Zight closes; microdisplay firm had raised $63 million

BOULDER — Zight Corp., formerly Colorado Microdisplay, ceased operations Nov. 30.

Only a skeleton staff remains to shut down the company. At its height, the Boulder-based developer of microdisplays employed 103 people, said Grant Weimers, Zight’s director of finance. The company, founded in 1996 by Douglas McKnight, Mark Willner and Robert Epstein, is liquidating its assets and distributing proceeds to creditors. It had raised $63 million in funding.

Zight was developing microdisplays, some the size of thumbnails, for use in videophones, binocular headsets, portable DVD players and gaming gear, as well as monocle-type eyepieces for use with wearable personal computers. Sight was honored in July with an IQ Award for its innovative product from The Boulder County Business Report.

McKnight said microdisplay technology is still inevitable, but that the industry climate soured before Zight could gain momentum.

One California company, i-O Display Systems LLC, designed its i-glasses around Zight’s microdisplays. The head-mounted displays, called i-glasses, provide a virtual reality environment and have applications in the video gaming and medical fields. Marty Holloway, i-O’s general manager, was surprised by Zight’s demise.

?I knew they were in some financial trouble, but from speaking to their management team, I had the sense they would still be operational through 2002,? he said. Holloway said he has a year’s worth of inventory from Zight, but that his company will need to start redesigning its products around a new supplier if Zight’s technology disappears with the company.Hauser founder Stull resigns BOULDER ? Two of Hauser Inc.’s top executives have resigned as the supplier of herbal extracts and nutritional supplements undergoes a restructuring to offset losses.

Dean Stull, founder and former president of Boulder-based Hauser Inc., said only that it is best for him and the company that he steps down.

For the first half of fiscal year 2002 ending Sept. 30, Hauser had a net loss of $1.5 million with $29.2 million in revenue. Hauser recorded a net loss of $28.4 million the previous year despite revenues of $81.2 million.

Stull is considering his options for the future, which includes the starting of another company, possibly in biotechnology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals or dietary supplements. Meanwhile, he plans to take a welding class and increase his level of involvement with the Boulder Valley Rotary Club, he said.

Also leaving the company is Volker Wypyszyk, who at one time served as Hauser’s president and chief executive officer and most recently was working in the marketing and sales department.

Stull said the company he founded in 1983 is going through a transition headed by President and Chief Executive Kenneth Cleveland. ?The company has gone through major reorganization,? Stull said. ?It is a difficult marketplace. Hauser created a multi-year production development plan and is in the process of implementing it. It was the right time for me to step aside.?

After Hauser merged with Botanicals International in spring 1999, Stull and Wypyszyk, who came to the company with Botanicals International, shared the position of chief executive officer. In January 2000 Stull resigned as chairman and chief executive to become senior executive officer of technology, and Wypyszyk became chief executive. When Hauser’s board of directors hired Cleveland earlier this year, Wypyszyk took a job in marketing and sales, Stull said.

Government seizes Bistro 119

LONGMONT ? The Colorado Department of Revenue has seized the assets of Bistro 119, a Longmont restaurant styled after a European bistro. The state said that Bistro 119 had not paid more than $28,000 in taxes it owed for both 2000 and 2001, specifically sales and wage withholding taxes. The restaurant’s assets have been auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Kevin Metivier, who has been involved in different restaurant ventures around the county, opened the eatery in January at the southeast corner of Ken Pratt Boulevard and Hover Street.Brewers Publications cuts back

BOULDER ? Brewers Publications, the book-publishing division of the Association of Brewers based in Boulder, has been dismantled. It is now under the long-distance management of beer writer and contract editor Ray Daniels, who lives in Chicago.

Following a significant revenue shortfall this year from the association’s premier event, The Great American Beer Festival, held each fall in Denver, the association is struggling financially, according to an association press release.

Brewers Publications has been around for 15 years and grew its list of annual titles to 14 by 1999. The association downsized in 1999 and dissolved its editorial staff. It published only four titles that year under the guidance of former publisher Toni Knapp. In 2000 it published two titles. This year’s fall title, already announced, was pulled from publication, and only one book is scheduled for 2002.Jimmy John’s headed for Boulder

BOULDER ? Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shops, which claims to have a cultlike following at many of its 180 franchises on college campuses throughout the United States, is planning to open the first of four Boulder locations in February at the intersection of 13th Street and College Avenue on The Hill.

Jimmy John Liataud founded the chain in 1983, when he began selling sandwiches from a converted garage on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

A spokesman said Jimmy John’s will be open and making deliveries until 3 a.m. He said the chains’ trademark loud music and pranks from the staff such as gluing quarters to the floor for unsuspecting customers will remain, but earth tones, quarried tile and redwood flooring will replace its bold black-and-white color scheme.IBM cuts 24 jobs in Boulder

BOULDER ? Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. cut 24 jobs at its 5,000-employee Boulder facility as part of a larger decision to eliminate 1,000 jobs from its chip manufacturing and development plants in six states, including Colorado. The company is getting rid of another 180 jobs at its storage technology division in Minnesota. Severance packages will be offered to departing employees.

A company spokesman in Boulder said that the job cuts would affect design engineers in Boulder’s technical group. The company blamed the cuts on a slowdown in the microprocessor industry. IBM, which employs 320,000 people worldwide, claims that the latest job cuts will be more than offset by new hires over the course of 2001, resulting in a net increase in the company’s payroll for the year.Owens Corning acquires Wall Technology

BROOMFIELD ? Owens Corning (NYSE:OWC) has acquired Wall Technology Inc. of Broomfield for an undisclosed sum.

Wall Technology manufactures interior wall and ceiling products than improve acoustics. Owens Corning spokesman Dave Dimmer said the purchase price wouldn’t be made public until the end of the quarter, when reports are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dimmer said Wall Technology will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Owens. Wall Technology is planning to move in late December from Broomfield to a new 41,000-square-foot facility near Interstate 25 approximately 20 miles north of downtown Denver. Softbank Venture changes name SUPERIOR ? Softbank Venture Capital, based in Mountain View, Calif., with operations in Superior headed by Managing Director Brad Feld, has changed its name to Mobius Venture Capital.

Gary Rieschel, founder and executive managing director of Softbank, said the firm changed its name to differentiate it from Tokyo-based Softbank Corp., a major investor in the company. The Wall Street Journal reported that Softbank Corp. was in negotiations with Mobius to reduce its commitment, from $750 million to $375 million, to a $1.5 billion fund raised last year.

The name Mobius refers to the 19th century German mathematician August Mobius.

Verizon opens in FlatIron BROOMFIELD ? Verizon Wireless, a retailer of communications products and services, has opened a store in the FlatIron Marketplace in Broomfield. Matthew Hemingway will manage the store at 110 E. FlatIron Circle, on the southwest corner of the Marketplace.

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