Firm in Fayetteville lands F-35 contract
Fayetteville-based tech company Arkansas Power Electronics International Inc. has been awarded a $3.5 million contract with the Air Force to develop components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The company makes highly efficient electronic components for a variety of applications, including defense, aerospace and hybrid vehicles, according to a news release Wednesday.
The company is making a high-temperature silicon carbide power module for the fighter jet. The component uses the company’s wide band gap material, a semiconductor that withstands harsh environments and allows high-performance applications.
The F-35 is under development as part of the Air Force’s new design philosophy that requires replacement of bulky, mechanical aircraft-control systems with electronic motors and drives.
Arkansas Power Electronics International employs 49 workers and leases space at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
- John Magsam
8th & Walton teams with California firm
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp., a private, Malibu, Calif.-based company that provides credit and credibility solutions for businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada, said Wednesday that it has joined forces with Bentonville-based 8th & Walton, which teaches Wal-Mart Stores Inc. suppliers the nuances of doing business with the world’s largest retailer.
The new partnership will provide educational content for small- and medium-size suppliers of retail goods that are doing business with Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club or hope to, the two entities said in a release.
Dun & Bradstreet and 8th & Walton plan to cohost supplier seminars and classroom instruction, and provide online education and support.
- Cyd King
State index off 0.98 to end day at 337.38
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 0.98 to 337.38 Wednesday.
“U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday, ending six straight days of gains, after disappointing earnings reports from AT&T and biotech firm Amgen,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Shares of P.A.M. Transportation Services and Murphy USA each gained 1.9 percent.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 25 on 04/24/2014