The Patent Board Ranks Laird Technologies at 41 of the Top 50 Innovator Companies in the Telecommunications Industry


Ranked #17 in Industry Impact and #19 in Innovation Cycle Time Categories, the Company Leapfrogs Previous Ranking by 16 Points.

St. Louis, Missouri, USA - August 10, 2009 - Laird Technologies, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacture of customized, performance-critical components for wireless systems and other advanced electronics applications, today announced that the Patent Board ranks the company as #17 in Industry Impact, #19 in Innovation Cycle Time, and #41 overall in the board's Top 50 Scorecard for Telecommunications - an increase of 16 points from its previous ranking.

Laird Technologies is a recognized leader in technical performance and has established a business-driven intellectual property (IP) management process that concentrates on technical patent filings. The company currently holds 648 patents worldwide, reflecting its overall strategy of technology innovation and leadership in all of its product areas. In first half 2009, pending patent applications have increased by 28.8%

Rick Rothenberger, Chief Technical Officer of Laird Technologies, attributes the company's dramatic ratings increase to these processes that were implemented over the past few years.

"Laird Technologies created a culture of innovation where 25-30% of our product development engineers submit innovation disclosures each year," said Rothenberger. "Many of these are focused on next generation products with high-performance levels including our antenna modules, EMI, and thermal product lines."

According to Michael Noonan, Director and Chief IP Counsel for Laird Technologies, the company intentionally created a global network of industry-oriented, highly business-focused IP councils in various product areas that reinforce the company's culture of innovation.

"Competitors demonstrate the relevance of our patents by frequently citing them in their own patent applications," Noonan said. "These patent citations and our innovative culture have led to our high Industry Impact(TM) rankings."

The company's culture of innovation has resulted in a global engineering team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that is well respected across industry segments for its technology leadership and emphasis on platform development that leads to products the design engineering community requires.

About Laird Technologies, Inc.

Laird Technologies designs and manufactures customized, performance-critical products for wireless and other advanced electronics applications.

The company is a global market leader in the design and supply of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal management products, mechanical actuation systems, signal integrity components, and wireless antennae solutions, as well as radio frequency (RF) modules and systems.

Custom products are supplied to all sectors of the electronics industry including the handset, telecommunications, data transfer and information technology, automotive, aerospace, defense, consumer, medical, and industrial markets.

Laird Technologies, a unit of Laird PLC, employs over 10,000 employees in more than 39 facilities located in 13 countries.

Contact Information

For additional information, visit www.lairdtech.com or contact us at:

Tel: +1-866-928-8181

e-mail: sales@lairdtech.com

Editorial Contact:

Ellie Rovai

Marketing Director (MarCom)

Tel: 636-898-6208

ellie.rovai@lairdtech.com

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