RVSI Declares Bankruptcy

NASHUA, N.H., Nov. 22 -- Robotic Vision Systems Inc. (RVSI), a Nashua, N.H., maker of machine vision systems, has filed for bankruptcy.

RVSI said Friday it filed a Chapter 11 petition in Manchester and that it intends to continue operating its business as a "debtor in possession." The company seeks to reorganize in order to raise cash while it attempts to divest the assets of its Semiconductor Equipment Group. By divesting those assets, which include end-of-line 3-D inspection systems (lead scanning) and 2-D and 3-D tools for bumped wafer inspection (wafer inspection), RVSI said it believes it will be able to satisfy or reinstate much of its debt and to finance the growth of its Acuity CiMatrix business, which includes board-level machine vision systems and 2-D bar code (data matrix) reading products.

RVSI said it will continue to operate its business while in Chapter 11 and that it will submit a plan of reorganization for approval.

"We are taking these steps to restructure our business for the purpose of returning to profitability," said Pat V. Costa, CEO of the company. "We firmly believe that our business will better be served by selling the SEG business. By these efforts, we will be able to better concentrate on the exciting data matrix business and increase necessary cash flow. We intend to continue to ship product to customers, meet future vendor commitments and carry on our sales and marketing programs."