Tech: Semiconductor play BluGlass has opened a new lab in Western Sydney

Semiconductor stock BluGlass (ASX: BLG) yesterday opened its latest laboratory in Western Sydney.

An opening ceremony was hosted by Parramatta’s Lord Mayor Andrew Wilson and BluGlass staff. The facility is named after the late Paul Dunnigan, a company engineer and members of his family were in attendance as well.

Scroll down for more ASX tech news>>>>

The lab has cost $6 million to build and will test and commercialise BLG’s semiconductor technology, which is focused on in LEDs. BluGlass’ tech is known as remote plasma chemical vapour deposition (RPCVD) and causes devices to perform better and cost less to manufacture.

“These new systems and infrastructure allow us to expand our revenue-generating epitaxy foundry services and accelerate our RPCVD development for commercial applications,” BluGlass boss Giles Bourne said.

The laboratory will also provide “the foundation for our continued negotiations with leading specialist opto-electronics manufacturers around the world.”

In other ASX small cap tech news today…

Satellite play Speedcast (ASX: SDA) has had its third fall greater than 25 per cent in 12 months. The catalyst this time was its annual results, which included an after-tax loss of $175.5 million. The majority of this was impairment of goodwill relating to the performance of its non-government operating segment. SDA’s debt has ballooned out to $625 million. CEO Pierre-Jean Beylier has admitted he was disappointed in the results. Nonetheless he said, “significant steps have been taken to address our operational performance and return Speedcast to growth”.

UltraCharge (ASX: UTR) has plunged after electric scooter maker, Blitz electric, stopped testing its batteries due to technical issues. The company has said it now expects no sales of batteries to occur and shareholders sent the stock down 60 per cent. Despite now not expecting sales, the company has said it will seek to resolve these technical issues. It said, “if the batteries fail to comply with the required specifications the only remedy available to Blitz is to acquire batteries from another supplier”.

Sky and Space Global (ASX: SAS) has announced a $15m capital raise at 1 cent per share, a 64 per cent discount to its last share price. The capital raise will have to be signed off by shareholders and a meeting will be held on September 27. By then the stock will have been suspended for 6 months. It also has to restructure its board – no new details were revealed in yesterday evening’s results.