iTECH announced they have been selected by the State of California as the grand prize winner for the “Crystal Award” for having held the most successful 2008 Kaizen Event producing the most measurable improvement.  The Award Ceremony took place at iTECH with Rod Bolton – President and Sensei, being the recipient along side the Kaizen Team participating in the Event held in June 2008.

The award is part of California’s State Employee Training Program (ETP) and is administered by the California Employers Group.  Over 175 companies state-wide contended for this award.  The initial results of the Kaizen Event were followed up in 30 days and 90 days to insure that the initial achievements were sustained. 

According to Rod Bolton – President of iTECH, “The Kaizen Event focused on our Charger Assembly area.  The results included a 68% reduction in floor space, 48% reduction in WIP, 84% reduction in operator travel, a 27% reduction in product travel and a 65% improvement in productivity.  iTECH is committed to continuous process improvement and this Event is indicative of what our team can and will continue to accomplish.  I am proud of their efforts and obviously impressed by the results.”

 iTECH announced expansion plans for their battery pack operations facility in San Diego.  The battery pack operations will be moving into a 17,000 sq ft. building that has been custom configured and will be the base for their battery pack and accessory production. 

 According to Rod Bolton, President of iTECH, the added capacity will serve a growing customer base while the continued implementation of lean in our cellular layout and processes will increase our ‘flex’ scheduling and process efficiency.  This expansion gives us a total of 39,000 sq. ft. equipping us to serve our customer’s needs well into the foreseeable future.”

Effective as of January 1, 2008, the iTECH board has approved the appointment of Rod Bolton to the position of President.  Prior to joining iTECH, Rod served as President to both Teal Electronics and Electronic Solutions with a track record of achieving growth from $10M to $100M.  Rod has served on Boards to multiple electronic manufacturing companies in the San Diego area, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and the American Electronics Association.  Rod’s background and his demonstrated leadership as EVP at iTECH qualifies him for this appointment.  Rod received his BA and MBA from California State University of Fullerton.

Don Kutz will remain as CEO, and will focus on strategic business issues, including technology development and research.

The iTECH board has also approved the appointment of Gary Klein-Wassink to the position of Vice President of Operations.  Gary joined iTECH in 2004, with experience at HM Electronics and General Dynamics.  Gary received his BA in Business Administration and MA degree in Acquisition and Contract Management.  He has been active in the AEA, and has been instrumental in our growth over the past several years.

Additional changes include:

•    Phil DeSantis, Program Manager, will report to Frank Cooper, VP Marketing and Sales.
•    Craig Baldon has been assigned Technical Service Support, will report to Gary Klein-Wassink.
•    Tyler Papania, promoted to Production Manager for both electronics assembly and battery operations, will report to Gary Klein-Wassink.
•    Andy Buchanan has moved into sustaining engineering, will report to Carl Gallenson, VP Engineering.

These organization changes, coupled with our strategic initiatives, is part of our on-going pursuit in providing our customers consistent value, quality and flexibility.

About iTECH
iTECH leads in innovating design and manufacture of power products including smart batteries, chargers, docking stations and power sub-systems. We provide both standard and engineered application-specific product solutions where performance is critical.  iTECH works with all chemistries – SLA, NiCd/NiMH, Lithium ion and Lithium polymer.  We serve vertical OEM and open market customers in the handheld electronics, medical, safety/security, military and communication markets.