Summer Infant sees positive outlook

Woonsocket-based Summer Infant Inc. (Nasdaq: SUMR, SUMRU, SUMRW), has announced its outlook for the full year 2008. Based on customer commitments to date and sales data at the retail level, the company predicts net revenues to be in the range of about $95.0 million to $100.0 million and EBITDA in the range of $10.2 million to $10.6 million, before any acquisitions. It predicts earnings per share to be in the range of 30 cents to 32 cents. “We are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Summer Infant in 2008,” said Jason Macari, chief executive officer of the company, which is a designer, marketer and distributor of juvenile health, safety and wellness products sold principally to large U.S. retailers.

TJX chief joins Staples board

Framingham, Mass.-based Staples Inc. has appointed Carol Meyrowitz, president and chief executive officer of The TJX Cos., Inc., to its board of directors. “Carol brings strong executive skills as well as a wealth of retail industry knowledge. Her merchandising expertise and product sourcing background make her a great addition to our strong board of directors,” said Ron Sargent, Staples chairman and chief executive officer. Meyrowitz has been president of TJX since 2005, CEO since January 2007 and a director since 2006. TJX is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. It operates T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, A.J. Wright and Bob’s Stores in the United States.

N.H. business owners predict downturn

New Hampshire business owners are pessimistic about their 2008 performance, citing overall poor economic conditions, the high cost of energy, health care and health insurance and a lack of qualified labor in a survey released Wednesday. RKM Research surveyed 300 businesses for the Business and Industry Association and found that 38 percent of businesses expect economic conditions to get worse, 29 percent expect them to stay the same and 25 percent expect them to get better. Business confidence has reached its lowest level in four years, pollster R. Kelly Myers said. He said pessimism about New Hampshire’s economic conditions next year is widespread and common among businesses of all sizes. Just 15 percent of businesses expect to add new employees in 2008, compared with 21 percent last year.

Aerospace company expands

BAE Systems, a global defense and aerospace company, has opened a new 30,000-square-foot facility at its South Nashua, N.H., location for production work on the electronic warfare programs for the F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II military aircraft. The site will support more than 1,400 of the company’s 4,500 employees who work in New Hampshire and who contribute to the F-22 and F-35 programs. “The new facility is capable of assembling and testing complex microwave products and performing assembly, integration, and acceptance testing at significantly reduced cost and cycle times,” said Mike Dow, vice president of operations for BAE Systems in Nashua. The company provides the electronic warfare suites for the F-22 and F-35 aircraft. The suites detect, analyze, evaluate, and react to electronic threats fielded by potential adversaries. About 60 suppliers in New Hampshire provide products and services to support the programs.

UT subsidiary awarded contract

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has selected Hamilton Sundstrand, of Windsor Locks, Conn., to provide several major systems on the proposed Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Hamilton Sundstrand is a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. Hamilton Sundstrand’s suite of systems for each plane includes the electric system (including emergency power), fire detection and suppression system, air-management system, auxiliary power unit and flap/slat actuation system. The new jet represents the next generation of regional aircraft: a 70- to 90-seat aircraft being developed to increase efficiencies and cabin comfort.

Mass. company announces new product

Hopkinton, Mass.-based Caliper Life Sciences Inc. (CALP: Nasdaq) has announced the availability of an automated solid-phase extraction work station designed to streamline the sample preparation process for mass spectrometer analysis in various scientific applications, such as isolating chemical analytes in biological samples including drug-abuse screening, drug metabolism testing, contract research screening and forensic sample screening. Caliper is a provider of technologies in the life sciences industry to create life-saving and enhancing medicines and diagnostic tests. The company’s offerings include microfluidics, lab automation and liquid handling and optical imaging technologies.

GE wins wind-turbine contract

General Electric Co., headquartered in Fairfield, Conn., has received a contract valued at about $650 million to provide 333 wind turbines to Noble Environmental Power for new and expansion projects in New York and Texas. The agreement is the fourth wind turbine supply contract that GE and Noble have signed over the past three years. GE, the world’s biggest maker of power-generation equipment, has sold almost all of its capacity for wind turbines and other renewable energy projects through mid- to late-2009, Vic Abate, vice president for renewable energy, said. Wind turbine sales will be about $4.3 billion this year and increase 25 percent next year. Noble Environmental, based in Essex, Conn., is owned by JP Morgan Partners and other investors.