Talk:FEI Company

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Winniepei (talk · contribs)

Edits

Just a general FYI as the editors here seem to be rather inexpierenced with editing on Wikipedia. First, as this is a company you should read about conflicts of interest to make sure you should be editing the article. Second, take a look at the manual of style to see how to properly format items, and information that should be in an article about a company. Then, if you want the article to last, read WP:CORP to see how to demonstarte the company's notability (one outside article like the one cited will not be enough). Then also see WP:CITE so you can demonstrate that what you have entered is not orignal research, which is not allowed on Wikipedia. And lastly, take a look at a featured article covering a business, Microsoft, or some good class articles such as Intel Corporation and Google. Aboutmovies 19:07, 25 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't particularly like the formatting of a numebr of the edits, but I tend to try to avoid being protective of articles I've created myself. Thanks for the clean-up. DrMikeF 17:07, 9 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Removed material

I removed the following from the initial section; per WP:LEAD, it was totally inappropriate.

The company makes structural process management systems that use ion beams to analyze and diagnose submicron structures in integrated circuits (ICs), data storage components, and biological and industrial compounds. FEI makes focused ion beam and dual beam electron microscopes that analyze ICs. It also makes scanning and transmission electron microscopes that detect defects in ICs and analyze biological specimens and materials. FEI targets applications in nanotechnology R&D, but still gets significant sales from the semiconductor and data storage markets. Customers outside the US account for more than two-thirds of sales.

Overall sales for FEI in 2011 rose to the highest in the company's history and a 30% increase over 2010, driven by strong demand and a large backlog at the start of the year. Net income nearly doubled for the year. The company has remained profitable in spite of regular ups and downs in its revenues. Continued sales of higher margin products, lower costs associated with increasing production in the Czech Republic, and savings related to the termination of its contract manufacturing agreement should all contribute to improvements in FEI's gross margins in 2012.

FEI saw double-digit sales growth across all of its market segments for the year. Sales to the materials science (formerly research and industry) industry were up 60%, due to increased spending by research organizations, investments in educational infrastructure in developing countries including China and South Korea, and strong sales of its high-end TEM products. In life sciences, revenues were up nearly 38% as the market increasingly turned to electron microscopy for research. After a 75% jump in 2010 revenues, the electronics market brought in a more modest 17% increase as chip makers and data storage firms continued to invest in new process technologies and expanded capacity, but at a slower pace. Revenues related to service and components were up 11% on the larger installed base of equipment across all market sectors.

FEI expects to see continued growth in 2012. The company signed collaborative agreements with the Oregon Health & Science University and the National Institutes of Health in the second half of 2011 that will contribute to growth in the life sciences market in coming years. FEI also expects to benefit from development of new natural resources products for the oil and gas sector.

FEI also made two acquisitions to expand its product offerings. In 2012 the company expanded its industrial-focused offerings with the $30.5 million acquisition of ASPEX Corporation, a provider of rugged scanning electron microscopes based in Pennsylvania. ASPEX's products -- used in the defense, forensics, health sciences, industrial automation, and metals industries -- provide FEI with expanded offerings for the materials science and natural resources business. Late in 2011 the company bought TILL Photonics, a maker of digital light microscopes and imaging systems used for live-cell microscopy. FEI paid a total of about $20 million for the German company to expand its products for life sciences market and extend its reach in Europe.

After years of multiple acquisitions and subsequent restructurings, the company set its sights on a handful of key markets. FEI realigned operations to focus on three areas in nanotechnology: nanobiology, nanoelectronics, and nanoresearch. Nanotech essentially means making things that have dimensions as small as 1 to 100 nanometers, with a nanometer being one-billionth of a meter or about one-80,000th the thickness of a human hair. Nanotech has applications in a variety of industries, from consumer products like clothing and golf balls to electronics and health care.

Among FEI's customers are related parties (the companies have directors and executives in common) Applied Materials, Lattice Semiconductor, and Cascade Microtech. Other clients have included Arizona State University, Avago Technologies, California Institute of Technology, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Oxford University.

The above text reads as though it came from a company press release or financial filing. If so (I've not looked), that's a serious copyright violation. And even if it is handcrafted text, it reads like like a company press release or financial filing, not what Wikipedia rules call for: neutral language. Nor are there there any cited sources.

Any part of the above that is added back into the article - and it should not be in the lead section - should be done only if it is footnoted, and only if the information comes from acceptable sources. Acceptable sources do NOT include information published by the company (website, press release, financial filings, etc.) The existing "History" section is a good example of how to properly cite sources; please follow that. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:54, 22 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]