NewsWestaim's iFire Technology appoints flat panel display manufacturing expert
08:01 EDT Thursday, June 06, 2002
TORONTO, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - (Nasdaq:WEDX) (TSE:WED) - Barry Heck, President of iFire Technology Inc., a subsidiary of The Westaim Corporation, today announced the appointment of Annette Gauthier as Vice President, Operations. Ms. Gauthier's primary role is to lead the team that is preparing Fire's technology for pilot and mass production.
"Ms. Gauthier's flat panel display manufacturing experience is of great value to iFire as we move from a focus on research and development to preparing for pilot production," said Mr. Heck. "I am very pleased that Ms. Gauthier has moved from her consulting role with iFire to a full time position. She is a valuable addition to our strong and experienced team."
Ms. Gauthier brings more than 20 years of technology manufacturing, efficiency expertise, and operations experience to iFire, including a decade overseeing liquid crystal flat panel display production.
Previously, she held the position of Vice President of Operations at Litton Systems Canada, leading a manufacturing staff of more than 500 people. While there, she led the manufacturing of Active Matrix Liquid Crystal and Light Emitting Diode Flat Panel Displays. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Operations at Skyjack Inc.
Ms. Gauthier holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
iFire Technology has developed a flat panel display technology with low cost and high performance potential. iFire is targeting the large screen consumer television market where TV's greater than 25 inches in size account for more than US$50 billion in annual sales. It features low-cost manufacturing due to its solid state structure and the performance characteristics required for commercial television, including unrestricted viewing angle, rapid video response speed and commercial quality color. iFire plans on commercializing its flat panel technology in partnership with major consumer electronics companies and expects to begin pilot production in early 2004.
The Westaim Corporation is a technology accelerator that launches exceptional technologies into the marketplace. In addition to iFire, its technology investments include NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals which researches, develops and commercializes medical devices and pharmaceutical products based on its nanocrystalline silver technology. Westaim's common shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WED.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Company can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements, including financial considerations and those predicting the timing and market acceptance of future products. The Company disclaims any intention or obligations to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Statement.
SOURCE Westaim Corporation
CONTACT: Tony Johnston, Senior Vice President, The Westaim Corporation, (403) 234-3103, info@westaim.com,
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