hope it's clear that we believe in defining our own destiny here at Glenair. While we are not opposed to making the best of those opportunities which simply fall into our lap, we're more comfortable with the other kind - the kind born from the time-honored practice of being the first with the most in every market we serve.

At the simplest level, we earn our opportunities by being in the right place at the right time. And so, from Northern Europe to Newport News, we've put the right people in place to take advantage of everything the marketplace has to offer. At a higher level, we make the most of our opportunities by focusing on customer service rather than on attempting to leverage some trend or fad in the industry. For this reason we prefer to pay less attention to the "macro" trends of business (interest rates, balance of trade, etc.) and more to the "micro" activity of giving our customers exactly what they need exactly when they need it. Opportunities are not just fair weather friends, susceptible to every whim of the global economy. Regardless of which direction the economic indicators go, there are always opportunities for companies willing to do the heavy lifting necessary to turn over every stone in the market. And by the way, when we stick to our game plan of availability and fast turnaround, we tend to have the winning formula ready and waiting when we do find something exciting underneath one of those stones.

This issue of QwikConnect illustrates an important fact: Opportunity knows no bounds. We are blessed with a microminiature interconnect product which is able to not only meet the needs of our traditional Mil-Aero customers, but is also a strong offering for commercial and industrial customers as well.

We are growing our capacity by leaps and bounds to service the expanding appetite for microminiature connectors and assemblies. Richard Zic in Chicago, Jim Donaldson in Glendale and Andrew Coulson in Mansfield are directing this important work. We are committed to being the first with the most in this market and in every other market we choose to serve. If you are on the sales side of the Glenair organization, know now that we are determined to say "yes" when you bring in a Micro-D opportunity. If you are on the production side, we are counting on you to make that "yes" an answer we can deliver with confidence.