LTX
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LTX (NASDAQ: LTXX) is an Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) vendor, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Norwood, MA (Greater Boston). 2005 annual sales were approximately $135 mil (EDGAR SEC Filing) and it has 473 Employees (Yahoo Finance).
The present focus of the company is the design and development of ATE for the semiconductor marketplace, but it distinguished itself in the early days as a provider of functional and parametric testers for discrete component RF products. Even today, LTX retains that heritage by offering Fusion, a test platform capable of testing a mixed signal (analog & digital) device.
[edit] History
LTX was founded by Graham Miller, Roger Blethen (current chairman of the board), et al. All of the founders left nearby competitor, Teradyne. Although never verified, corporate lore holds that the name LTX was an abbreviation for the clarion call of its founders: "Leave Teradyne by Christmas (Xmas)" or possibly "Left Teradyne on Christmas." Others speculate that demanding executives left management with "Little Time for seX". Still others insist that LTX is simply a short form of the word "Electronics". While we may never know the true origination of the company's name, that doesn't stop countless children around the country from sitting around and trying to come up with a clever story. Today, LTX, has offices throughout the United States and EMEA.
[edit] Competitors
LTX's principal competitors in the ATE business are:
- Advantest (ATE)
- Credence Systems Corporation (CMOS)
- Teradyne (TER)
- Verigy (formerly a division of Hewlett-Packard and then Agilent Technologies)
