computer company Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said revenue fell in the quarter ended last month from the previous quarter, but said business could bounce back as early as late summer.

"This is clearly a sign of the softening macroeconomic environment ... not market-share loss," Chief Executive Timothy Main told a conference call. The company's rivals include Flextronics International Ltd (FLEX.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

"We are hitting a pretty significant macroceconomic air pocket and I don't think anybody is immune to that," Main said.

Jabil said that revenue from its mobility segment fell 31 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, while display revenue fell 40 percent.

Main said previous slowdowns lasted a quarter or two before customers resumed ordering. He said a slowing economy also tended to prompt companies to turn more to outsourcing, and pushed weaker players out of the market.

"We might be in a bottoming period right now and we might see a nice bounce-back in late summer, early fall," Main said when asked how long the economic downturn would last.

Jabil said that for its current fiscal quarter it expected to post revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.15 billion, below the $3.25 billion that was the average analyst forecast on Reuters Estimates.

The company said it expected a net profit of 9 cents to 13 cents per share and core earnings of 18 cents to 22 cents per share.

Analysts had been looking for Jabil to show a net profit of 20 cents per share and a profit excluding items such as stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles of 34 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Jabil shares fell to $9.91 in extended trading, down 12.9 percent from their close of $11.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have fallen 49 percent over the past year, compared to a 9 percent decline in Flextronics' share price over the same time.

Flextronics shares were unchanged after Jabil's report at $10.21.

Jabil also posted a net loss for its second fiscal quarter ended Feb. 29 of $24 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $13.9 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue was $3.06 billion, up 4 percent from $2.93 billion a year earlier.

The company said the loss was due mainly to restructuring charges that were $41 million higher than a year earlier.

The $24 million loss compared with Wall Street's expectation of a $7 million net profit, according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Scott Hillis, editing by Phil Berlowitz, Gary Hill)

2008-03-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

BuhlerPrince sells QPC; plans to grow in Holland

2008-03-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

BuhlerPrince sells QPC; plans to grow in Holland

By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
jboomgaard@mibiz.com

HOLLAND — BuhlerPrince Inc., a die casting company, has sold its Quality Process Control Systems to the division’s general manager, Craig Nelson.

Buhler AG, a Swiss company, bought IdraPrince, formerly Prince Machine, in August 2006 because the Holland company had about 50 percent of the North American die-casting machinery business. After the purchase, the company began to transition some of the manufacturing from Switzerland to Holland.

According to BuhlerPrince President and CEO Mark Los, the company is adding about $1.5 million in additional milling equipment to the Holland facility in 2008.

"The focus for BuhlerPrince is mostly on the large, die casting machines, primarily (for the) automotive (industry)," Los said. "As we add additional capacity and additional investment, the focus is on really big pieces."

BuhlerPrince manufactures machines weighing from 100,000-500,000 pounds, whereas QPC manufactures much smaller machines in the 100- 1,000-pound range.

"It’s a completely different manufacturing strategy," Los said. "We continue to use products from QPC integrated into our machines. But from an overall manufacturing perspective, we wanted to focus on the really big pieces and buy from other companies the smaller pieces. We want to focus on the die-cast machinery side and not the small auxiliary pieces of equipment."

Therefore, BuhlerPrince decided to sell QPC to Nelson, who originally joined the company in 1999. QPC designs and builds water and oil circulating temperature control units, chillers, plant water recirculating systems and cooling tower cells.

QPC, founded in 1991, was purchased by Prince Machine in 1998 as the company looked to be more of a vertically integrated company, a one-stop shop for people buying die casting equipment, according to Nelson.

In essence, the company makes liquid circulating temperature control systems for BuhlerPrince’s die casting operation, but has other opportunities in the plastic injection molding and chemical and food processing industries.

"Die casting is 25 percent of (QPC’s) market. Our channel has been focused on that relatively narrow niche for the products at QPC," Los said. "What Craig’s got the opportunity to do now is to expand beyond this little slice that (BuhlerPrince) has and get into (other industries)."

Nelson, who started as a sales engineer seven years ago, is excited about the prospects of owning the company.

"I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak," Nelson told MiBiz. "I’ve been dreaming about having my own business. Finally the opportunity arose, and I was in a position where I could make a purchase."

QPC contracts with BuhlerPrince for all manpower and business support systems, allowing Nelson to get launched at a low cost.

"We think it’s a great opportunity to have this business incubated within our walls," Los said. "There are a lot of things that we’re going to continue to share just to make sure QPC gets a running start. It helps him get launched and not have to have the commitment to full-time employees on his payroll. He gets some real talented people on an as-needed basis."

Nelson said he’d like to see a 20-percent per year growth rate for QPC.

"Rather than start a new business from scratch, the opportunity to take something private that I’ve been working at for the last seven years and have put a significant amount of myself into, it just felt like it was a natural progression. It’s a good fit for me at this time," Nelson said.

Los said 2007 was a tough year for BuhlerPrince, but the 120-man shop continues to maintain its market share and believes it is well positioned for some future automotive projects stressing lighter weight vehicles and automotive parts.

LQMT 4Q Earn Rel & CC Tues Mar 11 4PM EST

2008-03-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2008--Liquidmetal(R) Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) today announced it will release financial results for the three months ended December 31st 2007 at approximately 4:00 pm (EDT) on Tuesday, March 11th 2008. Liquidmetal Technologies will host a conference call at 4:30 pm (EDT) that day to discuss the results.

Listeners may access the conference call over the Internet from Liquidmetal Technologies' website http://ir.liquidmetal.com or at www.companyboardroom.com. The dial-in-number to access this operator assisted call is toll free 1-888-599-8691 or toll 1-913-981-5533 for International callers. Institutional Investors can access the call via CCBN's password protected event management site, StreetEvents. (http://www.streetevents.com)

    CONTACT: Liquidmetal Technologies
            Otis Buchanan, 949-635-2120
            otis.buchanan@liquidmetal.com

   SOURCE: Liquidmetal Technologies Inc.

Jabil Circuits (JBL) sees weakness

2008-03-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

Monday, March 3, 2008

Jabil Circuits (JBL) sees weakness

This isn't current as it came out Thursday afternoon, but its worth visiting.

Jabil, speaking at the Goldman conference, indicated they were seeing a gradual stall in business, similar to the recession of '91. Things have been getting progressively slower. Display business is doing very well, but things are eroding. It's not fall of a cliff weakness like 2001, but their internal forecasts have been dropping. The company has been indicating weakness in telecom/networking for a couple of quarters now. Their customers in telecom/networking are Ericsson, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Alcatel Lucent, Tellabs and 3Com. Obviously, these comments have contributed to the economic slowdown fears rampant in tech.

I like to pay attention to what contract manufacturers tell you about business as they're the core of the tech build (Asia tends to be a better source of this type of information as the data is more frequent and less guarded). I don't like to invest in them. I think they're glorified sweat shop, cost plus businesses that compete with less regulated overseas competitors. Furthermore, they're all big rollups. A few years ago they started buying manufacturing divisions from other companies to guarantee themselves business and to keep revenues growing. I just can't get excited about the billion dollars of business they buy from a company in exchange for a billion dollars of debt they take on. There's no shareholder value added there and I think its almost impossible to really assess the organic growth. Ultimately these wind up being unwieldy cycle bets – they're so diversified you don't get any pure play on anything, just a hodge-podge of companies and products. It's like a swap meet index – you're buying what other companies sold to the contract manufacturer. Inherently these are less attractive businesses.

Posted by Roy Howard at 3/03/2008 11:04:00 AM

LQMT names successor to vacant CFO slot

2008-01-15T08:17:00.001-08:00

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2008--Liquidmetal(R) Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) today announced the appointment of Gerald E. Morrow as the new Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Mr. Morrow brings to the company thirty years of corporate financial expertise spanning five service and manufacturing industries, in the areas of financial management, strategic planning and equity placements. As an established senior executive, Gerald Morrow most recently served as the Vice President of Finance for the California based Performance Team Freight Systems, Inc., overseeing all finance and human resources responsibilities. He also brings to Liquidmetal(R) Technologies a track record of improved financial reporting, budgeting and performance management systems which facilitate rapid growth and support manufacturing efficiencies.
At the southern California based Goulds Pumps, Inc., Mr. Morrow implemented an activity based cost system bringing about a complete division turnaround for the manufacturer from loss to profitability. As a former Controller for Dun & Bradstreet Corporation's Donnelley Information Publishing, Mr. Morrow was responsible for finance, budgeting, and procurement services and served as a key member of the executive council responsible for implementation of a total quality management program which accounted for major sales growth over a three year period.
John Kang, Chairman of Liquidmetal Technologies commented, "Gerry joins Liquidmetal Technologies at an exciting time in the commercialization of our technology. Gerry is an experienced and mature CFO and has utilized his financial expertise to develop valuable financial systems to support operations in growth and changing environments throughout his career. His deep financial expertise will be valuable as the Company builds its business through internal growth and our licensed partners."

New CFO replaces Slot left by Ham Young

2008-01-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

Mr. Morrow brings to the company thirty years of corporate financial expertise spanning five service and manufacturing industries, in the areas of financial management, strategic planning and equity placements.

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies Announces Projected Fourth Quarter Revenue

2008-01-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies Announces Projected Fourth Quarter Revenue

Monday January 14, 9:00 am ET

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liquidmetal^® Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT - News) today announced that based upon preliminary review of its 2007 fourth quarter financial performance, the Company expects to report net revenue of approximately $8.6 million for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2007, the highest level of quarterly revenue reported to date for the Company. Projected fourth quarter net revenue represents an increase from $7.1 million in the third quarter of 2007 and the $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Projected net revenue does not include revenue of licensees from the manufacture and sale of Liquidmetal products although it includes royalty and material sales to our licensees.

Larry Buffington, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter was due in part to increased demand and adoption of our technology and continued momentum building in our strategy to segment our business into respective business categories, whether through our own subsidiary or a licensee, and allowing each business unit to focus and execute their respective strategies. We are pleased with the trend in the business.”

Liquidmetal Technologies will provide additional details of the fourth quarter financials during a regularly scheduled earnings call to be announced later next month. The Company does not intend to announce projected revenue every quarter prior to the filing of its periodic reports with the SEC.

Sage Comments:

This was expected, as this was announced at the shareholders meeting. (See post of shareholder's meeting summary).

WHAT IS LACKING, HOWEVER, IS THE PAY-OFF of the SHORT-TERM DEBT of more than $3 million, which is now approaching 6 months OVERDUE.

While we certainly applaud the increases in revenue, they greatly fall short of the 60 million projected by Mr. Kang not to long ago; subsequent to that quantum leap of a forecast, he has whittled them down to 40 million and, finally, now a more realistic 30 or so million for FY 2007.

Conspicuously absent are any projections of bottom line and employment of the new machines, either in Liquidmetal Pyong-Taek or at any of the so-called "strategic partners" which Mr. Kang uses interchangeably with the term JOINT VENTURE.

Sage re-iterates that it takes 90 days to complete a purchase order for machines at Buhler and another 30 days to install, test and certify a machine cell for production on the plant floor.

This means, of course, that the earliest date for new machines (other than the one prototype) to be operational will be May 30th, which does not bode well for any expectations of bottom line being net earnings positive until the second half of FY 2008.

Mr. Kang: The Bottom line of this analysis is FOCUS on the BOTTOM LINE and EMPLOYMENT of the new machines!

MANIFEST A SENSE of URGENCY, PLEASE

JABIL's Investment in Vietnam...Something for LQMT to Consider for Machine Placement

2008-01-13T13:53:00.001-08:00

The hottest tiger

Vietnam is considered by many the “hottest” tiger in terms of near-term growth and buzz in manufacturing circles. Since U.S. trade sanctions were lifted in the 1990s, the economy has grown at a healthy 8-percent clip. The U.S. is now Vietnam's top trading partner. Exports have shot up as much 20 percent annually, according to data from ASEAN.

Vietnam joined the WTO within the last year. Its chief exports include textiles, footwear, and furniture. Vietnam's energy sector also is growing, with crude oil output on the rise. But there's little doubt that Vietnam will be a significant player in high-tech in the near future. In 2006, chipmaker Intel announced a $1-billion investment plan in an industrial park outside Ho Chi Minh City. That's more than the company has invested in China in the last decade.

Overall, capital investment in the manufacturing of electronics and computer products is expected to reach U.S.$3 billion in 2007, representing a big chunk of total foreign direct investment in the country.

Jabil, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based contract manufacturer and supply chain services provider, opened a 55,000-square-foot facility in Ho Chi Minh City's Saigon Hi-Tech Park to serve Hewlett-Packard's imaging and printing business. “We are developing Vietnam as a production-for-export location,” says Bill Muir, Jabil's regional president for Asia. “Vietnam offers a globally competitive cost base, a strong workforce, and good balance to our Asia footprint.”

According to Kok Chwee Lui, VP, HP Imaging & Printing manufacturing operations, “On our own, HP probably would not be investing in an HP factory in Vietnam, but Jabil can start small and then bring in other customers. Also, Jabil can drive material costs down by pooling the spending power of its many customers, which helps us bring new supply bases or new ecosystems into the equation. If we were on our own, we would just have our own suppliers, but working with Jabil gives us the benefit of their combined supply base.”

According to a recent report from East-West Associates, a Charlotte, N.C.-based consultancy, “Vietnam is a more favored low-cost locale compared to China,” adding that Vietnamese workers make about $60 per month—i.e., less than their counterparts on the highly developed south coast of China. Plus, they work a longer work week.

In response, the Chinese government encourages investment in the less-developed Western and interior regions of China. The problem is workers in the Chinese hinterland are less skilled, and transport costs are necessarily higher. Instead, many manufacturers apply a “China plus one” strategy, whereby they open plants in a second Asian nation to complement their Chinese production.

To some degree, China is a victim of its success, while Vietnam feeds off its own. With large players like Intel and Jabil moving into Vietnam, many smaller suppliers will follow.

What about infrastructure?

Of course, global manufacturers share the same concerns about Vietnam's infrastructure as they do about China's. Vietnamese commerce officials appear to have learned some lessons from China and are investing heavily in ports, power plants, and telecom systems. There are multibillion-dollar energy projects in both southern and northern provinces.

Technology will likely play a big role in solving what might be called the high cost of sourcing in low-cost countries. For instance, recognizing that fast, efficient customs processing is very attractive to exporters, the Vietnam customs bureau is working with American companies—including FedEx and Unisys Corp.—on an e-manifest project to streamline clearance at major seaports and airports.

The system allows Customs agents to screen and review cargo manifests in advance of shipment arrival. E-manifest also improves risk management and profiling. It appears that Vietnam believes stronger supply chain security, achieved through government-industry collaboration, could provide a competitive edge against China.

New Buhler Group News bypasses mention of Liquidmetal

2008-01-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

The dates of the latest two news releases from Buhler Group encompass the date of the unilateral news release made by Liquidmetal concerning Liquidmetal's "strategic partnership". Most partnerships take two hands to make the shake. It begs the question of how serious is this relationship and of what import is the announcement written by John Kang last month, when it is not endorsed by Buhler. The Sage thinks it is wise to secure from both parties to a partnership an agreement to make joint press releases from the highest corporate levels, and not just a subsidiary. You see, the whole issue now at stake with Liquidmetal is credibility at a time when credibility in financial markets has been devastated across all investment strata.

http://www.buhlergroup.com/18724EN.asp?grp=60&org=70&lang=EN&nav=70_95_05

Liquidmetal Hits Second All Time Low in Company's History

2008-01-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Liquidmetal Hits Second All Time Low in Company's History

The first was $0.55 per share in May of 2004.

The second was today, Dec 8, 2007 at $0.63 share, two years after the Dec 2005 low of $0.64

Once a $22.75 per share stock at its height from the pumped IPO of $15.50,

This stock is now valued today at 1/36th of its opening week high in 2002.

The all time low of $0.55 in May of 2004 is certain to be achieved for the second time in the company's history.

Exec VP Buys Shares of JBL

2008-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Jabil Circuit EVP Buys Shares

December 31, 2007 2:19 PM ET

Article tools

Stocks mentioned in this article: Jabil Circuit Inc (JBL) Stock Quote, Chart, News, Add to Watchlist

All Associated Press news

NEW YORK (AP) - The executive vice president and consumer division chief executive of Jabil Circuit Inc., an electronics manufacturing service provider, bought 19,730 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday.

In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, John P. Lovato reported he bought the shares for $15.15 to $15.17 apiece.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

Jabil is based in St. Petersburg, Fla.

JBL Refinancing Delay behind LQMT 4! Delay in Partnership

2008-01-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Good News: LQMT-JBL Joint Venture Signing Imminent

Dateline: 27-Dec-2007

On December 20, 2007, Jabil Circuit, Inc. (the "Company") amended (the "Amendment") its existing bridge credit facility that it entered into as of December 21, 2006 (the "Bridge Facility"). As a result of the Amendment, (1) the termination date of the Bridge Facility was extended from December 20, 2007 to June 17, 2008, (2) the Bridge Facility was converted to a $200,000,000 revolving credit facility that is available only if the Company has fully drawn on the revolving credit portion of the Company's existing amended and restated five year unsecured credit facility dated as of July 19, 2007 (the "Credit Facility") and (3) as described below in the third paragraph, certain other portions of the Bridge Facility were also amended (the Bridge Facility, as so amended, shall be referred to herein as the "Amended Bridge Facility"). Also on December 20, 2007, the Company drew $400,000,000 on the revolving credit portion of the Credit Facility in order to pay down the full $400,000,000 outstanding under the term loan portion of the Bridge Facility.

Immediately following consummation of the transactions described above, the Company's debt obligations included no amounts outstanding under the Amended Bridge Facility, $545,000,000 outstanding under the revolving credit portion of the Credit Facility and $400,000,000 outstanding under the term loan portion of the Credit Facility (which was previously borrowed by the Company). Based on these amounts outstanding, the Company currently has $255,000,000 available under the revolving credit portion of the Credit Facility (which amount could be increased by up to $200,000,000 if agreed to by the lenders under the Credit Facility), and $200,000,000 available under the Amended Bridge Facility (which is only available to be drawn upon once the revolving credit portion of the Credit Facility is fully drawn).

The Amendment specifies that the proceeds of the revolving credit advances under the Amended Bridge Facility shall be used for general corporate purposes of the Company and its subsidiaries. Pursuant to the Amendment, interest and fees on advances under the Amended Bridge Facility continue to be based on the Company's unsecured long-term indebtedness rating as determined by Standard & Poor's Rating Service and Moody's Investor Service. The interest rate has been increased, such that interest is charged at either a rate equal to 0.300% to 1.500% above the base rate or a rate equal to 1.300% to 2.500% above the Eurocurrency rate, where the base rate represents the greater of Citibank, N.A.'s prime rate or 0.50% plus the federal funds rate, and the Eurocurrency rate represents the applicable London Interbank Offered Rate, each as more fully defined in the Bridge Facility. The applicable interest rate, whether based on the base rate or the Eurocurrency rate, will be increased by 0.25% on and after March 20, 2008. Fees include extension fees payable on March 20, 2008 and unused commitment fees based on the amount of the lenders' commitments minus the principal amounts of any outstanding advances made by the lenders. Based on the Company's current unsecured long-term indebtedness rating as determined by Standard & Poor's Rating Service and Moody's Investor Service, the current rate of interest (excluding the unused commitment fees and other fees) on a Eurocurrency rate draw would be 0.500% above the base rate or 1.500% above the Eurocurrency rate, as defined above.

Citicorp North America, Inc. is the agent under the Amendment and the Bridge Facility, and one of its affiliates is the agent under the Credit Facility. Some or all of the lenders party to the Amendment and the Bridge Facility, and certain of their affiliates, have various other relationships with the Company and its subsidiaries involving the provision of financial services, including cash management, loans, letter of credit and bank guarantee facilities, investment banking and trust services. In addition, the Company and some of its subsidiaries have entered into foreign exchange contracts and other derivative arrangements with certain of the lenders and their affiliates.

The foregoing description of the Amendment is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete terms and conditions of: (i) the Amendment (a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.34 to this Current Report on Form 8-K), (ii) the Bridge Facility (a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.26 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for its 2006 fiscal year) and (iii) the Credit Facility (a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.33 to Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for its 2007 fiscal year).

Liquidmetal Hits Third All Time Low in Company's History

2008-01-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

The first was $0.55 per share in May of 2004.

The second was $0.64 share in Dec of 2005.

Now, $0.65 per share the first trading day of 2008.

Once a $22.75 per share stock at its height from the pumped IPO of $15.50,

This stock is now valued today at its low, 1/35th of its opening high in 2002.

Buhler Customer Base Opens the Door for Liquidmetal to enter similar markets

2007-12-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

The range of equipment offered by Bühler Druckguss AG comprises cold-chamber die casting machines of all sizes – from small “all-purpose” machines with 2600 kN locking force for castings weighing up to four kilograms to “jumbo” units with 40,000 kN locking force for big chunks with a weight as high as sixty kilograms. The customers of Bühler Druckguss AG are predominantly active in the automotive industry. Ninety percent of Buhler's customers are automotive engineering companies or vendors to the auto industry. Only about ten percent of their customers come from other industries. These include manufacturers of laptop casings who are increasingly manufacturing die cast components of magnesium, to which the die casting process is ideally suited. And as the quality of die cast components increases, the first aluminum castings are now also being produced for aircraft applications.

Standardized control system
Despite all their differences in size, Buhler die casting machines do have one thing in common: their control system design. “The quality of a die cast component is determined by numerous different parameters,” explains Achim Klotz. “Our sophisticated sensor system and the appropriate control software allow all our installations to be controlled in real time.” The same control system design is used for all types included in the Buhler range of die casting equipment. This means that an operator trained on one machine will have no trouble operating all the others.

System provider
Though Buhler customers are still ordering stand-alone die casting machines, the trend is increasingly toward purchasing complete systems. Buhler supplies not only of individual machines, but complete die casting cells, including all the necessary peripheral functions such as molten metal feed, die spraying, and parts extraction. Ultimately, Buhler customers want turnkey installations which they can utilize productively without delay.” The Buhler Die Casting specialists master all the intricacies of the art of die casting and are constantly fine-tuning the overall process to increase productivity and reduce unit costs.

Liquidmetal, because of its unique attributes (Strength to weight ratio, Young's modulus, corrosion resistance, etc.) has an excellent opportunity to displace many of the magnesium and aluminum and titanium applications.

Outlook for Technology Stocks

2007-12-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

For many investment managers, sector positioning is a key driver of performance. During the long bull market of the 1990s, technology was the place to be, as investors were willing to overlook the sector's ever-richer valuation and focus instead on the promise of the Internet. That gave way to a more sober view, leading to the Internet bust and an extended period of sector underperformance.

Tech's Comeback

Yes, tech is back, but this time it's leading the market higher because of its rising profits and solid fundamentals. Year-to-date through Nov. 30, the Goldman Sachs Composite Technology Index was up 15.51%, as compared to 6.23% for the S&P 500 Index.

While tech moves to the fore, the subprime loan mess has punished financial companies, a group that had been among the market's leaders throughout this decade. Year-to-date through Nov. 30, the Lipper Financial Services Funds Index lost money, with a return of -10.86%.

This pro-tech, anti-financials market has been a boon to investors in the Nasdaq-100 Index, which is made up of 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial stocks listed on the exchange based on market capitalization. With close to 60% of its market cap in technology, the Index has gained 19.43% this year, but is still trading at less than half its all time high of roughly 4587, which it reached in Mar. 2000.

Why Tech is No. 1 Indicator to Index Performance

In addition to the big U.S. tech names such as Microsoft, Apple and Google, the Nasdaq-100 has exposure to overseas companies (Canada's Research in Motion, India’s Infosys and Ireland’s Ryanair) and a number of big retailers (Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco and Whole Foods). The Index's ability to stretch its run of outperformance into 2008 depends on whether technology can keep outperforming and, to a lesser extent, the financials keep lagging.

So far, technology issues have escaped the worst of market's subprime-related declines, but in a recent earnings report, Cisco Chairman John Chambers surprised investors by saying his firm's falling sales to financial companies could have an impact on the bottom line. Even though Cisco’s earnings were solid, his statement caused the market to question the sector’s vulnerability to an overall economic slowdown and caused a sharp selloff in the big tech names.

But, according to Wellington Management Company’s Scott Simpson, fundamentals in many tech sub-sectors remains quite positive. "While U.S. enterprise spending is soft, worldwide enterprise spending remains strong," he says. "IT spending in the Asia-Pacific region is growing at around 9% a year and China is already the third-largest purchaser of technology products."

On the consumer side, Simpson says demand for feature-rich phones, including music phones and smart phones, as well as the continued transition to 3G wireless technology, remains strong and should drive revenue higher for select handset and component manufacturers.

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies and Buhler Die Casting, a Leading Global Manufacturer of Die Casting Equipment, Form Strategic Relationship

2007-12-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2007--

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) today announced the signing of a manufacturing agreement with Bühler Druckguss AG, through its wholly owned subsidiary BuhlerPrince, Inc., Holland, Michigan to manufacture the next generation of die casting equipment for Liquidmetal alloys. The long awaited advancement to the next generation of manufacturing technology expands the applications and feasibility of deploying the Company's Liquidmetal alloys to an even broader range of industries and products. The new machine, which is the result of collaboration by both companies, is now completed and is available for immediate deployment.

Buhler, headquartered in Uzwil, Switzerland, is a global leader in the supply of process engineering solutions. Buhler is present in over 140 countries and employs some 6,600 people. Buhler Die Casting, a division of the Buhler Group, is a leading manufacturer of cold-chamber die casting machines in Europe, North America, and large parts of Asia, renowned in the marketplace for its cutting-edge systems for real-time control of die casting machines. Under the terms of the agreement, Buhler Die Casting will develop, manufacture and supply die casting equipment to the Company and licensees of the Liquidmetal technology to manufacture products made of Liquidmetal alloys on a global basis.

John Kang, Chairman of Liquidmetal Technologies, stated, "By partnering with Buhler Die Casting, we have engaged the most experienced experts in die casting technology to advance the manufacturing capabilities of today's most revolutionary materials technology in Liquidmetal alloys. By equipping our Company and our licensees with these next generation machines, our Liquidmetal technology reaches a new level of manufacturing and processing capabilities with lower costs and higher quality."

Mark Los, President and CEO of BuhlerPrince, added, "Liquidmetal alloys present an exciting technology with growing market opportunities across a broad range of industries and applications. Buhler is pleased to bring our extensive, worldwide experience in die casting equipment into our collaboration with Liquidmetal Technologies."

Sage Analysis:

One prototype has been manufactured. It is a modification of the basic BuhlerPrince 200 ton cold-shot injection die casting machine. Upon receipt of order, a quantity of 12 to 15 machines may be produced simultaneously. From date of order, manufacturing and testing in Holland, MI and delivery to end-user, installation, set-up of test mold and testing at end-user facility takes a cycle of about 120 days.

Deployment of machines to both Korea and at least one licensee are expected during 1st quarter of 2008.

One fully trained operator skilled in die-casting can operate two fully automated 200 ton Buhler die casting machines, a great improvement over the manual machines currently operated in Korea and China. The cycle time has been decreased from 1 minute to about 20 to 30 seconds. The melt composition has been improved to virtually eliminate Berrylium, increase the quantity of aluminum and make the most competitive batch of Liquidmetal alloy made for commercial sales. All three of these factors have greatly increased the yield, the cost-competitiveness and the quality consistency of Liquidmetal alloyed products.

An earlier post eminating from the shareholders meeting details the economics.

While normal details (See the Japan Steel Works agreement with Buhler) of sales and service, maintenance and parts are not even generally covered in this news release, they are, of course, essential components of such an agreement.

Perhaps they will be spelled out more in detail by Bühler Druckguss AG, on their web-site:

http://www.buhlergroup.com/news/36509EN.asp?grp=60&org=70_80_10_05&lang=EN&nav=80_10

which promotes the buyers of Buhler machines.

Time magazine does it again; Awards Apple iPhone as the top gadget

2007-12-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

The question yet unanswered is: What part of the Apple Iphone is Liquidmetal making?

Whatever the answer, the number of these parts is in the millions, which is great for the revenue flow of Liquidmetal, as these parts are being made in Korea.

More...

If Samsungs double-sided LCD doesn't merit a Liquidmetal Frame

2007-12-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Then the question remains: What metal does?

They already tout the "world's slimmest" LCD panel for mobile phones, now Samsung is announcing the "world's first" truly double-sided LCD. Samsung's new double-sided LCD can display two entirely different sets of information simultaneously on the front and back of the same screen whereas conventional double-sided LCDs can only show a reverse image of the same data. The magic results from Samsung's new double-gate, thin-film transistor (TFT)

architecture. The LCD has two gates -- not one -- which operate each pixel for separate control of the liquid crystal on the transmissive and reflective sides. The 2.22-inch display is 2.6-mm thick and features a QVGA (240x320) resolution, support for 265k colors, and a 250-nit brightness on the transmissive primary screen which drops down to a weak sauce, 100-nit on the secondary reflective screen. Still, thin is in and the new panel can shave a full millimeter off today's dual-panel devices. Hitting the streets in the form of consumable product sometime before July. Check the mystery, prototype handset after the break.

Jabil Circuit climbs after Baird upgrade to OUTPERFORM

2007-12-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Jabil Circuit climbs after Baird upgrade

NEW YORK, Dec 08, 2007 (AP via COMTEX) --

Company: Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL)

Shares of Jabil Circuit Inc. rose Friday after a Baird analyst upgraded the electronics manufacturing service provider, citing stability in most of the company's end markets and expected margin improvement.

Analyst Reik Read, who also said the stock had an attractive valuation, upgraded Jabil to "Outperform" from "Neutral."

The analyst said that excluding the consumer and housing-related industrial sectors, Jabil's end markets are "relatively stable."

"Jabil customers in the networking and storage segments generally reported in-line third-quarter results, with international growth offsetting weakness in the U.S. enterprise markets," the analyst wrote.

Read added that while the company's automotive segment has been weak recently, he thinks the industry is "near a trough and should return to low single-digit growth in 2008."

In addition, the company's restructuring efforts, along with improved growth, "will lead to margin increases over the medium term," Read wrote.

Jabil, which is restructuring its business to move production from Western Europe to cheaper locations around the world, "is likely to incur only minimal duplication costs" during this transition, he added.

Shares of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based company rose 50 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $17.74 in midday trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $16.17 to $29.11.

MMMM

News Provided by COMTEX

Company: Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL)

Fitch: Stable Operating Trends Mitigate US Tech Concerns in 2008

2007-12-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Fitch: Stable Operating Trends Mitigate US Tech Concerns in 2008

NEW YORK, Dec 06, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Fitch believes 2008 credit and operating trends will remain stable for most U.S. information technology (IT) sectors, except for electronic manufacturing services (EMS), which has a negative outlook. Total industry debt is expected to increase in 2008 exceeding a 10-year high again, surpassing $190 billion. The technology industry overall is expected to continue to achieve growth in excess of U.S. gross domestic product for 2008, with many companies benefiting from strong international growth amplified by the weak U.S. dollar. Fitch has a cautious bias to this view (particularly for less geographically diverse companies) as U.S. growth could be constrained by the financial services vertical, which is the worldwide leader in terms of IT spending. Fitch estimates that any significant decline in IT spending by financial services companies could reduce the U.S. growth rates by more than 100 basis points, with the hardware sector being most affected.

2008 CREDIT OUTLOOK:

Technology companies' balance sheets are strong and industry financial flexibility remains healthy. Cash positions are near $250 billion, essentially flat since year-end 2004, and free cash flow has increased the last few years with expectations that it will be flat in 2008 with pressured profitability offsetting top-line growth. Credit concerns for the industry center on potential debt issuance, primarily for acquisitions and increased share buybacks due to difficulties accessing offshore cash in a tax-efficient manner, weakening credit protection measures mostly from higher industry debt levels, and, although declining, event risk of companies considering alternative capital structures (mostly new issuers). In 2008 Fitch believes the maturing technology industry will continue to experience strong acquisition activity from strategic buyers, particularly for the software and IT Services sectors, and potentially, though less likely, the EMS sector. Event risk around leveraged buyout activity has subsided for the intermediate term.

DEBT LEVELS INCREASING:

Total industry debt is expected to increase again in 2008, surpassing $190 billion and exceeding the 10-year high set in 2007. Fitch believes a majority of 2008 technology debt issuance will be driven by three main factors: 1) many technology companies have exhausted their U.S.-based excess cash balances for share repurchases or acquisitions and are examining issuing debt in the U.S. to support share repurchases and other activities, as overseas cash levels continue to increase, 2) debt-financed acquisitions, and 3) new issuers who have historically had zero debt and are continuously examining their capital structures. Debt refinancings will also drive debt issuance, as the industry has approximately $20 billion of debt maturities in 2008. Fitch believes excess cash and free cash flow will continue to be used aggressively for stock buybacks, which are on pace to increase more than 10% in 2007 to approximately $90 billion.

LIQUIDITY REMAINS STRONG:

Liquidity for the U.S. technology sector is generally very solid due to high cash balances and strong free cash flow, despite the lack of significant U.S.-based cash for some companies. Several companies accessed the capital markets during the favorable liquidity environment to extend revolver expirations and refinance maturing bonds. The few companies with weak operating liquidity are generally in that position due to exposure to the capital-intensive semiconductor industry or because of self-inflicted financial policy decisions that have resulted in a significant portion of cash flows being dedicated to interest expense (e.g., First Data Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Spansion Inc.). However, Fitch believes these challenged companies do not have any material maturities coming due until after 2010, minimizing near-term liquidity issues.

RATINGS MOMENTUM:

Fitch believes the majority of rating actions for the U.S. technology sector in 2008 will occur in the IT Services and EMS sectors. The credit outlook for IT Services is generally stable, as Fitch's coverage currently includes companies with positive and negative Outlooks, all of which Fitch believes will be resolved in 2008. Increased share buybacks, potentially debt-financed acquisitions, and event risk of altered capital structures are all credit concerns for 2008. Fitch continues to focus primarily on the quality and sustainability of free cash flow and investment requirements for contract signings. EMS is the one and only sector where Fitch has a negative outlook for 2008 due to continued operational challenges and increasing competitive threats. These companies are the most likely to experience weakened operating and credit profiles, potentially leading to negative rating actions. Opportunities for meaningful debt reduction appear unlikely, although EMS companies have been able to generate free cash flow from working capital in a declining revenue environment.

2008 MARKET OUTLOOK:

The technology industry's revenue base is clearly correlated to general economic conditions, although some sectors have a stronger ability to withstand a downturn than others. For example, most IT services - with the exception of the consulting and systems integration business - and software companies receive a significant amount of relatively predictable recurring revenue and free cash flow from long-term contracts and/or maintenance streams, resulting in a stronger capability to withstand an economic downturn. Sectors such as EMS and IT distributors would clearly be affected by an economic downturn from a profitability standpoint, but this decline has historically been offset by working capital improvements.

Market indications and industry trends suggest the worldwide IT spending environment will remain stable in 2008 with mid- to low-single-digit growth expected. Growth will likely be led by the approximately $800 billion IT services and software sectors with hardware being most challenged to achieve growth due to pricing pressures as unit demand remains healthy. While worldwide growth is stable, Fitch believes declining macroeconomic trends in the U.S. (Fitch forecasts 1.7% expansion in 2008) could pressure the sector and participants that lack geographic revenue diversity. The combination of relatively high energy costs and a pressured housing market may potentially lower consumer discretionary spending on technology products. The small and medium business (SMB) market remains a source of growth and strong focus of the IT industry.

SECTOR OUTLOOKS:

IT Services (Stable Outlook)-

The 2008 operating and credit outlooks for the IT services industry are stable, despite company-specific issues influencing the credit outlooks for a few companies. Fitch believes acquisition activity by strategic buyers in the IT services industry will accelerate in 2008 due to pent-up demand, potentially replacing share repurchases as the primary use of cash. As the vast majority of companies within Fitch's rating coverage have dramatically scaled their offshore delivery resources, Fitch believes future acquisitions will primarily be designed to diversify service line mix or add capabilities in targeted vertical markets.

The stable operating outlook is driven by expectations of total IT services market growth in the mid-single digits supported by a healthy pipeline of transactions particularly from the government sector. However, Fitch remains cautious about growth, due to increasing economic uncertainty in the U.S. which could dampen demand for consulting services. Also, commercial outsourcing signings will continue to be pressured by the increasing competitiveness and scope of services offered by India-based vendors, escalating commercial demand for lower-priced offshore services, and greater use of multi-sourcing. Although, the long-term nature of outsourcing and infrastructure services contracts result in a recurring revenue base and consistent cash-generation even in a lower growth environment.

Hardware (Stable Outlook)-

The 2008 credit and operating outlooks for the hardware sector are generally stable with a potentially negative bias for less diversified hardware manufacturers, with respect to product portfolio, industry concentration and/or geographic perspective, due to uncertainty associated with the economic environment, particularly in the U.S. Fitch expects hardware revenue growth in the low-single-digit range for 2008. Commercial hardware spending in the U.S. could also be constrained by the financial services vertical, which is the worldwide leader in terms of IT spending. The turmoil in the financial services sector poses downside risk to the server market in 2008, since it accounted for nearly 25% of worldwide server revenue in 2006, according to Gartner. The three server vendors with the greatest exposure to the financial services vertical includes IBM (45% share of financial services total server revenue in 2006), Hewlett-Packard (27%) and Sun Microsystems (9%). Acquisition activity is expected to continue as companies seek to diversify into higher-margin, recurring revenue offerings such as software and IT services.

Fitch believes worldwide personal computer (PC) unit demand will moderate slightly from 2007, but remain solid, growing at approximately 10% in 2008 versus expected growth of approximately 12% in 2007. Fitch expects PC demand in 2008 to be driven by the continued shift to notebooks from desktops and solid demand from consumers (especially internationally) and emerging markets. Fitch believes the PC market is increasingly reliant on emerging markets for growth, as U.S. demand, which accounts for approximately 27% of worldwide unit sales, will likely moderate in 2008. Worldwide server unit growth could slow in 2008 due to enterprises' implementation of virtualization and multi-core processors in the data center. Fitch expects total worldwide revenues from commercial disk storage systems to increase in the mid-single-digit range for 2008 and revenues from consumer-oriented storage products to grow in excess of the commercial growth rate due to expansion of consumers' digital rich media portfolios.

Semiconductors (Stable Outlook)-

Fitch's 2008 outlook for the semiconductor industry is stable, mostly driven by the aforementioned expectation of solid unit growth for PCs and mobile handsets. As the semiconductor industry continues to expand its total available market while pursuing a lower-capital-intensive profile, Fitch believes the industry will experience less volatility and relatively more predictable free cash flow. Similar to the overall technology industry, Fitch expects several semiconductor companies will continue to evaluate their mostly equity-dominated capital structures as potential opportunities to alter these balance sheet profiles, via debt-financed acquisition activity and/or potential stock buyback actions. From a business and operating profile standpoint, semiconductor companies continue to be subject to the highest technology risk within the technology industry.

Fitch believes the global semiconductor industry will grow in the low-single-digit range in 2008, following modest revenue growth for 2007. Embedded in Fitch's expectations are that unit demand will remain solid, semiconductor content within an ever widening range of applications will continue expanding, and increasing consumer spending in developing economies will partially offset slower spending anticipated in the U.S. and Western Europe. However, offsetting Fitch's expectations for solid unit demand are significant pricing pressures, excess manufacturing capacity for the memory segments, which aggressively added capacity in 2007 to meet strong NAND demand, and slightly elevated inventory levels (albeit still within manageable ranges), which will weigh on otherwise solid growth drivers.

For further analysis of Fitch's 2008 Global semiconductor outlook, see the Fitch press release titled 'Fitch: Consumer Electronics Key to Stable 2008 Semiconductor Outlook,' available on the Fitch web site at www.fitchratings.com.

IT Distributors (Stable Outlook)-

Fitch expects the credit profiles of the IT distributors to remain fairly stable in 2008 with the potential for modest debt issuance offset by continued growth in EBITDA and free cash flow. Lower growth expectations for semiconductors and IT equipment could test the distributors' ability to manage cyclical downturns particularly in regard to the semiconductor exposure at Arrow and Avnet. Fitch believes that since the last industry downturn in 2002, the distributors' increased diversification, geographically and by end-market, as well as improved inventory management systems, should reduce the variability in results going forward. With no meaningful industry maturities in 2008, Fitch expects debt issuance to be driven by further acquisition activity and potentially some shareholder-friendly actions, which Fitch expects would become increasingly likely if the stocks of the distributors are affected negatively by broader market concerns. Acquisitions will likely continue to be a priority, continuing a trend of consolidating market share and international expansion.

Fitch expects Anixter (rated 'BB+', with a Stable Outlook) to continue to demonstrate strong results although negative macroeconomic trends could limit organic growth rates in 2008. However, slower growth should drive higher free cash flow which would help mitigate any need for additional borrowings due to acquisitions or shareholder-friendly actions. Tech Data (rated 'BB+', with a Stable Outlook) has achieved improved operating results in recent quarters including strong free cash flow trends which, if continued into 2008, could lead to positive rating actions.

EMS (Negative Outlook)-

Fitch's negative credit outlook on the EMS industry largely reflects continued operational challenges in addition to continued event risk, arising from additional consolidation or acquisitions to bolster vertical integration capabilities. End-market demand trends remain positive, despite a pressured economy, as OEMs outsource additional manufacturing particularly in non-traditional industries such as defense, automobile components and medical instruments. However, Fitch expects profitability in the EMS market to remain challenged by continuing competitive pressures from both Asian ODMs (original design manufacturers) entering traditional EMS markets and EMS vendors forgoing typical margins to fill excess manufacturing capacity. Although 2008 could prove to be a turning point for the industry if Flextronics' acquisition of Solectron reduces a significant part of the overhang from excess manufacturing capacity leading to a more stable pricing environment. Debt issuance in 2007 was driven primarily by acquisition activity, which will likely continue to be the primary driver in 2008.

Flextronics' (rated 'BB+', with a Negative Outlook) ratings could be stabilized if it succeeds in integrating Solectron's operations, improves profitability and uses the expected resulting free cash flow to reduce the incremental $2 billion in debt which partially financed the acquisition.

In a release dated Dec 5, Flextronics said, "We are seeing no slowdown in mobile phones or consumer electronics ... things you think might be affected by a recession," McNamara said, when asked for his thoughts on the U.S. economy.

Celestica (rated 'B+', with a Negative Outlook) and

Sanmina (rated 'B+', with a Negative Outlook)

are both expected to face continued operational challenges but could utilize positive free cash flow, particularly resulting from reduced working capital requirements, to reduce debt which could lead to a stabilization of the ratings.

Communications Equipment (Stable Outlook)-

Fitch believes credit profiles for the global communications equipment providers will be stable in 2008 with the expectation that wireless spending will essentially be flat to slightly up due to subscriber growth and technology upgrades, while wireline spending will be flat. Fitch's overall market view on the medium-term outlook for the communications equipment sector is cautiously stable with relatively flat to slight growth in expenditure expected in developed markets, while emerging territories such as Latin America, China and India will continue to see sizeable investment in infrastructure over the next 2-3 years. Near-term visibility has weakened however, with concerns over carrier consolidation in developed markets and geopolitical uncertainty in some emerging markets affecting the outlook for investment in 2008.

General trends across both the developed and emerging markets include convergence and multi-media, with these developments offering the prospect of continued investment in equipment spend. However, uncertainties remain, including the potential for more efficient use of existing spectrum, which could reduce the need for capacity- and/or expansion-related investment. While Fitch believes communications investment is driven primarily by strategic considerations, current economic uncertainties and credit conditions could slow investment in 2008. Fitch does not, however, draw parallels with the spending crisis of 2001, while investment postponements should lead to pent-up demand in 2009.

Financial Services: (Stable Outlook)-

Fitch's outlook on the payment processing industry is stable, balanced by continued modest organic growth with increased debt issuance, primarily related to merger and acquisition activity. Fitch expects modest revenue growth in the mid to high-single digits over the next several years, driven by general economic growth and a continued transition toward a higher mix of electronic payment transactions. Given the fragmented market share across much of the payment processing sector, Fitch expects continued acquisition activity. In addition, share repurchase programs financed primarily through the use of free cash flow remain a significant part of most companies' capital allocation strategy reflecting the high free cash flow nature of the financial model for most of the companies in this sector.

The Fitch full special report 'Segmenting Technology Risk: Strong Liquidity, Stable Operating Trends Mitigate U.S. Tech Concerns in 2008,' will be published in early January 2008.

A list of Fitch-rated issuers and their current Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) in the U.S. technology sector follows:

IT Services/Software:

--Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. ('BB'; Outlook Stable);

--CA Inc. ('BB+'; Outlook Negative);

--Computer Sciences Corp. ('A-'; Outlook Stable);

--Convergys Corp. ('BBB'; Outlook Stable);

--Electronic Data Systems Corp. ('BBB-'; Outlook Positive);

--International Business Machines Corp. ('A+'; Outlook Stable);

--Oracle Corp. ('A'; Outlook Stable);

--SunGard Data Systems Inc. ('B'; Outlook Stable);

--Unisys Corp. ('BB-'; Outlook Negative).

Hardware:

--Dell Inc. ('A'; Outlook Stable);

--Hewlett-Packard Company ('A+'; Outlook Stable);

--Eastman Kodak Company ('B'; Outlook Negative);

--Seagate Technology HDD Holdings ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable);

--Sun Microsystems, Inc. ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable);

--Xerox Corporation ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable).

Semiconductors:

--Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ('B'; Outlook Negative);

--Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. ('B+'; Outlook Stable);

--International Rectifier Corp. ('BB'; Rating Watch Negative);

--Spansion Inc. ('B-'; Outlook Negative);

--Texas Instruments Incorporated ('A+'; Outlook Stable).

IT Distributors:

--Anixter Inc. ('BB+'; Outlook Stable);

--Anixter International Inc. ('BB+'; Outlook Stable);

--Arrow Electronics, Inc. ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable);

--Avnet, Inc. ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable);

--Ingram Micro Inc. ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable);

--TechData Corporation ('BB+'; Outlook Stable).

Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS):

--Celestica Inc. ('B+'; Outlook Negative);

--Flextronics International Ltd. ('BB+'; Outlook Negative [Sage: except for mobile phones and consumer electronics]);

--Jabil Circuit, Inc. ('BB+'; Outlook Stable);

--Sanmina-SCI Corp. ('B+'; Outlook Negative).

Electronics/Communications Equipment:

--Agilent Technologies Inc. ('BBB-'; Outlook Stable)

--Corning Incorporated ('BBB+'; Outlook Stable);

--Motorola, Inc. ('BBB+'; Outlook Negative);

--Nokia Corporation ('A+'; Rating Watch Negative);

--Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ('BBB+'; Outlook Stable);

--Tyco Electronics Ltd. ('BBB'; Outlook Stable).

Financial Services/Other:

--Fidelity National Information Services ('BB'; Outlook Stable);

--Fidelity Sedgwick Holdings, Inc. ('B'; Outlook Stable);

--First Data Corp. ('B+'; Outlook Stable);

--H&R Block Inc. ('BBB+'; Rating Watch Negative)

--Moneygram International Inc. ('BBB-'; Rating Watch Negative);

--The Western Union Company ('A-'; Outlook Stable).

2007-12-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Atakan Peker, Vice President of Technology Resigns To Teach at WSU, Spokane

2007-11-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

We congratulate one of the top researchers in the field of developing, processing and characterizing novel bulk metallic alloys and composites on the years of dedicated service he has given to Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.
The question for shareholders is why the Company did not announce this at the shareholders meeting on November 15th and describe what process is ongoing to seek a successor. This is a material event in the loss of the lead key person in Liquidmetal Technologies R & D department.

Atakan Peker, Ph.D., joined the Applied Sciences Laboratory of Washington State University, Spokane, Washington in August as senior scientist and director of advanced materials. His research focus is the development of novel alloys and composites for practical applications. The scope of his material research includes the study of mechanical and dynamic properties, chemical/corrosion properties, and net-shape forming of advanced materials. His work at ASL will be focused on the development, processing, and characterization of novel alloys and composites for client-specific applications.
Peker has received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. During his Ph.D. thesis, he worked on the development of bulk amorphous alloys and discovered Zr-Ti base Vitreloy series alloys, which are considered the most processable bulk amorphous alloys to date and are currently commercially produced for casings of consumer electronics. Bulk amorphous alloys, also known as bulk metallic glasses, are a new class of engineering alloys that have a broad scope of applications from industrial coatings to fine jewelry.
Prior to joining ASL, Peker served as the vice president of technology at Liquidmetal Technologies. He has 14 years of research and materials processing experience with over 30 patents issued or pending.

Source: Washington State University, Spokane, WA Applied Sciences Lab

http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/campusresources/aboutWSUSpokane/News_Events/News/Bulletins/2007/Nov14.asp

Good News for Liquidmetal Shareholders!!! Reg Sho Changes

2007-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

On October 15, 2007 Nasdaq made changes to the Reg Sho regulation on the reporting requirements of grandfathered naked shorts of Liquidmetal (and other stocks as well).
Within 35 business days of this date, all grandfathered naked short positions must be closed...
This essentially means that a whole bunch of short interest......at least 670,000 shares ....must be closed out prior to November 30 - December 3 (depending upon one questionable holiday).

So HOLD ON LONGS and LET THE SHORTS take it in the ear. Next week is going to see a flurry of activity as dealers who are short try to find shares to return....and GOOD LUCK. For 600,000 shares to cover in a week, we should be seeing a price per share greatly in excess of $1.20.

Short interest (reported) has increased by 671,800 shares.

The other interesting aspect of the regulation changes, If a security becomes a Threshold Security after October 15^th, all fails to deliver must be closed out within 13 consecutive settlement days.

Nasdaq Reg Sho Regulatory Alert

Elimination of "Short Exempt" Trade Dates

Again, Longs........HOLD YOUR SHARES and don't sell out below $1.50

ATK wins $15 million services contract with NASA

2007-11-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

[Editior's Note: Mention is made of this only because it relates to a partnership agreement Liquidmetal has with ATK for the potential manufacture of KEP for the Department of Defence.
There is no immediacy of change in our pending contract status, please note. This is written here only to keep the Liquidmetal investor aware of happenings with our partners, either with us, or with other activities, whichever may be the case]

Alliant Techsystems (ATK) announced that it has been awarded an initial three-year $15 million services contract by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Under the terms of the agreement, ATK will provide mechanical and thermal engineering support services to JPL for an initial three years, with two one-year options.

Through its acquisition of Swales Aerospace, ATK has supported JPL since 1997. The company has provided mechanical and thermal engineering services support to NASA JPL on programs such as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, the Urey Instrument, the Orion Program, and the Planck, Juno, and Aquarius missions. The ATK-led team also includes subcontractors ATA Engineering, Jackson & Tull, SGT Inc., and West Wind Engineering.

"We look forward to building on our long term relationship with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory team and are excited about our continued partnership with them on this important services contract," stated Mike Cerneck, Vice President and General Manager of the Space Division. "This is an important win for ATK and we are very proud of our team's accomplishment."

About ATK
ATK is an advanced weapon and space systems company with annual revenues in excess of $4.1 billion that employs more than 16,500 people in 21 states.

KEP Program: The original contracts with the Army were announced in the following news release:

Liquidmetal Technologies Awarded New $3.0 Million Contract to Develop Armor-Piercing Ammunition for Ground Attack Jets

Aug. 11, 2003
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.081103/232235239&directory=/google&header_file=header.htm&footer_file=

TAMPA, Fla.--Liquidmetal(R) Technologies (NASDAQ:LQMT)

Funding Provided Under $5.25 Million 2003 Defense Appropriations Allocation

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies (NASDAQ:LQMT) today announced that it has signed a new, $3.0 million research and development contract with the U.S. Army for continuing development of high-performance Liquidmetal(R) alloy composite Kinetic Energy Penetrator (KEP) rods for use in armor-piercing ammunition systems.

The 16-month contract will be directed to development of PGU-14B KEPs for the Air Force's tank-killing A-10 "Warthog" ground attack jet. Because the Liquidmetal-KEP technology would also be beneficial to the Air Force and Navy, the Army is managing the development efforts as a joint service program. The new contract follows a successful first-year, $2 million program dedicated to initial ballistic testing and the design of equipment and processes required to produce batch sizes of Liquidmetal alloy composite KEPS.

Liquidmetal Technologies has selected Alliant Techsystems (ATK) as a subcontractor to conduct full-scale systems integration and ballistic testing. ATK is the current prime contractor for the production of PGU-14Bs. The overall goal of the program is to develop higher-performance, environmentally safe KEPs as an alternative to depleted uranium rods currently used by the military.

Liquidmetal alloys possess a unique amorphous atomic structure that combines strength 2-3 times greater than titanium with the ability to be molded into precision parts, similar to plastics. Liquidmetal Technologies is the first company to produce amorphous alloys in commercially viable bulk form, and the alloys are considered a breakthrough in material science.

The Army contract is the second of two contracts awarded to Liquidmetal Technologies in recent weeks under a previously announced, $5.25 million 2003 Defense Appropriations allocation approved last fall for the continuing study of Liquidmetal alloys. On July 1, 2003 the Air Force awarded Liquidmetal Technologies an $811,000 corrosion study contract to document the anti-corrosive properties of various Liquidmetal alloy compositions in environments of military interest.

In addition, Liquidmetal Technologies is currently finalizing a Small Business Innovative Research contract with the U.S. Navy to design lightweight fragmentation bombs using Liquidmetal alloys as the primary casing. With this contract in place, Liquidmetal Technologies will be engaged in development programs will all branches of the military as well as the Department of Defense, under the auspices of the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Product development programs are also underway with several leading defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

The case for bulk metallic glass: Liquidmetal in a Nutshell

2007-11-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

The case for bulk metallic glass

Mark Telford

Available online 23 February 2004.

Abstract

The last ten years have seen the discovery of amorphous metal alloys that are glass forming at cooling rates as slow as 1°C s⁻¹ to 100°C s⁻¹ in the bulk via conventional metal processing such as casting, but with the ease of molding of polymers. They are twice as strong as steel, have greater wear and corrosion resistance, are tougher than ceramics, and yet have greater elasticity. Increased plasticity in amorphous/crystalline composites now promises new structural applications.

Article Outline

• Conventional metallic glass
• Bulk metallic glass scales up
• Commercial Zr-based BMG
• Composites for enhanced plasticity
• Investigating structural applications
• A variety of uses
• Cheaper, easier manufacturing
• References

When a conventional metal or alloy cools from the liquid melt, equilibrium is reached when it solidifies into the lowest energy state structure, i.e. a crystalline lattice. Practical metals take advantage of the highly unstable metallic liquid and crystallize just under the melting point in microseconds. But rather than forming a perfect single crystal, most metals are polycrystalline, with grains of varying shapes and sizes. Grain boundaries represent weak spots of less than optimal atomic packing, where fractures can form and corrosion starts. Misaligned planes of atoms, under sufficient stress and heat, slip past each other easily, allowing dislocations to move. As a result, metals have a much lower strength than their theoretical maximum and, since energy goes into moving atoms out of the way, deformation is plastic and permanent.

In contrast, a glass has such slow crystal nucleation and growth kinetics that the liquid can be undercooled far below its melting point before a glass transition is reached, ‘freezing’ as a vitreous solid without crystallizing. The atoms retain an amorphous distribution (i.e. random packing with no long-range order). However, glass is brittle.

Conventional metallic glass

At California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1960, Pol Duwez et al.[1] discovered that if a molten metal (specifically, the binary metallic alloy Au₈₀Si₂₀) is undercooled uniformly and rapidly enough, e.g. at 1 × 10⁶°C s⁻¹, the heterogeneous atoms do not have enough time or energy to rearrange for crystal nucleation. The liquid reaches the glass transition temperature, T_g, and solidifies as a metallic glass. It is less brittle than oxide glass and looks like a metal – opaque, gray, shiny, and smooth (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. A sample of Liquidmetal Technologies' Zr-based metallic glass.

In the tightly packed glassy structure, the displacement of atoms (e.g. to accommodate a dislocation) is obstructed. A metallic glass, therefore, absorbs less energy upon stress-induced deformation through damping and returns more by rebounding elastically to its initial shape. With no crystal defects, mechanical properties combine to produce a material with the following properties:

• Strength (twice that of stainless steel, but lighter);
• Hardness (for surface coatings);
• Toughness (more fracture resistant than ceramics); and
• Elasticity (high yield strength).

The absence of grain boundaries means that the material is resistant to corrosion and wear, as well as possessing soft-magnetic properties, specifically in the alloys of glass formers (B, Si, P) and ferrous magnetic transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni). High electrical resistivity leads to low eddy current losses. Easy magnetization and demagnetization allows lower losses in applications, operation at high temperatures with minimal flux density reduction, and annealing.

Critical casting thickness

Heat conduction is slow in these materials, however, so that the requisite cooling rate can only be achieved for a very small critical casting thickness. This precludes bulk molding and, therefore, structural applications.

High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying applies low-friction, high-hardness surface coatings to make materials such as Fe, Al, and Ti corrosion-, wear-, and heat-resistant in harsh applications such as marine equipment, drilling machinery, and pipes. Coatings get harder, slicker, and more wear-resistant with use. Surface hardness is 10-20% greater than electroplated chrome. Thermal expansion is similar to steel, giving high resistance to thermal and load cycling.

In the 1970s, AlliedSignal developed another means of forming metallic glass. Molten Fe–Ni–P–B is poured onto a spinning casting wheel to produce a continuous ribbon tens of microns thick. This process was commercialized as Metglas in the early 1980s for magnetic applications such as low-loss power distribution transformer cores. Alternatively, droplets are quick-frozen onto a cold surface by splat cooling. However, to enable bulk molding, the focus has been on slowing cooling rates to increase the critical casting thickness.

Glass-forming criteria

The key empirical criteria for slow crystallization kinetics and, therefore, a stabilized supercooled liquid state and high glass-forming ability, include:

• Multi-component alloys of three or more elements: increased complexity and size of the crystal unit cell reduces the energetic advantage of forming an ordered structure of longer-range periodicity than the atomic interactions;
• Atomic radius mismatch between elements, Δr/r, greater than 12% leads to a higher packing density and smaller free volume in the liquid state compared with metallic melts, and requires a greater volume increase for crystallization;
• Negative heat of mixing between the main elements increases the energy barrier at the liquid-solid interface and decreases atomic diffusivity (increasing the equilibrium melt viscosity to three orders of magnitude greater than binary alloys); this retards local atomic rearrangements and the crystal nucleation rate, extending the supercooled liquid temperature range;
• Using an alloy composition close to a deep eutectic forms a liquid stable at low temperatures.

Slower crystallization allows a decreased critical cooling rate and enables stable bulk metallic glass formation and fabrication by conventional casting techniques.

Bulk metallic glass scales up

In 1969, Chen and Turnbull[2] formed amorphous spheres of ternary Pd-M-Si (with M = Ag, Cu, or Au) at critical cooling rates of 100°C s⁻¹ to 1000°C s⁻¹, specifically Pd_77.5Cu₆Si_16.5 with a diameter of 0.5 mm. In some Pd-Cu-Si and Pd-Ag-Si alloys, the supercooled liquid range (between the crystallization and glass transition temperatures) was extended to 40 K, enabling the first detailed studies of crystallization in metallic glasses. In 1974, Chen obtained a critical casting thickness of 1 mm in Pd-T-P (T= Ni, Co, Fe)[3] and a slightly greater thickness with Au₅₅Pb_22.5Sb_22.5 in 1982[4]. In the early 1980s, Turnbull's group produced glassy ingots of Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ with a diameter of 5 mm using surface etching followed by heating and cooling cycles. By processing in a boron oxide flux, they increased critical casting thickness to 1 cm – the first bulk metallic glass (BMG)[5]. An overview of critical casting thickness and the date of discovery is shown in Fig. 2. Progress has been significant and is outlined below.

Fig. 2. The critical casting thickness versus the year in which alloys were discovered. Over 40 years, the critical casting thickness has increased by more than three orders of magnitude[6].

Since the 1980s, Akihisa Inoue, of Tohoku University's Institute for Materials Research, and William L. Johnson of Caltech have discovered strongly glass forming multi-component La-, Mg-, Zr-, Pd-, Fe-, Cu-, and Ti-based alloys with large undercooling and low critical cooling rates of 1°C s⁻¹ to 100°C s⁻¹, similar to oxide glasses. These properties allow an increase in time (from milliseconds to minutes) before crystallization, enabling a greater critical casting thickness (>1 cm) by conventional molding.

In 1988, Inoue discovered that La-Al-TM (TM = Ni, Cu) is highly glass-forming while investigating the mixing of rare-earth materials such as lanthanides with Al and ferrous metals. Using Cu molds, they cast glassy La₅₅Al₂₅Ni₂₀ up to 5 mm thick and, in 1991, glassy La₅₅Al₂₅Ni₁₀Cu₁₀ up to 9 mm thick[7]. Mg-TM-Y was also shown in 1991 to have high glass-forming ability in the form of Mg₆₅Cu₂₅Y₁₀[8]. An extended supercooled liquid region (to 127 K) [9] was achieved for Zr-Al-Ni-Cu, with a critical casting thickness of 15 mm [10] for Zr₆₅Al_7.5Ni₁₀Cu_17.5. Caltech's Johnson and Peker developed a pentary alloy based on Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be in 1992[11], Zr_41.2Ti_13.8Cu_12.5Ni_10.0Be_22.5, as part of a US Department of Energy and NASA funded project to develop new aerospace materials. With critical casting thickness of up to 10 cm possible in silica containers, the alloy became known as Vitreloy 1 (Vit1), the first commercial BMG. Variants include Vit2 (Zr_46.75Ti_8.25Cu_7.5Ni₁₀Be_27.5). More recently, Kündig at ETH Zürich has been investigating Zr–Ti–Cu–Ni–Al alloys[12], focusing on those similar to Vit105 (Zr_52.5Ti₅Cu_17.9Ni_14.6Al₁₀) – one of the best glass-forming alloys.

Under the auspices of a three-year European RTN Network on bulk metallic glasses[13], which concluded in April 2003, groups at the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science in Krakow, Universidad Complutense Madrid, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and the Universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, Ulm, and Turin collaborated on the development of Zr-, Mg-, Fe-, Al-, Pd-, Hf-, and Nd-based alloys. Research aimed at increasing the concentrations of light elements such as Ti, Al, and Mg in environmentally safe, Be-free Zr-based alloys.

Commercial Zr-based BMG

Vitreloy contains a large number of different sized atoms, which leads to a free volume of only 1% at the melting point and, therefore, high viscosity. In the solid, the difficulty with which atoms move past each other yields high corrosion and wear resistance.

Compared to crystalline steel and Ti alloys (Table 1 and Fig. 3), Zr-based glasses have similar densities but high Young's modulus (96 GPa) and elastic strain-to-failure limit (el = 2%). The glasses have high tensile yield strength (σy = 1.9 GPa), i.e. a high strength-to-weight ratio, making them a possible replacement for Al, but with a much greater resistance to permanent, plastic deformation (i.e. fracture toughness K_1c). Less absorption and greater rerelease of energy, i.e. low damping, means that even after high load and stress deformation the material springs back elastically to its original shape. This shape memory ability enables the use of the material in applications such as sporting equipment.

Fig. 3. Amorphous metallic alloys combine higher strength than crystalline metal alloys with the elasticity of polymers.

Table 1. Properties of Vitreloy compared to metal alloys.

Processing: near net-shape fabrication

Above T_g in the supercooled liquid regime, Zr-based metallic glass remains stable against crystallization and softens into a liquid orders of magnitude more viscous than molten metal. This behavior, which makes it malleable at 400°C compared with over 1000°C for steel, is more like a thermosetting polymer than a metal. This allows shaping and forming by thermoplastic processing as easily and cheaply as polymers and, hence, high-volume production with a critical casting thickness of up to 10 cm.

Unlike die-cast metals, low shrinkage during solidification allows molding of intricate, near net-shaped parts with microscale precision. The surface finish is smoother, shinier, and more consistent, eliminating most costly secondary finishing processes and allowing reuse of the mold.

Deformation, flow, and shear bands

Casting in bulk has enabled the assessment of fracture and fatigue properties. Compared to polycrystalline metals with similar properties, amorphous metals are weakened at high temperatures and suffer cyclic fatigue from repeated stress. Since BMGs have high elasticity and low plasticity, they exhibit little plastic deformation prior to catastrophic failure, which limits industrial and structural applications where reliability is critical (e.g. automotive and aerospace).

Particularly at high strain rates in tensile loading, amorphous metals are susceptible to plastic deformation associated with highly localized, inhomogeneous flow, which forms intense shear bands at stress points. Because of the lack of grain structure, as well as the tendency towards strain-induced work-softening rather than work-hardening, low overall plasticity leads to low resistance to shear band propagation. This susceptibility to cyclic fatigue leads to crack growth, fracture, and, ultimately, catastrophic failure. To obtain more tolerance to damage and enable structural use, mechanical properties need to be enhanced by controlling shear band formation and propagation.

Composites for enhanced plasticity

Obstructing shear band propagation can distribute plastic deformation and alleviate the inherent limitations of amorphous metallic glass. Increasing fracture toughness can be achieved by forming a composite alloy with a two-phase microstructure: an amorphous-phase BMG acts as a matrix for a ductile crystalline-phase reinforcement material. The reinforcement can be either extrinsic (metal or ceramic fibers or particles) or intrinsic (in situ precipitation of β-phase Ti dendrites from the melt during cooling, yielding partial crystallinity). The second-phase reinforcement acts as a ‘crack-stopper’ by adding impediments to shear band propagation[14]. The two-phase composite combines the high strength of an unreinforced, single-phase monolithic BMG with the advantages of crystallinity: increased ductility, fracture toughness, and plastic strain-to-failure [15].

Johnson has investigated a composite of Vit1 reinforced with carbon fiber[16] and Zr₅₇Nb₅Al₁₀Cu_15.4Ni_12.6 reinforced with a ductile metal wire/particulate such as W[17]. In 2000, Inoue produced nanocomposites with improved plasticity up to 2.5% by annealing glassy precursor alloys. In contrast, Johnson enhanced plasticity of BMGs without additional annealing steps by including in situ ductile phase dendrite dispersions[18]. They found that, upon cooling, Zr_56.2Ti_13.8Nb₅Cu₇Ni_5.5Be_12.5 precipitates a high-temperature, micron-sized ductile β-ZrTi (body-centered cubic) phase, which shifts the remainder of the composition closer to Vit1. Adding Nb stabilizes the bcc over the α-ZrTi (hexagonal close packed) phase. The overall (tensile and compressive) plastic strain is about 5%.

As part of the European RTN network, Kühn found that Zr_66.4Nb_6.4Cu_10.5Ni_8.7Al₈ forms dendritic bcc phase precipitates in situ during Cu mold casting. Upon annealing, the first exothermic transformation of the material is related to precipitation of an icosahedral phase from the glassy matrix[19].

In addition to Zr-based composites, others have been investigated. For example, He et al. modified a glassy Ti₅₀Cu₂₃Ni₂₀Sn₇ alloy by replacing 40% with Ti₃Ta or Ti₃Nb, where Ti and Ta (Nb) are completely miscible with each other, to obtain an in situ Ti-based composite consisting of ductile β-Ti(Ta, Sn) dendritic precipitates in a nanostructured matrix[20]. The material exhibits up to 14.5% compressive plastic strain, which makes structural application more likely.

Investigating structural applications

Composite or bulk metallic glasses that are lightweight and inexpensive (e.g. Al-based alloys to replace Ti) are being developed for structural applications by multi-institution US Department of Defense (DoD) programs, including:

• A team at the Center for Science and Engineering of Materials led by Caltech's Johnson, is investigating the processing, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of Zr_56.3Ti_13.8Cu_6.9Ni_5.6Nb_5.0Be_12.5 and other two-phase alloys. Johnson has pioneered the in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of shear band deformation[21]. By modeling the observed patterns (using finite element analysis of hard particles embedded in a matrix), he has established the temperature dependence of the transition from homogeneous flow at low strain rates near or above T_g to inhomogeneous, shear band mediated plastic deformation at lower temperatures and high strain rates.
• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring a three-year, $10 million program, Structural Amorphous Metals, to develop low-cost, environmentally benign manufacturing of corrosion-resistant, reduced-magnetic-mass hull materials; moderate temperature, lightweight Fe, Al, Ti, Mg, and refractory metal alloys for aircraft and rocket propulsion; and wear-resistant machinery components for vehicles with increased life-span, durability, performance, and reduced maintenance.

Subprograms focused on lightweight structural materials include:

• The Caltech Center for Structural Amorphous Metals, established in 2001, is developing refractory and lightweight Mg- and Al-based alloy glasses and composites. Case-Western Reserve, Northwestern, Oregon State, Stanford, Michigan, and Wisconsin Universities, along with Georgia Institute of Technology, are involved.
• Structural amorphous Al for aerospace applications (to replace Ti) is being investigated by the Universities of Virginia (materials discovery) and Connecticut (process development), Pratt & Whitney (materials characterization and design), and Boeing (applications). First-generation alloys based on refractory metals, lightweight amorphous alloys, and composite materials with an amorphous alloy matrix have a tensile strength 25% greater than commercial Al alloys.
• Work on advanced Al structural materials via metallic glass processing aims to produce components with isotropic properties and high structural efficiency for the US Air Force.

Other subprograms aim to exploit deformation and fracture at high strain in high-density composites:

• Atakan Peker of Liquidmetal Technologies is focusing on refractory amorphous metals and composites such as in situ W-reinforced composites for environmentally benign armor-piercing kinetic energy penetrators (KEPs). Properties include (i) localized adiabatic shear bands at high strain rates to improve perforation and (ii) high strength to survive launch.
• A project led by Texas A&M University is also developing high-density amorphous metal matrix composites for KEPs. Their approach is based on the consolidation of Zr-based amorphous metal and crystalline phase powder (or ZrC, Ta, and W) by warm equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) into a continuous matrix phase that is close to theoretical density and has high-strain-rate failure characteristics.

A variety of uses

Liquidmetal Technologies, which was cofounded in 1987 as Amorphous Technologies International with Caltech's Johnson as vice chairman and Peker as vice president, was the first company to produce amorphous metal alloys in viable bulk form. With an exclusive worldwide license for Vitreloy (also known as ‘Liquidmetal’), principal areas for products are sports and luxury goods, electronics, medical, and defense.

Golf club heads

The first application to be found was as golf club heads. Twice as hard and four times as elastic as Ti drivers, 99% of the impact energy from a BMG head is transferred to the ball (compared to 70% for Ti). Higher strength-to-weight ratio allows mass to be distributed differently, enabling various shapes and sizes of head. In 1997, a subsidiary was established to make clubs, Liquidmetal Golf, with heads fabricated by Howmet Metal Mold using an adapted vacuum die casting process. High production costs (e.g. to drill holes, laser in scorelines, bend the clubs, and get paint to stick), however, led to Liquidmetal Technologies terminating manufacture in favor of licensing the technology to established club makers.

Making the case for consumer electronics

Vitreloy can also yield stronger, lighter, and more easily molded casings for personal electronic products. In September 2002, at a new $45 million factory in Pyongtaek, South Korea, Liquidmetal began making components for liquid crystal display casings on cell phones. But, again, costs became a problem. “Manufacturing process limitations, higher-than-expected production costs, unpredictable customer adoption cycles, short product shelf-life, and intense pricing pressures have made it difficult to compete profitably in this commodity-driven market,” explains chairman and CEO John Kang. “Processes are not yet refined to the point that we can cost-effectively manufacture price-sensitive, commodity products. Our core competency is alloy development.” The company is now focusing on manufacturing select, higher-margin cell phones (mainly for Samsung) and value-added sports and medical products, as well as development and prototyping. Rather than manufacture itself, Liquidmetal Technologies is pursuing funded strategic partnerships, technology licensing, joint development, and product distribution relationships for more rapid and effective commercialization of new products.

Liquidmetal Technologies' casings have now been chosen by OQO, Inc. for its hand-held ultra-personal computer screens. An agreement with Sony to develop a casing for digital still cameras has also been established. Liquidmetal Technologies' is also working with design firm Ideo to create a Vitreloy-encased laptop that rolls up like a piece of paper.

Liquidmetal rebounds

Liquidmetal Technologies is targeting leisure equipment that requires good rebound. Last May, it teamed with Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. to produce baseball and softball bats featuring its technology (Fig. 4). In July last year, HEAD launched a range of $200-250 tennis rackets that use Vitreloy in four areas of the frame. The increased stiffness enhances energy return with 29% more power, it is claimed. Now used by Andre Agassi, the ‘Radical’ model was named one of the best new products of 2003 by Fortune and BusinessWeek magazines Fig. 5). Liquidmetal Technologies is now working with HEAD on skis and snowboards. Other potential applications in sporting goods include fishing equipment, hunting bows, guns, scuba gear, marine applications, and bicycle frames.

Fig. 4. Baseball bat featuring Liquidmetal Technologies' ‘Pure Energy Transfer’ technology based on Vitreloy.

Fig. 5. A HEAD Radical tennis racket, which incorporates Liquidmetal Technologies' Vitreloy technology in the frame, in the hands of Andre Agassi.

Vitreloy can also be used for watch cases to replace Ni and other metals, which can cause allergic reactions, and jewelry. Two years ago, Liquidmetal Technologies teamed up with the watch and jewelry division of LVMH, whose luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer launched a special edition Microtimer Concept Watch last April featuring Vitreloy as the scratch- and dent-resistant, high-gloss, casing.

Medical applications

As well as industrial powders and smooth, hard coatings, Vitreloy has a highly biocompatible, nonallergenic form, which is ideal for corrosion- and wear-resistant medical applications. For example, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. is using the material in knee-replacement devices. Other applications include pacemaker casings.

In 2002, Surgical Specialties began producing ophthalmic scalpel blades using Vitreloy. They are higher quality but less expensive than diamond, sharper and longer lasting than steel, and more consistently manufacturable, since they are produced from a single mold (with microscale casting accuracy) ready for use. Other edged tool applications include knives and razor blades.

Catching solar wind
As part of NASA's Discovery Program, August 2001 saw the launch of the $200 million Genesis spacecraft (Fig. 6a) with the aim of collecting samples of solar wind [22]. Orbiting the Lagrange point, Genesis is expected to capture 10-20 μg of solar wind particles and ions using five, 1 m diameter circular passive collector arrays. Each array consists of 55, 10 cm hexagonal tiles and one is coated with Zr-Nb-Cu-Ni-Al (formulated by Charles C. Hays at Caltech and prepared with Howmet's George Wolter), which absorbs and retains noble gases He and Ne ( Fig. 6b).
Once the collectors are back on Earth, acid etching techniques developed at the University of Zurich will be used to dissolve the surfaces evenly, allowing captured ions to be released layer by layer. Higher-energy ions blast further into the surface. “This allows us to test proposals that [higher-energy ions] differ in composition from the solar wind,” says Don Burnett, Caltech principal investigator and team leader.

Fig. 6. (a) Artist's impression of the Genesis spacecraft in collection mode, opened up to collect and store samples of solar wind particles. The cover of the canister contains one collector array and the body of a stack of four arrays that can be rotated out when the spacecraft begins its orbit. (b) Genesis' array, held by Andy Stone of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing the collector materials. [(a) courtesy of JPL; (b) courtesy of NASA Johnson Space Center.]

Defense and aerospace

Liquidmetal Technologies has received a series of contracts from the DoD to develop military materials that are stronger, lighter, and more effective at high temperature and stress. This includes various contracts over the past five years related to environmentally benign, in situ W-reinforced BMG-composite KEPs. These can replace depleted uranium penetrators in antitank armor-piercing projectiles because of their similar density and self-sharpening behavior. Unlike most crystalline metal projectiles, which flatten on impact, the sides of BMG-composite KEPs sheer away under dynamic loading, explains Todd C. Hufnagel of The Johns Hopkins University. In addition, Liquidmetal Technologies now has a $3 million, 16-month contract to develop KEPs for the US Air Force's tank-killing A-10 ‘Warthog’ ground-attack aircraft.

The company is also finalizing a Small Business Innovative Research contract with the US Navy on casings for lightweight fragmentation bombs. Meanwhile, Liquidmetal Technologies is working with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control on a one-year program to develop lighter and stronger ceramic-BMG composite armor tiles.

Cheaper, easier manufacturing

There are good prospects for BMG materials whose properties favor easier, cheaper processing for more common-place applications. For example, a five-year project funded by the Japanese government between 1997-2002 (Inoue Supercooled Liquid Glass Project) reported the first bulk glassy alloy with tensile strength over 2 GPa (higher than that for Mg-, Pd-, and Zr-based alloys) with distinct plastic elongation in a less expensive Cu-based alloy system. This high-strength alloy can be formed by Cu mold casting[23]. Anomalies in the Cu-Zr-Ti alloy include:

• High glass-forming ability despite a small supercooled liquid region before crystallization, enabling easier casting compared with alloys with less glass-forming ability;
• A combination of high strength and ductility, even in a mixed structure of glassy and nanoscale crystalline or quasicrystalline precipitates in the as-cast state, without subsequent annealing steps.

Inoue is now leading a five-year project on metallic glasses funded by the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, which will be completed in April 2007.

This promising work, together with developments in the US and Europe, greatly improves the prospects for the discovery of new BMGs with properties that will enable practical manufacturing. In turn, this is likely to open up a new sphere of potential applications.

References

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2. H.S. Chen and D. Turnbull. Acta Metall 17 (1969), p. 1021.

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7. Inoue, A., et al., Mater. Trans. JIM (1989) 30, 965; (1990) 31, 177; (1991) 31, 425

8. A. Inoue et al.. Mater. Trans. JIM 32 (1991), p. 609. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (278)

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10. A. Inoue et al.. Mater. Trans. JIM 34 (1993), p. 1234. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (228)

11. A. Peker and W.L. Johnson. Appl. Phys. Lett 63 (1993), p. 2342.

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Volume 7, Issue 3, March 2004, Pages 36-43

H-P has Boom Quarter - Good for Jabil Circuits

2007-11-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

Jabil Circuit is one of the leading providers of electronics
manufacturing services (EMS) in the world. Parts made by
Jabil on a contract basis are used in communications
products, computers and computer peripherals, and
automobiles. Services range from product design and
component procurement to order fulfillment and supply
chain management. The company has been rapidly
expanding into Asian and Eastern European markets
in recent years, through acquisitions and new plants.
Nokia Siemens Networks Italy has signed a contract for
the transfer of the manufacturing functions of its Cassina
de’ Pecchi and Marcianise facilities to Jabil Circuit Italy,
upon completion of the legal asset transfer procedure.
Having received European Union (EU) antitrust
authorities approval, the closing is expected to occur
on November 1st. The two companies also signed a l
ong-term manufacturing agreement.

JBL customers include Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard,
Nokia (21% of sales), and Philips (12%).

HP's great quarter as reported today in an article by
Rex Crum, MarketWatch is great news for Jabil Circuit, a
major supplier of parts to HP. Along with the great earnings
report by Nokia, also a big client of Jabil, the demand for
contract manufacturing for Jabil Circuits should be quite good
considering the overall drag in the economy.

This bodes well for Liquidmetal.

Rex Crum reports:

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) on Monday reported a 28%
rise in its fourth-quarter earnings as the computing
and printing giant saw growth across all its main
business areas, leading to revenue of $28.3 billion.

HPQ said it earned $2.2 billion, or 81 cents a share, compared
with $1.7 billion, or 60 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose
15% from last year's $24.6 billion.Excluding charges and one-
time items, H-P would have earned $2.3 billion, or 86 cents a
share. By that measure, H-P beat the estimates of analysts
surveyed by Thomson Financial, who forecast H-P to earn
82 cents a share on $27.4 billion in sales.

"The momentum on the turnaround, share gain and
margins seems to be continuing on almost all fronts,"
said Louis Miscioscia, who covers H-P for Cowen & Co. and
holds an outperform rating on the stock.

The H-P results were expected to get more attention
than usual due to recent reports from the likes of Cisco
Systems Inc. (CSCO) , IBM Corp. (IBM) and Network
Appliance Inc. regarding slowdowns and concerns about the
outlook for business in the financial services industry.

Hurd highlighted the growth of H-P's software business, which
saw revenue double to $698 million from a year ago. The com-
pany said its software division reported operating profit of
$177 million, with its acquisition of Mercury Interactive leading
the software sales and earnings rise.

Personal systems, or PCs, continued to be H-P's largest revenue
generator, with sales of $10.1 billion, a 31% increase from
last year's fourth quarter. The division's operating profit
climbed to $589 million from $336 million a year ago.
Notebook sales rose 49% from a year ago, while desktop
sales were up by 15%.

Hurd said the growth of H-P's notebook business signifies
the broader changes taking place in the PC industry.

"The world is moving toward mobility. People in emerging
markets, and globally, want [PC] access and we continue to
see a healthy market," Hurd said.

H-P's imaging and printing business continued to be the
company's most-profitable business area, with an operating
profit of $1.1 billion, which was flat with a year ago. Revenue
rose 4% to $7.6 billion. Hurd said the division's earnings
would have increased had it not been for $32 million charge
the company took to account for its plans to shift production
of its digital cameras to an outside manufacturer.

Enterprise storage and servers sales were up 10% from a
year ago to $5.2 billion, as the division's earnings rose to $693
million. H-P's services business revenue rose 7% to $4.4 billion.

"The H-P numbers look very solid," said Shaw Wu, who
covers H-P for American Technology Research. "They were
able to execute in a very tough environment and one of the
few names to guide [estimates] up for the December-
January quarter." Wu holds a buy rating on H-P's stock.

For its fiscal first-quarter, H-P forecast a profit of 75 cents a
share on revenue between $27.4 billion and $27.5 billion.
Excluding one-time items, H-P expects to earn 80 cents a
share, while Wall Street analysts had forecast earnings of
77 cents a share on $27 billion in sales.

Separately, H-P said its board authorized an additional
$8 billion for share repurchases and declared a regular
quarterly dividend of 8 cents a share.

In after-hours trading, H-P shares rose 61 cents to $50.05
a share after shedding $1.31 in the regular market session.

Rex Crum is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

DISCLAIMER:

The Sage holds a strong position in Liquidmetal.
This blog is NOT investment advice. Its purpose
is for information only. All opinions expressed
are opinions only and are not intended to move
the reader one way or another. Do your own
DUE DILIGENCE. This blog is not affiliated with
Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. or any of the
persons or corporate entities named within.

Summary of LQMT Annual Shareholders Meeting

2007-11-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer:

All of the following information
has been extracted from the notes of Sage, a share-
holder of record of Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.,
who was invited to attend the 2007 Liquidmetal
Annual Shareholders Meeting, Nov 15, 2007. As such,
these notes are not too be considered a substitute for
a Company Statement as to what occurred.
Any shareholder desiring to know what occurred at
the shareholders meeting should contact Otis
Buchanan, Vice President of Investor Relations at
Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.

This is one person's reporting, and as such, should not
be construed as fact, but only an opinion as to what w
as significant or important to write down. It is in no
way a substitute for due diligence of the individual
or institutional investor.
Sage refuses to be held accountable or liable for any
investment decision made by virtue of this report.

This is not a complete analysis of every material fact
regarding Liquidmetal and its subsidiaries. The opinions
expressed here reflect Sages judgment at this date and
are subject to change. The information has been obtained
as stated, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.
In no way should be considered as investment advice
or reliable information by which an investment decision
should be made.

End of Disclaimer

The 2007 Annual Shareholders Meeting of Liquidmetal
was called to order at 10:30 by President and CEO
Larry Buffington.

Company Officials Participating Were:

Board of Directors:
John Kang, Chairman
William Lewis Johnson
Dean Tanella
CK Cho
Lt Gen Patrick P. Caruana
(excused abscence of Robert Biehl)

Officers
Larry Buffington, Pres & CEO
Won Chung, VP Finance
David Y-S Choi, Gen Mgr of Casting Business Unit
Dennis Ogawa, Vice President, Special Projects

Employees:
Gerry Croopnick, Senior Researcher, Shareholder,
and Co- Founder of Amorphous Technologies, Inc.
Robert DiNunzio, Manufacturing Engineer

Consultants:
Rick Salas (Former CEO and Director)

Shareholders Attending: Less than 20

***********************************************

Business: Approximately 37 million of approximately
44 million eligible shares were cast, constituting a
quorum and the new slate of directors was approved
as per proxy.

**********************************************

Presentation By Chairman of the Board John Kang

Summary:

Revenues for 2007 (in millions)

Q1 ..... Q2 ..... Q3 ...... Q4....................................... FY 2007
5.1 ..... 8.3 ..... 9.3 .....10.8 .. (Incl. Grace Met) 33.5 mil Est
5.1...... 8.3 ..... 7.3 ..... 8.8 .....(Net of Grace Met).29.5 mil

Gross Margins: Achieved 27% in Bulk Alloys in 3Q
and inching up higher in 4Q

Manufacturing Strategy:
Continue Coatings (Short Term) Oil Well, Power, Paper
Continue Die Casting (Short Term)
Develop Manufacturing of Sheets (Long Term)
Develop Liquidmetal Composites (Long Term)

Products Manufactured Since 2003
Hinges: 10 million units
Antennae: 2 million units
Casings: 2 million units
Coatings: 1 million pounds

Bulk Alloy Product Mix: Continue categories of
electronics; sporting goods; medical.
Medical business to be accentuated in 2008, but Kang said
focus will be on external medical devices and instruments;
internal applications (such as implants) is on hold.

Economics of Competitive Materials

Competitors

Forged Titanium Most expensive
Die Cast Titanium
Stainless Steel = parity = Liquidmetal
Aluminum
Plastic Least expensive

Commercial Viability

Company has made significant cost savings in:

1) Composition of Liquidmetal: Reducing Berrylium
and increasing aluminum % while maintaining
desired specifications for application.

2) New machinery (Buhler)

For comparison purposes, old machines (150 tons)
platen capacity was 1/2 of the new machines (250
tons) capacity.

Parameter Old Machine New Machine

1 Mach Cycle 60 seconds 20min-30max secs
Capacity 2 cavities 8 cavities
No. Operators 1.5 persons o.5 persons
Control Manual Computer Controlled

Summary of New machine advantages:

Twice as many (say) San Disk Cruzers can be cast in 1 mach cycle;
up to 3 cycles per minute vs old 1 cycle per minute equals about
6 times the number of Cruzers can be made in a minute compared
to the old machines.

One operator can operate two new machines.
Before it took 3 operatiors on two old machines.

Just on these two parameters alone, it is easy to see the cost
savings. One new machine does 5-6 times the product output
in a 24 hour day of the old machine. Originally, we had 20+
machines operating at Pyong Taek. 30 machine operators
per shift were required to keep them running at full production
speed. A total of 90 operators were required 24-7/

4 New machines equals the output of the 20+ old machines.
But, the 4 new machines require only 2 operators per shift.
This is only 6 operators per day compared with 90.
Hello....anybody home......? We can lay-off 65 people, keep 3
as alternative workers, and end up with, say, 6 instead of 90,
a 93% reduction in machine operators.

What a tremendous savings in labor.

This justifies keeping the Pyong-Taek plant open.

On top of this, due to increased precision in mold and
increased die casting process, finishing is virtually
eliminated, rejects are kept to a bare minimum and yield
is greatly increased.

I think achieving gross margins of 50% or more is easy.

Company Growth Trajectory

Adding new customers (only Sagem was mentioned)
Licensing partnerships (New JV in Q4 2007)*
Buhler Joint Venture: (Sage thinks will happen
within Q4) although Company not announce date.

************************************************

Shareholders Q and A

Suffice it to say that every question was fielded and
answered by John Kang. Everyone in the room was
given more than enough time to voice questions,
complaints and constructive criticism. To this extent,
the meeting was conducted above board and quite
professionally.

Selected Questions

SH#1 - Why has share price been plummeting?

(Let the reader fill in the answer, cause anybody's
is as good as another)

SH#2 - When will the Company seek Re-listing?

Kang: We have neglected the Wall Street side of things
until we worked out our manufacturing problems. We
will address the markets strongly in 2008.

SH#3 - When are we going to stop bandaiding our
financing? Why don't we issue more shares?

Kang: - We will have the current short-term funding
soon under control and paid off. We do not want to
dilute the stock further.

SH#4 - Are you going to go back to the well again?

Kang: - We want to avoid that, we think we can manage
the way we are going. We are continuing to capitalize
via joint ventures and believe that is the way to go.

SH#5: I think the Company needs to address the election
of the Board of Directors; we are concerned about "
entrenchment and think the process of nominating and
election needs to be addressed by changes.

SAGE: Posed all of the questions posted yesterday
"Questions for Shareholders"

SH#6: Strongly indicated a concern about cyclicality of the
retail electronics product sector and the need to address
industrial markets for volume and stability in shipments,
and to fully utilize the attributes of Liquidmetal so as to
receive the premium price it deserves. (Sage notes that
Dean Tanella and and Rick Salas agreed that diversification
is necessary.

Kang: - Well, I disagree. We need to establish ourselves first
with the electronics segment as a core business from which
to build other product segments.

SH#6 - Why are we moving the new machines to Korea?
Shouldn't we sell the building in Korea and move to China
ourselves, like Grace?

Kang: - Well, we would like to sell the facility, but we don't
have many people trippin over our doorstep to make us
an acceptable offer. (Another shareholder stated it is better
to trust the South Koreans with our assets over the Chinese,
who can nationalize at a moment's notice. (Sage says, "Good
point")

SUMMARY THOUGHTS:

Financing should finish within weeks and 2 JV's
(*one electronic contract manufacturing) (and
the other Buhler) will materialize within 4Q.
Upon the close of the meeting, the Board of
Directors departed to attend their regular
monthly meeting at the Liquidmetal headquarters.
To be sure, the issues raised at the shareholders
meeting will be addressed in the meeting, in the
opinion of this writer.

Disclaimer:

End of Disclaimer

*Jabil

SAGE REPORT: Questions for LQMT Shareholders Meeting, 10:00am Thursday, Nov 15, 2007

2007-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

The 2007 Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. annual
meeting of shareholders is to be held at the Courtyard
Marriott, 27492 Portola Parkway, Foothill Ranch, California,
on Thursday, November 15, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., PST.

The staff of the Sage Report received from five share-
holders the following questions to be raised with the
members of the Board of Directors:

1) Pre-eminent among all the shareholders polled is the
why management has failed to meet its obligation
to repay short-term debt due in October of 2007.
Minimum payment on the July 2007 notes in the amount of
$2,083,000 . In addition, 1,796,000 plus interest is due the
Kookmin Bank: 1,571,000 due in December, and the balance
of 225,000 due in Feburary of 2008.

2) Why is the coatings business under Larry Buffington, President of Liquidmetal, Inc. is growing revenues
and profits at a consistent rate, while the Bulk Alloy
Business is decreasing in revenue and profit? This 3Q
2007 numbers compared 3Q 2006 speak very clearly.
Since Larry Buffington is President and CEO of Liquidmetal,
we suggest that he devote more time and energy to Bulk Alloys,
which is clearly losing the race. Otherwise, hire another President and CEO
for the Bulk Alloy Business, since clearly it is necessary as shown
by the results for the last year. We need to get the job done,
quickly, effectively, and competently, and turn profitable with
right thinking uncrippled by past failutes.

It is not the shareholders responsibility to provide on the job
training for an executive. He is to come to the job with the right
stuff. We need an experienced executive from the metallurgical
realm to head the bulk alloy business. PERIOD.

3) Management has in the past year several times alluded to
returning to the 2004 plan to making joint ventures with
contract manufacturers which would purchase Buhler-
Liquidmetal die casting machines with purpose to manufacture
and market to customers of the contract manufacturers,
components and products diecast utilizing Liquidmetal
technology and pattented feedstocks, namely the Zirconium
based bulk metallic alloys. To date, three joint ventures have
been established:

a) an indefinitely non-operational joint venture with Jack
Chitayat

b) a primarily experimental unit in Italy (LSI) which is not
bringing in the revenue or profit

c) a recent transaction of expedience between the two Kang
Brothers in which partial assets and employees of Liquidmetal
Korea were transferred to James Kang of Grace Metals, a
Korea-based company operating in both Korea and in the
former Weihai, China finishing plant under a licensing
agreement in which Grace pays Liquidmetal Technologies,
Inc a royalty and for the Liquidmetal zirconium-based
alloys made in Korea.

4) What the shareholders want to know is what has become
of the JV's which are not based upon old friendships
and nepotism? To wit, where are the JV's with the
contract manufacturers? Flextronics (Solectron), Hon Hai,
Jabil (which make product for respective Sandisk, Apple, Nokia
and many others) and IMF Efector based in Pennsylvania.

5) Most important, where is the pivotal JV agreement?
the one with the diecasting machinery manufacturer, Buhler-
Prince?

The stock answer at Liquidmetal is that "It takes time". The
shareholders gave Management five years waste opportunity,
time, money and resources.

The shareholders know much better than management that
TIME IS MONEY, and in Liquidmetal's case, TIME is
INTEREST Payments and, worst of all, PENALTIES.

6) What has happened to Motorola? The whole world
knows that they bet the farm 4th quarter last year and lost
on their product introductions. BUT, we were selling
components for the PEBL (still in production), the ROKR,
(still in production) and the RAZR, (still in production)etc.
Did LQMT lose the business with Motorola? Are we
not supplying components any more? Management needs to
EXPLAIN why Liquidmetal's business with Motorola dropped
off. What did LQMT DO WRONG?

A very legitimate question.

7) Why is Liquidmetal foregoing marketing and making joint
ventures with the Taiwanese and Japanese? Is there a
problem for these nationalities to deal with the Korean
nationality? The last time I checked, Sony, HTC, Sharp,
Panasonic, etc. were all big players in the electronics market.
And they have capital to invest in.

Other topics, broadly swept under the rug over the years are:

1) The KEP Program with DARPA

2) The "partnership" with Johnson and Johnson

Shareholders demand a MEANINGFUL update: which is
to say, these projects are dead in the water or yes they are
ongoing and this is the latest PERT DIAGRAM.

When will the company WEAN ITSELF off the cyclicality
of cell phones and electronics? In the CC one spoke in one
half of a sentence about going after industrial accounts.....
This is NOT a STRIKING or meaningful FORECAST, NOR
a concerted effort at planning.

A pioneer technology needs a daring chief executive
officer.

We need someone who can channel resources
and energy into nuts and bolts applications,
because he has been there and done that. It is not
the time for chasing after luxury perfume bottles
and top of the line items that sell less than 1000
units a year.

WE need someone who can go after repeat business and
high volume. That's the whole point of die casting. Run the
mold over and over and over again to recover the mold and
set-up costs. You run year in and year out, not one run for
a quarter and then switch to something else.

We need a CEO who more concerned about making it work
than in making a deal. We need a CEO who uses lawyers for
offense rather than defense, that are future oriented and not
rear view mirror oriented. We need fresh thinking and that
has to come from without the Company, not within the Company!

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS, WAKE UP

Finally, When is Management going to plug the hole in the
ACCUMULATED DEFICIT...now more than 150 million
dollars. When will the Company be NET EARNINGS
POSITIVE? Shareholders are getting tired of repeated
EBITDA statements. As Clara once stoutly growled,
"WHERE'S THE BEEF?" When are you going to make a buck
One Year, Two Years, Never? Or is it next quarter?.
Shareholders need clarity and certainty NOW.

The Board of Directors needs to find someone who can speak
with CONVICTION, CONFIDENCE and COMMITMENT,
unswerving in all three and then PERFORM and
EXECUTE the PLAN PROFITABLY and on a SUSTAINED
BASIS (which was recommended in March 2004 by a Board
of Directors now completely turned over).

If you don't know where you are going, you will
surely end up there.

March 5, 2004 Once Upon a Time Analyst Report (Baird)

2007-11-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

Liquidmetal Technologies (LQMT)

March 5, 2004

4Q Results Delayed, Short-Term Outlook Issued
Price: (03/04/04) $ 3.45
Rating: Underperform
FY: Dec 2002 A 2003E 2004E
52WK H-L: $7 - 2
Q1 (0.13)A (0.14)A
Q2 (0.11)A (0.15)A
Market Cap (mil): 144
Suitability: Speculative Risk Q3 (0.13)A (0.15)A
Shares Out (mil): 41.6 Q4 (0.14)A (0.13)E
Float (mil): 23.9 Total (0.51)A (0.57)E NA
Avg. Daily Vol (mil): 0.34 Previous
Price Target: NA FY P/E NM NM NM
Dividend: 0.00
EPS Cal (0.51)A (0.57)E
Yield: 0.00
P/E NM NM NM

2002 excludes $0.04 per-share (net) income from discontinued
operations. 2003 excludes expected non-recurring downsizing
expenses. Please refer to the end of this document for important
disclosures.

Robert F. McCarthy, CFA
rmccarthy@rwbaird.com
312.609.5434
Peter Lisnic, CFA, CPA
plisnic@rwbaird.com
312.609.5431

Action: Maintain Underperform rating. Existing shareholders'
ownership has been diluted by LQMT's $10 million private
placement, and final 4Q03 results will not become available
until LQMT files its 10K later this month. Given the major
change in the business model and effectively no visibility of
manufacturing profitability, we would continue to avoid the
stock at current levels and would not buy or hold the stock
even at lower levels.

Summary

• LQMT reported 4Q03 revenue of $3.3 million, compared with
our $3.1 estimate. LQMT disclosed no other income statement
details, pending completion of the audit of 2003 results and
(previously disclosed) restatement of operating results for the
4Q02, 1Q03, and 2Q03.

• We are withholding any revision or extension of financial
projections until we see 4Q03 results (our $0.13 per-share
loss estimate excludes material, but unquantifiable
restructuring expenses).

• With $3.1 million of cash at year-end, LQMT used $5.5 million
cash in the 4Q. While in line with the $5.4 million 3Q burn rate,
cash consumption was inflated by aggressive downsizing activities.

• LQMT has closed a $10 million private placement of 6.0% notes
(due in 2007, but holders can call for repayment after two years).
The notes are convertible - at any time - into common at $3.00
per share. The transaction also included warrants for 1.1 million
shares, exercisable at $3.00, and effectively values LQMT in a
range around $135 million. However, the transaction provides
important relief from LQMT's previously deteriorating financial
liquidity.

• LQMT projected 1Q04 revenue in a $3.5-4.0 million range, with
operating expenses below $2.6 million and EBITDA about $1.0 mil
negative. LQMT expects 2Q04revenue to increase sequentially, for
operating expenses to decline to below $2.5 million (as the last
restructuring steps are completed in the 1Q), and for EBITDA to
end the 2Q04 at a breakeven run rate. LQMT expects cash flow
to turn positive in the 2H04. (Three years late in this
forecast, LQMT is trying to be cash flow positive in 2H07).

March 5, 2004 Diversified Industrial & Machinery

Details
Management discussed several potential revenue opportunities
during its conference call:

• LQMT is now manufacturing cellular phone hinge components
with production yields approaching 90%, and has five parts in
production for Samsung. Additional parts are being prototyped.
LQMT hopes to leverage its (arduously achieved and) improved
position on the manufacturing learning curve into similar
applications for other electronics manufacturers. LQMT indicated
that gross margins are above zero in this product line and
expected to improve further.

• LQMT expects initial customers' product introductions of golf
products with Liquidmetal components during the 3Q04. LQMT
expects to manufacture the components internally.

• LQMT has expanded the number of leading medical products
companies with which it is working on potential medical device
and implant applications. LQMT indicated that development of
an initial commercial implant application will likely occur later
than originally anticipated.

• LQMT's work on kinetic energy penetrators (munitions designed
to replace current technology that incorporates depleted uranium)
has progressed to the stage where LQMT can no longer discuss test
results publicly, and LQMT expects the program to be classified as
Secret during 2004. LQMT hopes to be in a position to team with a
bidder (Alliant) for a large US Air Force munitions contract that
could be awarded by 2006. LQMT is also working on securing
funded development orders for other space and defense applications
that could contribute to revenue in 2004.
• LQMT is working on an alliance with an existing supplier (Alstom)
to the electrical power generation industry as a means to expand
use of its coatings products. While management appears appropriately
focused on achievable goals for the business, we would not be surprised
to see conversion of any or all of the above opportunities be delayed
beyond the projected timeframe.

Investment Thesis

Liquidmetal's bulk amorphous metals offer superior strength-to-
weight characteristics when compared with other non-ferrous metals,
such as stainless steels, titanium, and aluminum, zinc, magnesium.
The ability to produce net-shape parts in reusable metal molds implies
manufacturing costs similar to injection molding and die-casting.
Liquidmetal parts thus appear to have the potential to offer a performance
and cost profile that could eventually find broad commercial application.
However, Liquidmetal has struggled to convert this potential into revenue
and earnings as several applications have proven to not be commercially
viable. To date, sales development in the targeted market for high-
volume electronic casing components has been much slower than originally
expected and LQMT has faced a variety of manufacturing issues that
have negatively impacted financial results. Management's decision to
re-focus the business model on (likely) lower-volume, (potentially)
higher-return applications and on a relatively greater reliance on
license and royalty income implies significant incremental risks and slower
revenue development with uncertain prospects for success.

March 5, 2004 Liquidmetal Technologies

P a g e 2

Risk & Caveats

LQMT is an early-stage company having a relatively short operating
history with extremely limited experience in executing the company's
current business model.
The ability and timing of achieving a greater reliance on the future
development of license and royalty revenue is highly uncertain.
LQMT has yet to establish a track record of converting sufficient
high-volume sales opportunities into customer orders to be able to
drive the rapid growth originally targeted in the electronic casings
market.
LQMT has yet to reach large production scales of its key bulk
amorphous alloy products thus adding an element of manufacturing
execution risk as production volumes grow.
LQMT has not posted a quarter of profitable results given the early-
stage nature of its operations.
We believe that LQMT could need to develop additional sources of
operating capital (beyond the recent private placement of convertible
notes), subject to future operating results. If required, raising
additional capital could prove dilutive to shareholders.
LQMT's competitive advantage centers around the performance
and perceived processing advantages of its alloys. Potentially
emerging competing technologies, or ineffective protection of the
company's intellectual property, thus pose as risks to potential
growth and/or profitability.
LQMT's short operating track record and limited float could combine
with changes in investor expectations to yield above-average share
price volatility.
LQMT maintains its manufacturing capacity in Korea thus generating
exchange rate exposure (US dollar versus Korean Won).

The company is rated Speculative Risk.
Company Description
Liquidmetal Technologies has developed internal production
capacity to manufacture net-shape products from its proprietary
bulk amorphous metal alloys. Liquidmetal alloys demonstrate a
superior strength-to-weight ratio when compared with stainless
steels, titanium, aluminum, and magnesium. While these
characteristics alone would suggest potential commercial
applications for Liquidmetal alloys, it is the ability to produce
bulk amorphous metal components through a process akin to
die-casting that increases the scope of potentially addressable
commercial applications. In certain applications, Liquidmetal
alloys can offer superior performance characteristics
combined with manufacturing efficiencies similar to plastic
injection molding.

LQMT has headquarters in Lake Forest, (now Rancho Santa
Margarita, CA.

Baird used to maintain a trading market in the securities of
Liquidmetal Technologies .

March 5, 2004 Liquidmetal Technologies

P a g e 3

06/17/02 I:SB: $32
08/07/02 MO: $15
09/05/02 Outperform: $15 [IPO Pure Hype and Balderdash]
02/21/03 Neutral: $8
08/01/03 Neutral: $6
08/25/03 Underperform: $2
10/09/03 Underperform: NA

Rating and Price Target History for: LQMT as of 03-04-2004
Created by BlueMatrix
Robert W. Baird & Co. and/or its affiliates expect to receive or intend
to seek investment banking related compensation from the company or
companies mentioned in this report within the next three months.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON COMPANIES MENTIONED
HEREIN IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Copyright 2004 Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated

Investment Ratings:

Outperform (O) - Expected to outperform on a total return, risk-
adjusted basis the broader U.S. equity market over the next 12 months.
Neutral (N) - Expected to perform in line with the broader U.S.
equity market over the next 12 months.
Underperform (U) - Expected to underperform on a total return,
risk-adjusted basis the broader U.S. equity market over the next
12 months.

Risk Ratings:

L - Lower Risk - Higher-quality companies for investors seeking
capital appreciation or income with an emphasis on safety. Company
characteristics may include: stable earnings, conservative balance
sheets, and an established history of revenue and earnings.

A - Average Risk - Growth situations for investors seeking capital
appreciation with an emphasis on safety. Company characteristics
may include: moderate volatility, modest balance-sheet leverage,
and stable patterns of revenue and earnings.

H - Higher Risk - Higher-growth situations appropriate for
investors seeking capital appreciation with the acceptance of
risk. Company characteristics may include: higher balance-sheet
leverage, dynamic business environments, and higher levels of
earnings and price volatility.

S - Speculative Risk - High-growth situations appropriate
only for investors willing to accept a high degree of volatility
and risk. Company characteristics may include: unpredictable
earnings, small capitalization, aggressive growth strategies,
rapidly changing market dynamics, high leverage, extreme price
volatility and unknown competitive challenges.

Unable to Locate the Novatel Wireless 727 USB Modem in Los Angeles

2007-11-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Novatel Wireless 727 USB Combination Modem - Memory Stick

Have been to three Verizon Wireless stores and the clerks are CLUELESS about this item which was released more than a month ago........

GET ON THE STICK VERIZON

Specifications

A reader of the Liquidmetal Advocate in New Jersey said:

I saw it here in a NJ Verizon store....its a great product....the antenna looks like a little kid could break it....but I couldn't even budge it.....it's so strong!!

Verizon Promotion

USB 727 Modem

Sprint Promotion

Ovation™ U727 USB Modem

Glut of Zinc Developing: Impact on Liquidmetal Sales?

2007-11-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Lower Zinc Price, Currency to Cut Sales

By Jesse Riseborough

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Zinifex Ltd., the world's third- largest mined zinc producer, said revenue will be cut this year by the declining price of the metal used to galvanize steel and a stronger Australian dollar against the US dollar.

The price of zinc may decline as additional supply from new mines and expansions comes on to the market, Tony Barnes, acting chief executive officer of the Melbourne-based company, said today in a slides presentation lodged with the exchange. Supply issues will keep lead prices high, Barnes added.

Citigroup Inc. yesterday cut its forecast for the first half of 2008 for zinc by 35 percent on gains in supply from mines. Zinifex is seeking to buy new mines or acquire rivals after selling most of its majority stake in smelting unit Nyrstar NV last month.

Zinc output from its Century and Rosebery mines in Australia will be higher for the year ending June 30, 2008, while lead production will be little changed, Barnes said. A new chief executive officer may be appointed by the end of the year, he said in the slides.

Zinifex fell 65 cents, or 4.2 percent, to A$14.80 yesterday on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The price of zinc has fallen 38 percent this year, the worst performance among all metals on the London Metal Exchange. An expected 57,000 metric-ton surplus in 2008 would be the first in three years, Citigroup said in the report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 12, 2007 17:45 EST

Old LQMT 5 Year Shareholder Value Plan

2007-11-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

A BUCK invested in LQMT at the IPO is now worth a NICKEL.

Only 20 out of 1000 Shareholders can afford transportation to the Shareholders meeting.

Will the new plan be better than this one?

Five Years is enough time to get the bugs out of the system.

Performance must now Prevail over Promises.

Time to Walk the Talk!

SAGE Analyzes Structural Changes of Conference Call

2007-11-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

At present, we ask, what is the make-up of Liquidmetal Technologies (LMT) after the recent structural changes?

Prior to 2007 and the transfer of Liquidmetal assets to Grace Metals (company owned by James Kang, brother of John Kang, COB of Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. and the recent capitalization of the coatings business into Liquidmetal Coatings (LMC), Liquidmetal contained the following operational entities:

1) Headquarters: Rancho Santa Margarita CA (formerly Lake Forest, CA)

2) Liquidmetal Korea, Pyong-Taek, South Korea

Principal prototyping and manufacturing facility consisting of approximately 166,000 sq ft.
Building, fixtures and personal property owned by LMK;
The four acre parcel of Land is leased tax-free, through 2022 from Korean government.

3) Liquidmetal China

Post-processing facility in Weihai, China to finish bulk alloy products not sufficiently
net-cast in Korea or ready for end-use
3 year lease from August 2004 thru July 2007,
Consists of approximately 14,400 square feet

4) Joint Ventures

a) Jack Chitayat: non-operational Jewelry JV

b) LSI (Liquidmetal SAGA (Plastics SpA) Italy: operational manufacturing of aerospace and automotive parts

Today, Liquidmetal consists of the following:

EXISTING:

Liquidmetal Technologies, inc. Headquarters and R&D, Rancho Santa Margarita
Liquidmetal Technologies, Korea, Pyong Taek 10 machines (original state of art, tweaked, manually operated machines). By end of 2nd half 2008, most of these machines will be migrated to Grace Metals, China as per previous notice given by Liquidmetal, and 3 to 5 new Buhler 250 ton presses will be installed at Pyong-Taek.

JV and Licensing:
1) Jack Chitayat
2) LSI (Italian Joint Venture)
3) GM, located in China, location unknown, (aka Liquidmetal Korea) licensing venture with James Kang for contract manufacture of product for sales into the Korean marketplace, including existing mfr and sales to Samsung.

Current Products and Customers:

Samsung: All components currently being made in China under license by Grace Metal

Motorola: All components (mainly antennae and hinges) being made in Pyong-Taek

Novatel: All components being made in Pyong-Taek

Nokia Vertu: All components being made in Pyong-Taek

Socketcom: All components being made in Pyong-Taek

Apple: Component being manufactured in Pyong-Taek

Biolase: Components being manufactured in Pyong-Taek

Eurobus: Components being manufactured in Padova, Italy by LSI

Contract Manufacturers who buy components from Liquidmetal:

Flextronics: (Sandisk flash drives and Sansa Players)

Hon Hai: (Apple iPod component)

Jabil Circuit: Nokia Vertu

It is purposed that such contract manufacturers will become partners, buy new 250 ton die cast machines, and begin producing their respective products under license to Liquidmetal.

Hon Hai posts Q3 net gains on orders from Apple, Dell

2007-11-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Reuters

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Hon Hai Precision Industry, Taiwan's top electronic parts maker, posted a 28 percent gain in third quarter profit, in-line with analyst expectations, on stronger demand for its popular products such as Apple's iPhone.

Hon Hai's July-September net income was NT$19.9 billion, higher than NT$15.5 billion a year ago, according to Reuters. The result roughly matched a NT$19.3 billion net projected by seven analysts.

Hon Hai, whose consumer unit uses the Foxconn brand name, makes products for major brands such as Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia. Analysts said consumer products such as music players and game consoles were the key driver to the firm's growth so far this year.

Jabil Circuit, Inc. Forecast Lower than Expected

2007-11-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

By Times wires

Published September 29, 2007

St. PETERSBURG - Jabil Circuit Inc., the maker of phones for Nokia Oyj and electronics for Hewlett-Packard Co., fell the most in six months in New York trading Friday after its forecast disappointed some investors. The company's shares dropped $1.66, or 6.8 percent, to close at $22.84 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The decline was the largest since March 23. Jabil has fallen 7 percent this year. Jabil said Thursday that sales this quarter would rise to $3.3-billion. It expects earnings to climb to between 33 cents and 37 cents a share, excluding some costs.

[Note: I apologize for posting old news. The purpose was to update readers on Jabil Circuit Inc., a to be new partner with Liquidmetal].

Liquidmetal Announces 3Q 2007 Financial Results

2007-11-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2007--Liquidmetal(R) Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2007. Revenue for the Third Quarter was $7.1 million. This represents a (15%) decline from $8.3 million in the Second Quarter due to the implementation of the licensing model for part of the business by the Company during the Third Quarter. Financial numbers for the quarter include royalties on sales by licensees as opposed to gross revenue for direct customer sales by the Company as reported in the past. As indicated last quarter, by pursuing licensing opportunities, Liquidmetal Technologies is inherently trading off higher, but less profitable top-line revenues in favor of higher profit margin, but lower absolute revenues from royalties and material sales. For comparison purposes, revenues for the quarter would have been $9.3 million if the gross revenues would have been captured by LQMT for the quarter. [Blog editor's note: Revenues from the coatings business reflect on 67% of divisions revenues, as 33% of revenues was captalized as per the 10K recently published. Had the total been reflected in this quarter's revenues, yet another 1.155 million for a total of 10.455 million]

Overall Gross Margins improved to 27% in the Third Quarter versus 8% in the Second Quarter. This significant improvement in the Company's gross margin is directly attributable to its transition to the licensing model providing the ability to reduce manufacturing costs while receiving royalties and material sales. Selling, General & Administrative Expenses came in at $1.9 million for the quarter, down from $2.5 million in the Second Quarter, and Research & Development Expense was at $0.3 million in the Third Quarter, a level consistent with the Second Quarter.

The improvement in the gross margin of the business and the reduction in the overall expenses allowed us to achieve the best results in the Company's history. Earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation and non-cash expenses ("Adjusted EBITDA") for the Third Quarter were $0.7 million. This continues the improving trend seen in recent quarters. Under GAAP, the Company had a net loss of $1.5 million in the Third Quarter compared to a net loss of $3.0 million in the Second Quarter. The variation of net loss results reflects the accounting treatment for the outstanding warrants and conversion features of the convertible notes which are non-cash expenses.

Commenting on the operations, Mr. Larry Buffington, President and CEO, noted, "We are very pleased with the smooth transition which we made this quarter in licensing the Korean business. While the transition did create a reduction in revenues for the quarter as we had indicated it would, it generated a significant improvement in our gross margin and the best earnings for the Company. We hope to build on this model of licensing out certain markets while we continue to manufacture and build key markets ourselves to continue to improve the business going forward."

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data
(In thousands, except per share data)

          For the three months    For the nine months
                       ended                   ended
              ----------------------- -----------------------
               9/30/2007   9/30/2006   9/30/2007   9/30/2006
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

              (Unaudited)             (Unaudited)

Revenue            $    7,106  $    8,040  $   20,504  $   21,685
Cost of sales           5,194       6,449      19,321      17,337
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Gross profit            1,912       1,591       1,183       4,348

Operating expenses
Selling, general and
administrative
expenses                1,853       2,290       6,880       7,363
Research and
development
expenses                  331         269         887         753
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total operating
expenses               2,184       2,559       7,767       8,116
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Loss before interest,
other income and
income taxes            (272)       (968)     (6,584)     (3,768)
Loss from
extinguishments of
debt                       -           -        (648)          -
Change in value of
warrants, gain
(loss)                    220       1,361       4,476      (1,354)
Change in value of
conversion feature,
gain (loss)               625       1,987       6,137      (1,933)
Other income                  -           -          49         572
Interest expense       (1,991)     (2,302)     (7,454)     (7,361)
Interest income            14           8         121          17
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

(Loss) income before
minority interests
and income taxes       (1,404)         86      (3,903)    (13,827)
Minority interests        (66)          -         (66)          -
Income taxes                  -           -           -           -
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Net (loss) income  $   (1,470) $       86  $   (3,969) $  (13,827)
              =========== =========== =========== ===========

Net (loss) income per
share - basic and
diluted            $    (0.03) $     0.00  $    (0.09) $    (0.32)
              =========== =========== =========== ===========

Weighted average
common shares - basic
and diluted             44,652      44,100      44,736      43,664
              =========== =========== =========== ===========


Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc.
Reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
(In thousands)
               For the three months    For the nine months
                       ended                   ended
              ----------------------- -----------------------
               9/30/2007   9/30/2006   9/30/2007   9/30/2006
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

              (Unaudited)             (Unaudited)
Net (loss) income as
reported            $   (1,470) $       86  $   (3,969) $  (13,827)

Add Back:
Interest expense,
net                      1,977       2,294       7,333       7,344
Depreciation &
amortization               765         893       2,499       2,658
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

EBITDA              $    1,272  $    3,273  $    5,863  $   (3,825)

Add Back:
Minority interests           66           -          66           -
Loss from
extinguishment of
debt                         -           -         648           -
Change in value of
warrants, (gain)
loss                      (220)     (1,361)     (4,476)      1,354
Change in value of
conversion feature,
(gain) loss               (625)     (1,987)     (6,137)      1,933
Stock based
compensation               172         296         575         831
              ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Adjusted EBITDA     $      665  $      221  $   (3,461) $      293
              =========== =========== =========== ===========

    CONTACT: Liquidmetal Technologies
    Otis Buchanan, 949-635-2120
    otis.buchanan@liquidmetal.com

SOURCE: Liquidmetal Technologies Inc.

Liquidmetal 3Q Conference Call Today @ 4:30 PM EST (1:30 PST)

2007-11-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

Live Webcast
Q3 2007 Liquidmetal Technologies Earnings Conference Call
November 8, 2007, 4:30 PM ET

Flextronics Beats Wall Street Forecast - Good for Liquidmetal

2007-11-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Flextronics International Ltd (FLEX.O)

posted quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as sales at the contract electronics maker jumped 18 percent.

Flextronics, which counts Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N), Sandisk (SNDK) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) as customers, said second-quarter net profit was $121 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $185 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding costs such as stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles, Flextronics had a profit of 24 cents per share, up from 20 cents a share a year earlier and ahead of the average forecast of 23 cents on Reuters Estimates.

Net sales were $5.56 billion, up 18 percent from $4.7 billion a year earlier.

Shares of Flextronics rose as much as 2.6 percent after the earnings report, but later trimmed those gains to trade at $11.90, up 6 cents from the Nasdaq close.

Flextronics shares are up 3.1 percent so far this year, compared to a fall of more than 12 percent for those of Jabil Circuit Inc (JBL.N), its chief rival.

Flextronics did not provide forecasts for its third quarter, saying that would be given during a meeting for Wall Street analysts early next month.

Sales from the mobile segment that accounts for 28 percent of Flextronics' sales rose 2 percent from a year earlier. The company makes cellular telephones for companies such as Sony Ericsson (6758.T)(ERICb.ST), its largest single customer.

The infrastructure segment, which includes networking and telecommunications equipment, accounted for 27 percent of sales and saw growth of 36 percent from a year earlier, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Smach told analysts on a conference call.

Sales of other consumer electronics, such as digital cameras and computer printers, grew 9 percent on the year and made up 21 percent of total sales.

Sales of computing products, which include personal computers, servers and video game consoles such as Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360, jumped 35 percent from a year ago and accounted for 13 percent of the total.

$1.00 of LQMT 4 years ago equals $0.28 Today

2007-11-07T08:30:00.001-08:00

$1.00 of LQMT 4 years ago equals $0.28 Today

from Liquidmetal Advocate by Sage

Nov 5, 2003 $2.60

Nov 5, 2004 $2.40

Nov 5, 2005 $1.48

Nov 5, 2006 $1.63

Nov 5, 2007 $0.73

Liquidmetal Coatings Division

2007-11-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

Power

Oil | Power | Pulp & Paper | Glass | Others

Liquidmetal-Armacor Coatings' patented products are designed to perform in erosive and corrosive environments to protect boiler operating parts and tube systems. Coatings extend tube life, are time efficient to apply and maintain, and work to prevent unscheduled outages.

The product line offers a full selection of boiler-optimized coatings. The Liquidmetal Coatings Division recently entered into a contract with Foster Wheeler Energy Services, Inc., to acquire substantially all of the equipment, inventory, and other physical assets of FWESI’s thermal spray coatings business unit. The new unit is experienced with application by twin wire arc spray (TWAS) or high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) are prepared to recommend Liquidmetal-Armacor Coatings for your wear environment.

With additional applications in Oil Drilling and Refining, Pulp and Paper, Food Processing and Agriculture, Liquidmetal-Armacor Coatings offer a proven method of industrial wear control.

Low No_x Solutions

Liquidmetal-Armacor Coatings have addressed the challenge facing many operators with the addition of Low NOx equipment. In two phases of testing at Foster Wheeler Development Corp., Liquidmetal-Armacor Coatings have out-performed traditional corrosion coatings in a simulated severe Low NOx environment.

Liquidmetal Common Applications

2007-11-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

SPORTING GOODS

Rackets and Skis by Head®

Featuring Liquidmetal Coating

..Squash........ Tennis........Racket Ball..

Head ®Skis

Products by K2® Jarden Corporation

Rawlings® bats

DeBeer®, Lacrosse stick handles

Golf Putters by

Experience one of
the purest and
softest feels in the
golf industry with
Limited Edition
Liquidmetal FA-2
putter

Limited Edition Liquidmetal FA-2 putter

Components for Electronics

Cell Phones

Nokia® Vertu®

Samsung®

Motorola®

Bar Code Scanners

Socketcom®

Medical - Dental

Biolase®

Liquidmetal® casing
on Biolase®
ezlase™ diode laser

Liquidmetal® stylus
by Biolase®

For use in Flash Drives

Sandisk® Cruzer® Titanium Flash Drive

For use in Automotive - Aerospace

Capability to incorporate multiple components into a single casting
Corrosion resistant castings and platings
Secondary tapping capabilities
Liquidmetal is an excellent dampening material

Fasteners

Many sizes of panel nuts already tooled
High speed tapping capabilities

Connector

Four slide technology to eliminate costly secondary
Barrel plating for electroless nickel offers cost effective protection and aesthetics
Excellent conductive alloys

Aerospace Connector made by LSI
Liquidmetal Saga Italy joint venture

Potential Uses In

Fiber Optics

Capable of casting complex designs
Close tolerance, as cast, components
Equipment and experience to provide small components

Switches

Thin wall castings with strength to hold up in applications
Surface finishes provide wear resistance
Alloys designed for application specifics

Multiple cavities for cost savings
Multislide

2007-11-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

Advantages of Liquidmetal Die Castings Over Other Manufacturing Techniques

Thinner Walls

Closer Tolerances

Closer Dimensionas

Smoother Surfaces

Minimal Finishing

Cast Coring Holes

External Threading

Greater Detail

Longer Tool Life

Superior Electrical Properties

Strength to Weight Ratio 2-3 times that of Titanium

Design engineers turn to Liquidmetal die castings for component parts because the manufacturing process combines precision and cost-effectiveness with the exceptional mechanical and physical properties of Liquidmetal alloys. Below are just a few of the reasons why you should consider Liquidmetal die castings instead of plastic moldings, stampings, castings, or forgings when designing your new product.

Liquidmetal die casting vs. plastic molding -

Liquidmetal produces stronger parts with closer tolerances and greater stability and durability.

Liquidmetal parts have superior electrical properties and greater resistance to temperature extremes than molded plastic parts.

Liquidmetal die castings vs. sand castings-

Liquidmetal produces parts with thinner walls, closer dimensional limits and smoother surfaces.

Production is faster with lower labor costs per casting. Finishing costs are less.

Liquidmetal die castings vs. permanent mold castings-

Liquidmetal produces parts with thinner walls, closer dimensional limits and smoother surfaces.

Production is faster with lower labor costs per casting. Finishing costs are less.

Liquidmetal die castings vs. forgings -

Liquidmetal produces more complex shapes with closer tolerances, thinner walls and lower finishing costs. Cast coring holes are not available with forging.

Liquidmetal die castings vs. stamping -

Liquidmetal produces complex shapes with variations possible in section thickness.

One Liquidmetal die casting may replace several stampings, resulting in reduced assembly time.

Liquidmetal die castings vs. screw machine products -

Liquidmetal produces shapes that are difficult or impossible from bar or tubular stock, while maintaining tolerances without tooling adjustments. Liquidmetal die castings require fewer operations and reduce waste and scrap.

Consider These Additional Benefits of Liquidmetal Die Casting...

Broad Market Appeal - Liquidmetal is used in important components of products ranging from aerospace components to electronic components. Parts can be as simple as a fishhook or as complex as a connector housing and intricate casing designs.

Cost Savings - Liquidmetal die casting is an efficient, economical process offering a broader range of shapes and components than virtually any other manufacturing technique. Liquidmetal die castings provide integral fastening elements, such as bosses and studs.

Holes can be cored and made to tap

Intricate surface recesses (i.e. hex head nut inserts)

External threads can be cast.

Parts can be cast with thinest, strongest walls.

Precision - Liquidmetal die casting produces multi-cavity, complex shapes within closer tolerances than most other production processes. In addition to producing high volume runs of virtually identical parts, Liquidmetal die casting produces rugged heat and wear resistant parts that are dimensionally stable, while maintaining exceptionally close tolerances.

EMI/RFI Shielding - The Liquidmetal die casting process produces parts with excellent EMI/RFI shielding characteristics, allowing the Liquidmetal die casting to act as an electrical ground for internal circuits.

Liquidmetal die castings are stronger than plastic parts with similar dimensions.

Liquidmetal die castings do not consist of separate parts welded or fastened together: therefore the strength is that of the alloy, NOT the joining process.

Outstanding Finish - Liquidmetal die cast parts can be manufactured with smooth or textured surfaces, embossed designs, and are easily plated or finished with minimal surface preparation.

Longer Tool Life - Thousands and in some cases millions of parts of identical Liquidmetal die castings can be produced before new tooling is required.

Class Action Law Suit Settlement Pay-out NLT Nov 13

2007-11-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

According to latest information from Gilardi & Co., payments will be in the mail NLT Tuesday, Nov 13th.
Hopefully, this will give everyone a leg up on a Turkey or buying new Liquidmetal gifts for the holidays.

Buhler Liquidmetal Partnership

2007-11-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

There has been much speculation about a partnership or joint venture between Buhler Group of Uzwil, Switzerland and Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. of Rancho Santa Margarita, California.

One need only analyze the announced partnership of Buhler and the Japan Steel Works to see the direction and form that such a LB partnership would take:

http://www.buhlergroup.com/news/48172DE.asp?grp=60_10_04&org=70_80_10_05&lang=DE&nav=80_10

Joint Venture with Japan Steel Works (English Translation)

Joint Venture with Japan Steel Works (German Translation)

Bühler Druckguss AG has announced plans to set up a joint venture with the Japanese Japan Steel Works (JSW) for selling and producing cold-chamber die casting machines.

JSW will enter the die casting business with the Swiss Technology Group Bühler AG as a partner. The venture will start by the signing of a sales and service agreement between the two companies. This will provide the basis for preparing the joint venture, which will then also include production, engineering, and R&D. Cold-chamber die casting machines are predominantly applied for casting aluminum alloys. In the first phase, JSW will provide an appropriate service and maintenance structure and at the same time build a technical center of competence to promote sales of Buhler machines to Japanese customers.

Buhler Diecasting is a leading manufacturer of cold-chamber die casting machines in Europe, North America, and large parts of Asia. The company has broad experience in handling sophisticated projects for its customers from the automotive engineering industry. With this alliance, Buhler intends to push sales of its die casting machines worldwide. It plans to expand its position especially in the Japanese market and with Japanese companies in other countries.

Buhler Diecasting is renowned in the marketplace for its cutting-edge systems for real-time control of die casting machines. In addition, the company has rolled out a series of freshly developed two-platen machines for locking forces above 1000 metric tons. The new machine series was successfully presented to the specialist public at this year’s GIFA trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany.

JSW today holds a significant market share in the area of thixo-casting of magnesium. The Japanese company is therefore convinced that the alliance with Buhler in this business field will enable it to benefit from synergies.

In Japan, the production of die casting machines is increasing as a result of higher car output by Japanese manufacturers inside the country and overseas. Since 2002, growth rates of about 22 percent have been achieved. In 2006, a total of 1160 die casting machines worth 50 billion yen were sold. Of the total of all shipments in 2006, 65 to 70 percent went to factories of domestic or overseas Japanese customers. In order to take advantage of this growth market, Buhler and JSW will enhance the customer service they provide to Japanese users. Therefore, also a Technical Customer Center is to be built at the factory of JSW in Hiroshima. Two complete die casting cells will be installed there in order to create new technical solutions in cooperation with customers. The goal of the alliance is to win a substantial share of the Japanese die casting market within the next three years.

www.jsw.co.jp

www.buhlergroup.com

Buhler is a global leader in the supply of process engineering solutions, especially production technologies for making foods and engineering materials. Buhler is present in over 140 countries and employs some 6,600 people. In fiscal 2006, the Group generated sales of CHF 1,613 million.

Uzwil, 25.June 2007

Saxena-White, CA Lead Attorney, Transfers Funds to Gilardi & Co.

2007-10-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Effective Monday, October 29, 2007, the funds held in escrow by Saxena-White, lead attorneys in the Class-Action Lawsuit, were transfered and received by Gilardi & Co., Class-action Administrator.

Within two weeks, or NLT than 12 November 2007, the checks payable to qualified class-action members will be mailed. This is good news for the Liquidmetaholics!!!!

Liquidmetal Announces November 8 3Q Earnings Release & Conference Call Date

2007-10-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Live Webcast
Q3 2007 Liquidmetal Technologies Earnings Conference Call
November 8, 2007, 4:30 PM ET

Most Informative Links Concerning Liquidmetal

2007-10-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Customer Links:

Biolase

DARPA

Head

IFM Efector

Jarden Corporation (Parent to former K20 and Rawlings)

Lockheed Martin Corporation

LG Electronics

Motorola

Nokia

Novatel Wireless

Safilo

Samsung

Sandisk

Socketcom

Thales Avionics

Helio's Mysto: A Samsung U600 with EV-DO

2007-10-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Helio's Mysto: A Samsung U600 with EV-DO

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones

Ok, here you go, the first rendering of Helio's new Mysto -- AKA, the Samsung SPH-A523. Looking every bit as fine as Samsung's U600 Ultra Edition slider (on the right), the Mysto busts EV-DO data, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a 3.2 megapixel camera up under that QVGA display while maintaining the U600's 10.9-mm thin profile. Date and price? In time friends, in time.

Flextronics profit tops forecasts as sales jump

2007-10-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Flextronics International Ltd posted quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as sales at the contract electronics maker jumped 18 percent.Flextronics, which counts SanDisk, Hewlett-Packard Co and Microsoft Corp as customers, said second-quarter net profit was $121 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $185 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding costs such as stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles, Flextronics had a profit of 24 cents per share, up from 20 cents a share a year earlier and ahead of the average forecast of 23 cents on Reuters Estimates.Net sales were $5.56 billion, up 18 percent from $4.7 billion a year earlier.Shares of Flextronics rose as much as 2.6 percent after the earnings report, but later trimmed those gains to trade at $11.90, up 6 cents from the Nasdaq close.Flextronics shares are up 3.1 percent so far this year, compared to a fall of more than 12 percent for those of Jabil Circuit Inc , its chief rival.Flextronics did not provide forecasts for its third quarter, saying that would be given during a meeting for Wall Street analysts early next month.Sales from the mobile segment that accounts for 28 percent of Flextronics' sales rose 2 percent from a year earlier. The company makes cellular telephones for companies such as Sony Ericsson and flash drives and MP3 players for SanDisk.The infrastructure segment, which includes networking and telecommunications equipment, accounted for 27 percent of sales and saw growth of 36 percent from a year earlier, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Smach told analysts on a conference call.Sales of other consumer electronics, such as digital cameras and computer printers, grew 9 percent on the year and made up 21 percent of total sales.Sales of computing products, which include personal computers, servers and video game consoles such as Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360, jumped 35 percent from a year ago and accounted for 13 percent of the total.

Transmaterial: Liquid Metal

2007-10-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Transmaterial: Liquid Metal: "http://liquidmetaladvocate.blogspot.com/"

http://www.liquidmetal.com.au/

2007-10-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Sage wants to know: Who owns this website?
Has Liquidmetal looked after its own interests?

Tough questions, and, alas, easy to answer.

http://www.liquidmetal.com.au/

Allegheny Technologies 3Q 2007 Profit Rises

2007-10-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Allegheny Technologies 3Q Profit Rises
Associated Press 10.24.07, 8:23 AM ET

PITTSBURGH -Metal producer Allegheny Technologies Inc. said
Wednesday its third-quarter profit jumped 21 percent on strong demand for high-end alloys and metals such as titanium.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $193.9 million, or $1.88 per share, compared with $160.2 million, or $1.56 per share.

Analysts expected earnings, on average, of $1.86 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the quarter increased to $1.34 billion, up from $1.29 billion previously. That figure fell short of analysts' average forecast of $1.38 billion.

Sales growth was driven entirely by gains in the company's high-performance metals segment, which produces titanium, zirconium and alloys made from nickel, cobalt, and other metals. Quarterly revenue at the division increased 14 percent amid robust demand from the aerospace, defense, and energy industries.

High-performance metals accounted for about 37 percent of sales.

Sales slipped 3 percent at the company's flat-rolled products segment despite strong demand for high-end products such as titanium sheet. Sales at the engineered products segment were essentially flat.

"Our third quarter 2007 results had two divergent story lines," Chairman, President and Chief Executive L. Patrick Hassey said in a statement. "Strong demand trends continued in our High Performance Metals segment and for our high-value flat-rolled products. On the other hand, shipments of our standard stainless products were extraordinarily weak."

Hassey expects the company's stainless sheet business will begin to improve early next year. He also reiterated the company's 2007 earnings forecast of $7 to $7.25 per share.

[Blog Editor's Note: Because the health of the specialty metal suppliers directly reflects the sector in which Liquidmetal is imbedded, we will report on such companies as Allegheny (ATI), a company which knows what it is doing, Carpenter Steel (CRS), also a company with a progressive 5 year track record, and Titanium Corp of America (TIE) a stellar performer.

Then, there is Liquidmetal, which has insisted on doing things the same as Medical Manager was run, showing the disastrous results as shown on this chart, going completely ass-backwards (LQMT) .]

Liquidmetal aus Wikipedia, der freien Enzyklopädie

2007-10-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

Liquidmetal

Liquidmetal and Vitreloy are commercial names of a series of amorphous metal alloys . Liquidmetal alloys combine a number of desirable material features, including high tensile strength, excellent corrosion resistance, very high elasticity and excellent anti-wearing characteristics, while also being able to be heat-formed in processes similar to thermoplastics. Although only introduced for commercial applications in 2003, Liquidmetal is already finding a number of uses as varied as golf clubs, and a variety of uses on cellphones: frames for LCD screens, battery cover plates, hinges, casing material (see Nokia Virtu), developed by a California Institute of Technology research team, now marketed by a firm that the team organized called

Liquidmetal Technologies

Background

To understand the qualities of Liquidmetal it is best to start with a more common structural metal, iron. Iron has a relatively large atom, which forms into an open crystal structure given the proper conditions. The atoms can "slide" along the planes of the structure, meaning that pure iron is fairly ductile, often being able to be bent by hand, while still being very strong in tension when one tries to pull the structure apart. In order to improve the strength of iron, impurities can be added to "lock in" the structure to prevent it from sliding. The most common alloying agent is carbon, which results in steel.

When steel solidifies from a liquid after being smelted, it starts to form small crystals of various forms. These crystals grow until they come into contact with other crystals seeded at other points, which have different orientations, and sometimes different mechanical arrangements. When the process is complete, these crystals form a large lattice structure of individual "grains", which are sometimes visible to the naked eye.

Although the alloying process prevents the sort of sliding motions of pure iron, the inter-grain strength is fairly low compared to the strength of the bonds inside the grains. This leads to another form of ductility were the grains themselves slide along their boundaries, or the grains are broken apart from each other. Mechanical cracks formed during the cooling process is another source of potential weakness. Under repeated loading the grains can be forced apart and the cracks forced open, this process, crack propagation, leads to metal fatigue.

Numerous processes can be used to reduce this problem. Wrought iron is repeatedly worked to mechanically force these cracks shut during the forming of an item such as a horse shoe, and the famed Japanese katana uses a similar process to produce high quality steels. More modern techniques like cold rolling and forging are able to remove these imperfections on industrial scales. Alternately it is possible to grow single very large crystals that are free from such inter-grain boundaries by definition, but these processes are slow, energy intensive, and fairly expensive. Such materials are typically limited to aerospace roles, for instance the blades of turbines in jet engines which are subject to repeated heat cycling which is a perfect environment for causing metal fatigue.

Molten metals generally have fairly low viscosity and "flow well". This limits the sorts of molding methods that can be used. For instance, casting processes flow molten metal into formed shapes, but these shapes generally have limitations on their complexity. Metals generally shrink as they cool as well, which means that they have to be "finished" after casting to get a quality surface because they do not remain in contact with the form at all times. Additionally, cast metals retain the mechanical imperfections that the forging and rolling processes remove, making them considerably less strong. Metals are simply not ideal for forming complex shapes except for machining and other post-forming processes, which are more expensive and time consuming.

For this reason, thermoplastics remain a major industrial material. Although they are far less strong that steel, about fifty times, they can be easily formed into complex shapes and retain a good finish. They can be created from raw materials and formed into a product in a continuous process, something that metals cannot generally match. A mixture of metals for "simple" shapes and plastics for more complex ones forms the basis of almost every product made today, from automobiles to televisions.

Vitreloy

Most of the "problems" with metals are a side effect of their crystalline structure, so producing a non-crystalline amorphous metal would solve many of them. However, crystal growth in a cooling mass of metal is strongly favored, so using any sort of "normal" process will lead to crystal formation. A variety of methods can be used to quickly chill the metal before this can take place, but these are suitable only for small batches.

Vitreloy was the end result of a long research program into amorphous metals carried out at CalTech. It was the first of a series of experimental alloys that could be easily formed and worked, earlier amorphous metals could be formed only in tiny batches. Since then a number of additional alloys have been added to the Liquidmetal portfolio. Vitreloy is created using conventional methods of batch mixing and bulk cooling, allowing it to be made in industrial quantities. It also retains its amorphous structure after repeated re-heating, allowing it to be used in a wide variety of traditional machining processes.

Liquidmetal alloys contain atoms of significantly different sizes. When melted they form a dense mix with low free volume, and as a consequence, fairly high viscosity. Unlike normal metals which are fairly free-flowing, Vitreloy is more "plastic". The viscosity also varies with temperature, increasing with lowered temperatures, allowing the mechanical properties to be controlled relatively easily during casting. The viscosity prevents the atoms moving enough to form an ordered lattice, so the material retains its amorphous properties even after being heat-formed.

The alloys have relatively low melting point in comparison with melting points of their components, allowing casting of complicated shapes without need of finishing. The material properties immediately after casting are much better than of conventional metals; usually, cast metals have worse properties than forged or wrought ones. The alloys are also malleable at low temperatures (400 °C for the earliest formulation), and can be molded. The low free volume also results in low shrinkage during cooling. For all of these reasons, Liquidmetal can be formed into complex shapes using processes similar to thermoplastics^[1], which makes Liquidmetal a potential replacement for many applications where plastics would normally be used.

Due to their non-crystalline (amorphous) structures, Liquidmetals are harder than alloys of titanium or aluminum used in similar applications. The zirconium and titanium based Liquidmetal alloys achieved yield strength of over 1723 MPa, nearly twice the strength of conventional crystalline titanium alloys (Ti6A1-4V is ~830 MPa), and about the strength of high-strength steels and some highly engineered bulk composite materials (see tensile strength for a list of common materials). However, the early casting methods introduced microscopic flaws that were excellent sites for crack propagation, and led to Vitreloy being fragile, like glass. Although strong, these early batches could easily be shattered if struck. Newer casting methods, tweaks to the alloy mixtures and other changes have improved this.

The lack of grain boundaries also means the metals have no "automatic" starting sites for crack propagation, and are therefore much more resistant to metal fatigue (in theory at least), creep, or plastic deformation. This also implies that the metals are very elastic, as the energy normally dissipated in the crystal structure and gain boundaries is retained in these metals. The result is that the metals are up to three times as elastic as other alloys, even titanium, which is itself considered fairly elastic. In a demonstration, ball bearings dropped on plates of metal will bounce three times as long on Liquidmetal.^[2]

The lack of grain boundaries in a metallic glass eliminates grain-boundary corrosion — a common problem in high-strength alloys produced by precipitation hardening and sensitized stainless steels. Liquidmetal alloys are therefore generally more corrosion resistant, both due to the mechanical structure as well as the elements used in its alloy. The combination of mechanical hardness, high elasticity and corrosion resistance makes Liquidmetal wear resistant.

The high elasticity and lack of plastic deformation before onset of catastrophic failure limits the material applicability in reliability-critical applications, as the impending failure is not evident. The material is also susceptible to metal fatigue with crack growth; a two-phase composite metal matrix composite reinforced with fibers of other material can reduce or eliminate this disadvantage.^[3] structure with amorphous matrix and a ductile dendritic crystalline-phase reinforcement, or a

Uses

Liquidmetal combines a number of features that are normally not found in any one material. This makes them useful in a wide variety of applications.

One of the first commercial uses of Liquidmetal was in golf clubs made by the company, where the highly elastic metal was used in the shaft and for portions of the face of the club. These were highly rated by users, but the product was later dropped. Since then Liquidmetal has appeared in a number of other sports equipment, including the cores of golf balls, skis, baseball bats and softball bats, and tennis racquets.^[4]

The ability to be cast and molded, combined with high wear resistance, has also led to Liquidmetal being used as a replacement for plastics in some applications. It has been used on the casing of a late-model SanDisk "Cruzer Titanium" USB flash drives as well as their Sansa line of flash based MP3 player, and casings of some cellphones (like the luxury Vertu products), the Socketcom ring scanner bar code reader product casing, the Biolase stylus and casing, the Motorola antennae and the Samsung frame inserts, as well as other toughened consumer electronics. They retain a scratch-free surface longer than competing materials, while still being made in complex net-shape cast products. The same qualities lend it to be used as protective coatings for industrial machinery, including oil drill pipes (Foster-Wheeler Coatings Div) and power plant boiler tubes as those designed by Alstom.

It is also considered as a replacement of titanium in applications ranging from medical instruments and cars to military and aerospace industry. In military applications, rods of amorphous metals are considered as a potential replacement of depleted uranium in kinetic energy penetrators. Plates of Liquidmetal were used in the solar wind ion collector array in the Genesis space probe.

Although Liquidmetal has very high strength and an excellent strength to weight ratio, its commercial success as a structural material may be limited. Work continues on amorphous iron-based alloys that would combine at least some of the advantages of Liquidmetal with even greater strength, estimated to be two to three times the strength of the best steels made today. This would give such an alloy a strength to weight ratio that would easily beat the best lightweight materials such as aluminum or titanium, and be much less expensive than composites.

Commercial alloys

A range of zirconium-based alloys have been marketed under this trade name. Some example compositions are listed below, in atomic percent:

An early alloy, Vitreloy 1:

Zr: 41.2 Be: 22.5 Ti: 13.8 Cu: 12.5 Ni: 10

A variant, Vitreloy 4, or Vit4:

Zr: 46.75 Be: 27.5 Ti: 8.25 Cu: 7.5 Ni: 10

Vitreloy 105, or Vit105:

Zr: 52.5 Ti: 5 Cu: 17.9 Ni: 14.6 Al:10

A more recent development (Vitreloy 106a), which forms glass under less rapid cooling:

Zr: 58.5 Cu: 15.6 Ni: 12.8 Al: 10.3 Nb: 2.8

Recent developments have reduced the cost of Liquidmetal alloys substantially by eliminating Berylium and increasing aluminum.

References

^ Liquid metal behaves like plastic, Manufacturing Engineering, Mar 2003
^ Ball Bouncer Demonstration - QuickTime movie
^ The case for bulk metallic glass, Materials Today, March 2004
^ Drivers -- Liquid Metal driver - discussion of Liquidmetal golf clubs

Amorphous metal

Category: Alloys

Liquidmetal Demonstration of Elasticity

Wechseln zu: Navigation, Suche

USB-Stick mit Liquidmetall-Gehäuse, widersteht laut Herstellerangaben 900 kg Druckbelastung

Liquidmetal und Vitreloy sind Markennamen für amorphe Metall-Legierungen (sog. metallische Gläser), die von der Firma Liquidmetal Technologies entwickelt wurden. Durch ihre nicht-kristalline Struktur sind die verwendeten Zirconium-Legierungen härter und elastischer als Legierungen aus Titan oder Aluminium, die in den gleichen Bereichen eingesetzt werden. Die Technologie findet im militärischen und industriellen Bereich vielfach Anwendung; am bekanntesten ist jedoch ihre Verwendung in Sportgeräten wie Skiern, Tennis- Softball- und Baseballschlägern.

Ein Beispiel für die Zusammensetzung einer Legierung (Vitreloy 106a): Zirconium 58,5 %; Kupfer 15,6 %; Nickel 12,8 %; Aluminium 10,3 %; Niobium 2,8 %.

Class-Action Lawsuit Settlement: Payday within 3 Weeks

2007-10-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

A recent order by Justice Steven D. Merryday to distribute the funds to the members of the
class-action lawsuit was confirmed to be received by Gilardi & Co., class-action administrator on August 19, 2007. Gilardi & Co. has requested the funds be transferred from plaintiffs attorneys (Saxena-White on behalf of Milberg, Weiss) to Gilardi & Co. Funds are due in to Gilardi this week and will be distributed within two weeks according to the class-action administrator.

At the outside, then, checks should be cut and mailed no later than the week of November 12, 2007.

Congratulations to all the longs who have waited for this meagre reward while the stock has lost half of its value over the same 1 year period.

Oil Service Sector at All Time Highs: Very Good Forecast for LM Coatings Business

2007-10-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Though the Crude Oil Price Index is definitely going to pull back due to the strengthening dollar, in general, the Oil Service Sector will continue to be strong for the next year or so. This is due to the nature of this sector. Profits from Oil Companies are at all time highs and it goes without saying that oil exploration follows and growth lags the crude oil price index. This bodes very well for the near term future for the LMC division under Larry Buffington.

http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/c/my/_/_osx

Samsung U600 has Frame insert

2007-10-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Liquidmetal Insert Frame in Samsung U600

http://shop.o2.co.uk/phone/Samsung/U600

Samsung's innovative Smart Surface Mounting Technology (SSMT) reduces the number of components and noise between them allowing for phenomenally slim and ergonomic designs.

The Liquidmetal insert frame is the supporting structure inside of the phone upon which all of the components are mounted, as opposed to the exterior cosmetic frame of the cell phone.

Motorola Third-Quarter 2007 Earnings Results to be Issued on 25 October

2007-10-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Presentation by Executives Following Earnings Release to be Webcast

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – 18 October 2007 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) third-quarter results are scheduled to be issued at approximately 5:30 a.m. Central Time (USA) on Thursday, 25 October. Motorola will host its quarterly conference call with financial analysts following the earnings release at 6:30 a.m. Central Time (USA) on 25 October. The conference call will be webcast live with audio and slides at www.motorola.com/investor.

Motorola: Picking Itself Up

Motorola, which posted losses in the first two quarters of the year, is trying to shore up market share and profit margins for its slumping handset business. Though management has warned that its core business won't be profitable for the full year, some analysts say the worst may be over even if the recovery proves agonizingly slow. On the plus side, Motorola's new Razr2 model is seeing some success, especially in the U.S. Also, margins are benefiting from cost cutting and a firmer average selling price for the company's phones. On the downside, Motorola's weak entry-level lineup means losing out on the handset boom in China and India, while at the high end the company's models are bumping up against the iPhone.

A replay of the conference call will be available over the Internet at www.motorola.com/investor, approximately three hours after the call has been completed.

[Editor's Note: Investors in Liquidmetal may gain some insight into the analogous quarter for LQMT and future prospects for the components business based upon the results of the cellphone manufactures to which LQMT is making sales. For this reason we will post such notices as a public service.]

Judge Grants Order to Distribute Funds from Liquidmetal Class-Action Lawsuit

2007-10-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, October 18, 2007, Judge Steven D. Merryday of the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, wrote the order authorizing the distribution of funds to all class-action participants in PRIMAVERA INVESTORS, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. LIQUIDMETAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC., et al., Defendants, Case No. 8:04-CV-919-T-23-EAJ. http://www.gilardi.com/pdf/lqdm1not.pdf

Notice of of the Court's order has been provided to Plaintiff's attornies, Saxena-White
http://www.saxenawhite.com and the class-action administrator, Gilardi and Company,
http://www.gilardi.com .

It is anticipated that the checks will be mailed to recipients no later than the end of November, 2007, upon administrative review and final review of appeals determinations.

Liquidmetal featured at European Space Conference

2007-10-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Nicola Belli, Managing Director of MaTech, Padova, Italy
will again present his Liquidmetal Case Study

Amorphous metals: a successful Tech Transfer from space to European industry
http://www.estt-conference.com/Abstract___Vita_Belli.pdf

October 16 - 17, 2007 in the New Munich Trade Fair Centre

http://www.estt-conference.com/Programm_European_Space_Technology_Transfer_Conference_2007.pdf

Information from Past Show: Euromold 2006, Munich Germany

SAGA spa

35010 Cadoneghe - PD - Italy via T. Edison 9

phone ++39 049 8888511 fax ++39 049 8888688

www.sagaplastic.com

Euromold 2006

November 29th - December 2nd, 2006

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Exhibition Centre

Hall 6.0 - Stand C114

Visit…

SAGA PROJECT and MaTech® together as our “Focus Team” at EUROMOLD 2006 on our

stand: “…a step intothefuture”.

SAGA PROJECT is the gem of SAGA SpA, a true project lab where we perform “engineering ideas”…

from the original concept to the finished parts and up to final distribution.

Today - thanks to the multi-input from Universities, the Italian National Research Centre, MaTech®,

and other design and hi-tech institutions - we are developing research in materials and new technologies

thus giving new advanced levels of product evolution.

MaTech®,is part of the Padova, Italy based GALILEO SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY PARK

and is highly respected in the field of new materials, R&D and technology transfer. All projects are tailormade and

incorporate nanotechnology, biotechnology as well as other more traditional technologies.

SAGA PROJECT and MaTech® have put together a Focus Team “...a step intothefuture”. The chief

result of this special collaboration is a new project which opens up new frontiers in the practicalities

of product development and creation.

Utilizing an entirely new material proposed by MaTech® - the amorphous alloy Liquidmetal® - and SAGA’s exclusive moulding systems, it is now possible to create products at the highest performance levels, as already found in plastics, without physical limits of either shape or use.

To learn more about our world, we invite you to our stand at Euromold where we can present to you

the efforts of the 2 companies in “REALTHINKING”.

Realthinking, Technologies and Materials are the embryos, the foundations for a new chapter in SAGA’s illustrious history and for our new philosophy to challenge techno limits and production frontiers.

The cornerstone will be laid at Euromold where, with our SAGA PROJECT/ MaTech® Focus Team, we’ll present new everyday items created in amorphous alloy, traditionally cast.

Visual Impact

The new vision of SAGA conveys an image of the unity of meticulous scientific developments, with

technological precision. Our graphic imagery employed at Euromold reveals the fusion of 2 symbols: a splintered barcode and a colourful shapeless spot. They are, of course, 2 opposites in every sense: formalism against irregularity…

black/white against explosive colours…regulation against fantasy.

These are examples to prove that contrasts can be combined both physically and philosophically.

THIS IS OUR THEME FOR OUR NEAR FUTURE – SAGA PROJECT.

product images

image 1_ Liquidmetal® billet of alloy

image 2_ Liquidmetal Saga Italy® Aerospace Part

image 3_ Safilo Italy eyeframe part

Check Out the Liquidmetal Frame on the Samsung I550

2007-10-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

Samsung I 550

Notice the

typical

Liquidmetal

grain of

the side

slider frame.

Photo: compliments of Michael Oryl, editor,
Mobileburn http://www.mobileburn.com the most
up-to-date, most informative website dealing with mobile
phones. Period. I only wish he would cite the materials
of the cases of all the cell phones he reviews. Obviously,
some people like plastic, others magnesium, others aluminum;
but most Liquidmetalcoholics, except Mrs. Moonkotch
prefer Liquidmetal.

Samsung components containing Liquidmetal are manufactured
in China by Grace Metal under license to Liquidmetal Technologies.

Samsung i550 GPS will come equipped with:

HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz +2100 MHz connectivity
3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash
2.6″ QVGA 262K color TFT display
Built-in GPS
FM Radio
Bluetooth 2.0(A2DP)
USB 2.0 High Speed
3.5 mm headphone jack
Symbian 9.2 OS with S60 3.1 UI
Full HTML browsing
RSS support
1200 mAh battery
150 MB of built-in memory
expandable to 4GB with via microSD
Dimensions: 115×53x13.8 mm

Samsung i550 will start shipping in November 2007.

How MaTech and Nicola Belli are promoting Liquidmetal

2007-10-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

When you visit this website of MaTech
http://www.matech.it
Click on the English Flag and then move the cursor to
the southwest of the document until NEWS is prompted
by your cursor. Click on News to read the calendar of
events in which MaTech is promoting Liquidmetal
Technology.

On July 10th 2007 at PST Galileo (C.so Stati Uniti 14 bis - Padova, Italy) a seminar seminar entitled 'Amorphous metal design' took place. It was dedicated to all designers interested in deep mechanical, chemical and physical features of this innovative materials family. Amorphous metals are metals without ordered crystalline structure and these particular property allow to exploit those typical technologies of polymers processing, such as injection moulding with the consequent advantage of obtaining complex shapes maintaining high mechanical properties and surface hardness.
The opening was planned for 9.00 (Italian time) with a welcome speech by Massimo Malaguti (PST Galileo - Director), followed by interventions of Giorgio Pellizzaro (Scuola Italiana Design - Director), Eugenio Farina (Scuola Italiana Design - teacher), Nicola Belli (MaTech - Director), of Roberto Gorza (Gorza & D), Giancarlo Peruzzo (Liquidmetal Saga Italy - Director), and Tim Taylor and Jan Schroers (Liquidmetal Technologies). At the end experts were available for questions and debate.

More on MaTech, Saga Spa and LSI:

http://liquidmetaladvocate.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-investors-need-to-know-about_16.html

University of Virginia Research & Liquidmetal

2007-10-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Process creates lighter, stronger, nonmagnetic steel
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times (07/19/2004 9:00 AM EDT)

Portland, Ore. - In the world of materials, plastics have promised to be the wave of the future since their invention, but don't count metals out yet. By doping some ferrous base alloys with large rare- earth or yttrium atoms, researchers have been able to prevent crystallization, enabling "amorphous" (noncrystalline) steel that is three times stronger than regular steel, one-third the weight and nonmagnetic to boot. The research was sponsored by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under the auspices of Dr. Leo Christodoulou and the SAMS program Structural Amorphous Metals Program. In their liquid state, metals are amorphous because their atoms are not ordered in a crystalline structure. When a metal slowly cools into the solid state, all the atoms line up in a repetitive pattern, enabling magnetism to get a grip. In contrast, amorphous materials have atoms that are oriented randomly, making them nonmagnetic. That is the structure of the metal called Darva-Glass 101. Darva-Glass 101 is predated by Darva-Glass 1, invented in 2002 at the University of Virginia, which contains iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, carbon and boron. "To make Darva-Glass 101 we added a small amount of rare- earth element or yttrium to Darva-Glass 1. The large size of the added atom exerts enough atomic-level stress to destabilize crystallization and form instead an amorphous structure," said physics professor Joseph Poon. Poon and University of Virginia colleagues Gary Shiflet, professor of materials science and engineering, and materials physicist Vijayabarathi Ponnambalam developed the new material. Separately, a government research group at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, led by Chain Liu, a materials scientist, reported adding a large-atom yttrium to Darva-1 to achieve a similar amorphous steel that also shows promise. Both groups also report that the amorphous structure makes it more difficult for surface oxidation (rust) to corrode the metal. With all its superior features, however, the material is brittle, and it could be as many as five years before that problem is solved and commercial use can be made of the metal. The University of Virginia scientists have given an exclusive license for Darva-Glass 1 to Liquidmetal Technologies Inc. http://www.liquidmetal.com; Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Possible applications for Darva-Glass 101 include its use in auto- mobiles and as lighter, more corrosion-free ship hulls. The material may also find applications as a corrosion-resistant coating, for delicate yet strong surgical instruments and lighter recreational equipment such as tennis racquets, golf clubs and bicycles. The novel microstructures of amorphous metals are not confined by the limitations imposed by a crystalline lattice. Shiflet said amorphous metals can be treated like normal steel in machines or they can be manipulated like a plastic-squeezed, compressed, flattened and shaped. Its easy formability makes it a prime material for submarines, because its lack of a magnetic response foils the sensors that often trigger mines to explode. Because the material is stronger, it could also be machined into very thin layers that could lighten armor that is nevertheless still immune even to armor-piercing bullets. And for electronic devices, the metal could be used not only for lighter cases but also for internal structural supports that allow devices to be thinner overall. http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=0KHZSP5RCHZEMQSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=23900734

What Investors need to Know about the Founder, William L. Johnson, PhD.

2007-10-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

The below interview with Dr. David Lemberg, PhD. comes from a great website

http://www.scienceandsociety.net

devoted to science and society via interviews with the outstanding scientists of today:

http://www.scienceandsociety.net/audio/wjohnson.mp3

Dr. William Johnson is Vice Chairman of the Board for Technology for Liquidmetal Technologies. He directed the research that led to the discovery of Liquidmetal alloy.

In addition to serving on the Liquidmetal Technologies Board, Dr. Johnson is the Ruben and Donna Mettler Professor of Material Science at Caltech. He received his BA in Physics from Hamilton College and his PhD in Applied Physics from Caltech. He spent two years at IBM's Research Center (1975-1977).

Dr. Johnson held a Visiting Professor appointment at the Metal Physics Institute in Gottinghen, Germany (1983) and received a Von Humbolt Distinguished Scientist Fellowship in Gottingen (1988). He is the 1995 recipient of the TMS/AIME Hume Rothery Award for his experimental work. o

Liquidmetal Technologies, a publicly traded company (OTC:LQMT), is a leading force in the research, development and commercialization of amorphous metals. The Company’s revolutionary class of patented Liquidmetal alloys and coatings form the basis of high performance materials that are utilized in a range of military, consumer and industrial products.

Liquidmetal alloys were discovered by researchers at California Institute of Technology and are characterized as amorphous alloys that are two to three times stronger than commonly used titanium alloys, retain the malleability of plastic, and are relatively non-corrosive and wear-resistant. Not only do Liquidmetal alloys provide applications that were not possible before, but they also present new opportunities for the current and future designs of metallic based products. This revolutionary class of patented alloys and coatings may change the performance and cost paradigms for materials science.

http://www.aph.caltech.edu/people/johnson_w.html

http://www.csem.caltech.edu/research/bmg.html

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~matsci/wlj/Johnson.html

What Investors need to know about Matech, Nicola Belli and Saga Plastics and the LSI Joint Venture

2007-10-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

ABSTRACT (written by Nicola Belli)

Innovative materials and technology transfer represent are effective tools to support product innovation. The amorphous metals case history is a key example of how mass markets may benefit from technologies initially developed for space applications.

INTRODUCTION

The MITT® methodology - Materials Innovation and Technology Transfer - has been developed and adopted by MaTech since 2001 to define the guidelines that both large and SME may follow to search, identify and apply new materials and process technology into innovative products.
An new methodology to classify materials according to functional performances was also developed within the MITT.

AMORPHOUS METALS FOR THE EUROPEAN INDUSTRY

Amorphous metals are a family of innovative alloys that have a typical amorphous, disordered atomic structure. For this reason they are better known in the academic world as glassy metals.
The amorphous structure can be obtained by super cooling the special melt alloy, thus preventing the solidification from building the crystalline structure. Amorphous metals do not present grain borders and shows very specific characteristics: elastic elongation is about 2%, while most popular steels are in the area of 0,1%; surface hardness is also quite high, ranging from 600 Vickers and up to 2000 HRV when amorphous powder coatings are used. Strength to weight ratio may be more than double than conventional titanium; corrosion resistance is also very high.

The manufacturing process is one of the most interesting advantages of this material. As the thermal expansion coefficient is very low, amorphous metals can be injected in mould like polymers obtaining net-shape components and thus definitely reducing machining costs.

Amorphous metals also exist as powders and wires for surface coatings, to be applied by HVOF, TWAS and TIG process. They show very high performances in low friction coefficient, high temperature, high abrasion application.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CASE HISTORY

Amorphous metal alloy compositions, manufacturing process and related machinery have been initially developed and patented by Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. and Caltech University in California, for space and defense applications.

As the technology became available for commercial applications in mid ’00, MaTech started a long term Technology Transfer project to introduce the technology to the European and Italian markets, as the only manufacturing plant was initially located in Korea.

In 2006 a joint venture between Liquidmetal Technologies and SAGA Spa,
http://www.sagaplastic.com/english
called LSI, was been founded and the first European plant was started in early 2007 in Padova.

This aerospace part was cast of Liquidmetal
by the LSI Joint Venture from a mold
designed by Saga Plastics resulting from the
technology transfer initiated by Nicola Belli
at MaTech.

For further details, contact the founder of MaTech, Nicola Belli,

Nicola Belli

Born in Adria, province of Rovigo, in 1967. He graduated in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bologna with a thesis on the competition vehicle design.
He has worked at the following companies: Ferrari Engineering Spa, as project engineer in 1994. Ferrari Auto Spa – Space Division, as Project Manager in 1996.
He then moved to Benetton Sporsystem Spa, as material research project leader, in 1998. In 2000 he joined Benetton Group Spa as Research & Innovation Manager, responsible for technological transfer from the Formula 1 team to the Sport Division.
Technical Advisor to the International Olympic Committee for the Winter Olympics of Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002.
Materials Researcher for FISI - Italian Winter Sports Federation - from 1993 to 1999.
Materials Researcher for Federation Monegasque de Bobsleigh from 1999 to 2002.
Competition Director of the Italian National Bob Team from 2002 to 2004.
Since 2001, he has worked as Technical Director for MaTech - Innovative Materials - Galileo Scientific and Technological Park Scpa - based in Padova.

Accordo Liquidmetal - SAGA

MaTech – Materiali Innovativi

Corso Stati Uniti 14 bis

35127 Padova ITALY

Tel. +39 049 8705973

Fax:+39 049 8061222

website: http://www.matech.it/

e.mail: info@matech.it

Liquidmetal Advocate

Liquidmetal Part

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

John Kang, Resigns upon Jury Finding

CORRECTED - UPDATE 2-Jabil says economy dampens forecast

BuhlerPrince sells QPC; plans to grow in Holland

BuhlerPrince sells QPC; plans to grow in Holland

LQMT 4Q Earn Rel & CC Tues Mar 11 4PM EST

Jabil Circuits (JBL) sees weakness

Monday, March 3, 2008

Jabil Circuits (JBL) sees weakness

LQMT names successor to vacant CFO slot

New CFO replaces Slot left by Ham Young

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies Announces Projected Fourth Quarter Revenue

JABIL's Investment in Vietnam...Something for LQMT to Consider for Machine Placement

New Buhler Group News bypasses mention of Liquidmetal

Liquidmetal Hits Second All Time Low in Company's History

Liquidmetal Hits Second All Time Low in Company's History

Exec VP Buys Shares of JBL

Jabil Circuit EVP Buys Shares

Article tools

JBL Refinancing Delay behind LQMT 4! Delay in Partnership

Liquidmetal Hits Third All Time Low in Company's History

Buhler Customer Base Opens the Door for Liquidmetal to enter similar markets

Outlook for Technology Stocks

Liquidmetal(R) Technologies and Buhler Die Casting, a Leading Global Manufacturer of Die Casting Equipment, Form Strategic Relationship

Time magazine does it again; Awards Apple iPhone as the top gadget

If Samsungs double-sided LCD doesn't merit a Liquidmetal Frame

Jabil Circuit climbs after Baird upgrade to OUTPERFORM

Jabil Circuit climbs after Baird upgrade

Fitch: Stable Operating Trends Mitigate US Tech Concerns in 2008

Fitch: Stable Operating Trends Mitigate US Tech Concerns in 2008

Atakan Peker, Vice President of Technology Resigns To Teach at WSU, Spokane

Good News for Liquidmetal Shareholders!!! Reg Sho Changes

ATK wins $15 million services contract with NASA

The case for bulk metallic glass: Liquidmetal in a Nutshell

Abstract

Article Outline

Conventional metallic glass

Critical casting thickness

Glass-forming criteria

Bulk metallic glass scales up

Commercial Zr-based BMG

Processing: near net-shape fabrication

Deformation, flow, and shear bands

Composites for enhanced plasticity

Investigating structural applications

A variety of uses

Golf club heads

Making the case for consumer electronics

Liquidmetal rebounds

Medical applications

Defense and aerospace

Cheaper, easier manufacturing

References

H-P has Boom Quarter - Good for Jabil Circuits

Summary of LQMT Annual Shareholders Meeting

SAGE REPORT: Questions for LQMT Shareholders Meeting, 10:00am Thursday, Nov 15, 2007

March 5, 2004 Once Upon a Time Analyst Report (Baird)

Unable to Locate the Novatel Wireless 727 USB Modem in Los Angeles

Glut of Zinc Developing: Impact on Liquidmetal Sales?

Old LQMT 5 Year Shareholder Value Plan

SAGE Analyzes Structural Changes of Conference Call

Hon Hai posts Q3 net gains on orders from Apple, Dell

Thursday, November 1, 2007Reuters

Jabil Circuit, Inc. Forecast Lower than Expected

Liquidmetal Announces 3Q 2007 Financial Results

Liquidmetal 3Q Conference Call Today @ 4:30 PM EST (1:30 PST)

Flextronics Beats Wall Street Forecast - Good for Liquidmetal

$1.00 of LQMT 4 years ago equals $0.28 Today

$1.00 of LQMT 4 years ago equals $0.28 Today

Liquidmetal Coatings Division

Liquidmetal Common Applications

For use in Automotive - Aerospace

Connector

Potential Uses In

Fiber Optics

Advantages of Liquidmetal Die Castings Over Other Manufacturing Techniques

Consider These Additional Benefits of Liquidmetal Die Casting...

Class Action Law Suit Settlement Pay-out NLT Nov 13

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Reuters