Servatron expects rebound

In the midst of a difficult year, Spokane Valley electronics manufacturer Servatron Inc. is looking ahead to a better 2005.

A new contract should help ease the troubles that beset Servatron during 2004, said company President Larry Panattoni.

Servatron won a contract from Vivato to manufacture and ship Wi-Fi base stations, which are wireless networks that allow Internet users to go online with their laptop computers. San Francisco-based Vivato’s engineering operation is located in Spokane.

Servatron’s contract to build and ship the base stations to Vivato customers is an 18-month pact that Panattoni thinks will leverage Servatron as a company ready to compete on a larger scale for more business.

He described the Vivato contract negotiations as long and difficult, yet ultimately successful.

Part of Servatron’s ability to land the contract was because the company is located in Spokane, he said. That gives engineers at Vivato the ability to oversee the assembly of the base stations, closely monitor quality control and even fine-tune the manufacturing process.

Launched in 2000 as a spinoff of Itron, Servatron has scratched for business in the competitive market of precision electronics manufacturing. Itron has been the company’s largest customer, helping Servatron post a profit each year.

Panattoni said Servatron had a banner year in 2003, when its revenues rose to $25 million

However, 2004 has been a struggle.

Panattoni said Servatron’s revenues will fall 15 percent this year compared with 2003. To compensate, the company trimmed its workforce from 215 to 155. Many of the layoffs were temporary employees hired to help Servatron fulfill specific orders, Panattoni said.