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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Monday, April 11, 2016
Innovation key to local firm’s success Microtronics celebrates 25th anniversary By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
It started with an offhand request. Such sparks of innovation frequently do. Roger Jones, then working for a Chanute company making radar detectors, had a friend in the towing business looking for a way to wirelessly control his tow truck’s lift. “I just pushed it off for a while, for the mere fact that I figured there were all kinds of things he could use,” Jones recalled. But Jones’ friend persisted. “So I did some research, and figured out there really was not anything in the industry for him to use,” Jones said. It took about a year for Jones to eventually come up with a wireless controller for a six-function wheel lift. Jones was proud of his prototype; so much so, he took it to various trade shows, to see if others would be interested. “The towing industry could use them, but the numbers really weren’t there to support” mass manufacturing such devices. But other industries could. “At the time, there was not much equipment that was retrofittable, where you could just plug and play,” Jones recalled. Jones started filling that niche. In February 1991, Microtronics was born. Fast forward to April 2016. Microtronics celebrated its 25th anniversary Friday with a barbecue and employee party to recognize the company’s ability to withstand numerous challenges it faces on a daily basis. “I don’t know where the past 25 years went,” Jones said with a laugh. “It went by in a hurry. It has been a great 25 years, and we hope to see many years to come.”
Roger Jones and his wife, Susan, are celebrating Microtronics LLC’s 25th anniversary. Microtronics creates wireless controllers for industrial equipment, such as the devices shown above.
Microtronics specializes in building wireless controls for all manners of industrial equipment, from cranes and tub grinders to fire trucks and bulk feeders. EARLY CHALLENGES
One of the keys to the company’s success, Jones said, was to develop an actuator system, allowing hydraulic controls to be fitted with electronic override controls. But it wasn’t easy, especially at the start.
“We set up shop in our basement and used a spare bedroom as the office,” Jones said. One prospective client, AutoCrane Co., was in dire need of a radio-controlled amplifier for a valve on the company’s cranes. The company approached Jones, who asked for a 30-day window to develop a solution. “They could not live with that, and it was settled for a two-week time period from
See 25 YEARS | Page A4
Marvin Wheat works in the Microtronics testing area, where various components are brought in, “so we can beat it up and make it work.” REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Amtrak sues over damage, derailment WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Amtrak has filed a federal lawsuit against a southwest Kansas feed yard, accusing it of gross negligence in relation to a train derailment that injured 28 passengers last month. In the suit filed Friday by Amtrak and BNSF, the plaintiffs allege Cimarron Crossing Feeders failed to notify the railroad or law enforcement after one of the company’s trucks slammed into the railroad road bed and displaced the tracks by more than a foot.
design to production,” Jones recalled. But not only did Jones have to come up with a design, Microtronics still needed approval from the FCC in order to begin production because the controllers would utilize radio signals. “We could not sell or offer to sell any units until we had the FCC grant.” Jones and another engineer worked around the clock as a controller was designed, and software installed. From start to finish, the process took a week. Even better, the FCC signed off on Microtronics, allowing Jones, et al, to begin marketing their products. “Naturally, we wanted to sell to other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) so they would put our unit on some of their other units,” Jones said. Alas, while the manufac-
The lawsuit claims the truck was being loaded with grain when Cimarron’s employees left it unattended on March 13, out of gear and without any brakes applied. It rolled downhill, crossed over U.S. 50 and slammed into the tracks. Shortly after midnight on March 14, an eastbound Amtrak train hit the damaged tracks and eight passenger cars derailed near Cimarron, about 20 miles See AMTRAK | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 115
State delays KPERS payments By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is delaying roughly $90 million in contributions to pensions for public school and college employees as it wrestles with budget problems and disappointing tax collections. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s office announced the move Friday after his budget director, Shawn Sullivan, notified the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System that contributions due April 15 would not be made on time. Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said it’s not yet clear how long the contributions will be delayed. The delay won’t affect current retirees’ benefits, nor should it affect the pension system’s long-term financial health, assuming the state catches back up. The contributions go toward pensions for school teachers and employees at the state’s community and technical colleges. Hawley added that the state also might not delay the contributions for more than a few weeks. She said the administration is waiting for state officials to issue new revenue projections later this month before making a final decision. “It just maintains flexibility,” she said. The state has struggled to balance its budget since the Republican-dominated Legislature slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging in an effort to boost the economy. Critics contend the tax cuts simply didn’t provide enough of a stimulus, while Brownback said the effects See KPERS | Page A2
Kerry pays visit to Hiroshima By ANDY SHARP Bloomberg News
TOKYO (TNS) — Seventyone years after a U.S. atomic bomb devastated the city of Hiroshima, John Kerry became the first incumbent secretary of state to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of victims in the Japanese city. Kerry, the highest-ranked U.S. official to visit the site, placed a wreath of white flowers at a monument in the city’s peace memorial park in a ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of 7 foreign ministers. His British and French counterparts also paid their respects — the first
time that serving foreign ministers of nuclear powers will commemorate one of the final acts of World War II. Before the ceremony, the ministers toured the peace museum, which features graphic images of the aftermath of the bombing. Kerry may be testing the water for a potential trip to the city by President Barack Obama when he visits Japan for a G-7 leaders summit in late May. The bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later, is widely seen in the U.S. as having prevented a bloodier land battle and hastening the end of the Pacific War. A trip by the
“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.” — Charles Swindoll, American clergy 75 Cents
president could stir controversy at home and trigger debate among the candidates seeking to become his successor. “Kerry’s visit, following visits by U.S. ambassadors and other officials, suggests that a presidential visit is increasingly inevitable,” said Tobias Harris, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence. “But the fact is that the president going to the memorial and, presumably, offering a statement could have unpredictable consequences at home, given that the politics of the U.S. atomic bombings is still fraught.” Obama spoke of his desire See KERRY | Page A2
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