Special Devices Inc

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall-based manufacturer of pyrotechnic devices for the automotive and aerospace industries, announced that it is expanding its Mesa, Ariz., facilities. The company said the expansion will enable it to double its productive capacity and accommodate increasing demand for pyrotechnic materials used in the manufacturing of air bag initiators for automobiles. Special Devices also reported it has ordered additional manufacturing equipment for its Newhall facilities.

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall-based maker of pyrotechnic devices used in automotive air bags and tactical missile systems, has agreed to acquire all the assets and operations of a Chicago-area manufacturing company. Special Devices said the purchase price for Scot Inc. will be about $5 million. Scot designs and manufactures aircraft crew escape components and life support equipment that are activated with pyrotechnic mechanisms, including an automatic parachute release used by the U.S.

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall-based manufacturer of pyrotechnic devices for the automotive and aerospace industries, said its fiscal second-quarter profit more than tripled on an 81% surge in revenue. For the three months ended May 1, Special Devices posted a profit of $755,000, up from $206,000 in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue increased to $15.3 million, from $8.47 million, because of greater shipments of devices that trigger air bags in automobiles.

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall maker of parts that trigger automotive air bags and missile systems, reported a surge in its fiscal first-quarter profit on a near doubling of revenue. For the three months ended Jan. 31, the company posted a profit of $468,000, compared with a profit of $88,000 a year earlier. Its latest quarterly revenue jumped to $12.3 million, from $6.6 million a year earlier, the result of sharp gains in its automotive division.

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall maker of pyrotechnic devices for the aerospace and automotive industries, reported a 49% surge in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit on a 45% climb in revenue, compared with a year earlier. In the quarter ended Oct. 31, the company posted a profit of $662,000 on revenue of $12.9 million. That compares with earnings of $443,000 on sales of $8.9 million a year earlier.

Special Devices Inc. of Newhall has received a $5-million one-year contract to provide devices for the TOW missile. The company received the contract from the Missile Systems Division of Hughes Aircraft Co., and actual deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 1994. Special Devices also designs and builds initiators for missiles, as well as supplying equipment used in air bags by the Big 3 auto makers. The TOW missile is used against vehicles and armor.

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall-based supplier of parts that ignite missile systems and trigger automobile air bags, said its latest quarterly profit dropped 24%, to $376,000 from $498,000 a year earlier. For its fiscal third quarter ended Aug. 1, Special Devices posted sales of $9.45 million, up 22% from $7.77 million.

Special Devices Inc., a longtime maker of components that trigger the Patriot and Cruise missiles, now wants to put the boom in automobile air bags. Switching fields could give the Newhall-based company a much-needed boost. With defense budget cuts trimming its market, Special Devices has seen its aerospace sales skid 13% from fiscal 1989, to $17.5 million last year. Its earnings are lagging, and so is its stock, which closed Friday at $10 a share, about where it was two years ago.

A Canyon Country woman filed suit Friday against a Newhall company charging that she was illegally fired after she complained that the firm may be shipping defective parts for automotive air bags that would prevent the bags from inflating in a crash. Amalia Rubin, 35, said in her lawsuit filed in San Fernando Superior Court that she reported her suspicions to her superiors at Special Devices Inc., but they told her "don't worry about it." Company President John Cuthbert denied the allegations.