API T-Gauge® Systems Continue Industrial Market Penetration

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Jul 17, 2014, 07:49 ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Photonix^® (NYSE MKT: API) announced that it has received over $400,000 in orders from our value added resellers for multiple T-Gauge^® online terahertz (THz) sensor systems in three different market segments; extruded plastics, carpet, and paper. The company expects these initial design wins will lead to multiple system sales in each market segment over the next several years. The T-Gauge^® system, manufactured by API, is the only fully hardened THz system that is suitable for online gauging applications.

The primary advantages that the T-Gauge^® sensor offers in these segments compared to alternative sensors is its ability to measure single and/or multiple layers with a single-sided sensor configuration, its ability to measure more than one physical property at the same time with the same sensor, and its inherent safety compared to nuclear and x-ray gauges which produce harmful radiation. These capabilities provide a significant return on investment for continuous, online process control measurements and acceptance is growing for this technology.

The initial extruded plastics application is to measure the individual layer thickness of coated foam food containers. Today companies utilize a combination of nucleonic, x-ray or infrared gauges to measure the total thickness. The T-Gauge^® system is ideal where space is limited and multiple sensors cannot be deployed because one T-Gauge^® sensor can measure individual layer thickness and total thickness simultaneously.

The initial carpet application is targeted at measuring the amount of latex applied to the mesh backing, which is an important factor in carpet quality. The T-Gauge^® is currently the only sensor technology that has been able to make the desired measurement. The difficulty for carpet manufacturers is that the measurement needs to be single-sided, which is easily done with the T-Gauge^® single sided configuration.

The paper market sale to a significant VAR is focused on application development prior to full online deployment. The T-Gauge^® system can measure basis weight, moisture content and non-contact caliper thickness. The incumbent technology, beta gauge, cannot make multiple measurements and requires three to four sensors, where as the T-Gauge^® system only needs one sensor that makes the measurements all at the same spot for greater process correlation. Successful application development could open up a significant paper market for the T-Gauge^® sensors.

"These recent T-Gauge^® purchase orders are evidence of our growing penetration and market leadership in multiple industrial markets based on the strength of our technology and value added reseller channel," said Richard Kurtz, CEO of Advanced Photonix, Inc. "The fact that our gauging solution can satisfy such a broad range of applications and can provide solutions that other sensors cannot, positions us well to grow rapidly as the early adopters of THz sensors lead the way to volume product adoption in each market."

About Advanced Photonix, Inc.

Advanced Photonix, Inc.^® (NYSE MKT: API) is a leading supplier of optoelectronic sensors, devices and instruments used by Test and Measurement, Process Control, Medical, Telecommunication and Homeland Security markets. The company has three product lines: Optosolutions focuses on enabling manufacturers to measure physical properties, including temperature, particular counting, color, and fluorescence for Medical, Homeland Security and Process Control applications. The Terahertz sensor product line is targeted to the Process Control, to enable quality control, and Security markets through nondestructive testing. The T-Gauge^® sensor can measure subsurface physical properties, like multi-layers thicknesses, density, moisture content, anomaly detection and some chemical features, online and in real time. High-Speed Optical Receiver (HSOR) products are used by the telecommunication market in both telecommunication equipment and in test and measurement equipment utilized in the manufacturing of telecommunication equipment. For more information visit us on the web at www.advancedphotonix.com.

The information contained herein includes forward looking statements that are based on assumptions that management believes to be reasonable but are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, unforeseen technological obstacles which may prevent or slow the development and/or manufacture of new products; potential problems with the integration of the acquired company and its technology and possible inability to achieve expected synergies; obstacles to successfully combining product offerings and lack of customer acceptance of such offerings; limited (or slower than anticipated) customer acceptance of new products which have been and are being developed by the Company; and a decline in the general demand for optoelectronic products.

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SOURCE Advanced Photonix, Inc.