Kenneth C Cleveland

Birtcher Medical Systems Inc., a medical device manufacturer buffeted by two years of losses, has hired a corporate trouble-shooter as its new chief executive. Kenneth C. Cleveland, president of Kenneth Cleveland Associates Inc., an Irvine-based management consulting firm, became Birtcher's CEO and president on Monday, the company said. He will remain as president of the consulting company. At Birtcher, he succeeds William E.

Birtcher Medical Systems Inc., a medical device manufacturer buffeted by two years of losses, has hired a corporate trouble-shooter as its new chief executive. Kenneth C. Cleveland, president of Kenneth Cleveland Associates Inc., an Irvine-based management consulting firm, became Birtcher's CEO and president on Monday, the company said. He will remain as president of the consulting company. At Birtcher, he succeeds William E.

Edward F. Phillippi Jr., a member of Tylan's board of directors since 1981, has been elected chairman. Kenneth C. Cleveland, Tylan's president and chief executive, was elected to the board, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Charles F. Drexel. The Torrance firm manufactures gas measurement equipment.

Cardis Corp., an automotive parts distributor, on Wednesday chose one of its board members, Kenneth C. Cleveland, as the company's new president and chief executive. Cleveland succeeds Kenneth D. Walker, who is leaving Cardis to become top executive at Parts Industries Corp., an automotive parts distributor based in Memphis, Tenn. Cleveland is a director of Cardis and president of Kenneth Cleveland Associates Inc., a management consulting firm. Cardis, which had $80.

Birtcher Medical Systems, which in May hired a turnaround specialist as its chief executive officer, said Monday that it has raised $1.6 million from investors and from the sale of one of its money-losing product lines. That means Birtcher, which makes surgical products, is about 20% of the way through its restructuring, said Kenneth C. Cleveland, CEO and president. The company, based in Irvine, said it sold 961,667 shares of common stock for about $900,000.

Audiotronics Corp., a North Hollywood maker of audiovisual products for classrooms, said Monday it has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws. Under Chapter 11, a company is shielded from creditors' lawsuits while it works out a plan to pay its bills. Audiotronics said it has hired Kenneth C. Cleveland & Associates to help it develop a reorganization plan.

Facing a cash crunch and unable to raise new funds, Metropolitan Circuits of California on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court here. The company, a manufacturer of printed circuit boards and a subsidiary of Metropolitan Circuits Inc., had assets of about $6 million and debts of $10 million, said spokeswoman Cecilia Wilkinson.

Frank R. Caccamo has joined the board of StarBase Corp. in Santa Ana. He is vice president and chief information officer at Reynolds and Reynolds, a Dayton, Ohio-based provider of integrated information management systems and related services to automotive and general business markets. * John Wright has been named vice president of marketing for Rosemount Analytical Inc.'s Uniloc division in Irvine. He joined the division in 1993 as director of marketing. * Howard F.

Birtcher Medical Systems said Wednesday that its entire office, research and management staff, as well as most of its sales force, will be laid off and its Irvine headquarters closed if shareholders approve a merger with a New York-based competitor. More than 100 of the company's 120 employees, including 83 in Irvine, would lose their jobs in the merger, proposed in December by Conmed Corp.

Cardis Corp., seeking to reposition its automotive parts distribution business in the marketplace, said Monday that it will move its corporate headquarters to San Ysidro and would close its Buena Park warehouse. About 90 of the company's 140 employees will get layoff notices by the end of the week, a company spokeswoman said. Employees will be given a severance package equal to at least 60 days pay, depending on their length of employment.

Cardis Corp. said Tuesday that it hopes to sell its Northern California operations to Auto Parts Wholesalers in Bakersfield to help pay off more than $28 million in debt. The announcement by the financially pinched auto-parts distributor and retailer marks the second time that Cardis has said it is negotiating a sale of its warehouse and distribution system, which serves an area stretching from Ventura to Sacramento.