Lim ousted as MTI CEO

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

Mechanical Technology Inc. fired CEO Peng K. Lim on Monday, according to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

MTI’s board of directors decided Sept. 6 to terminate Lim, who has worked at the Albany-based company since 2006.

The SEC filing gave no reason for Lim’s termination. Company officials did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The company’s recently appointed lead independent director, Kevin G. Lynch, will serve as acting CEO until a replacement is named, according to the filing. During his first month in the role, Lynch will serve as adviser to the company with a monthly salary of $20,000.

MTI designs, manufactures and sells test and measurement instruments and systems that are used in semiconductor products, military and commercial aircraft and general dimensional gauging.

Founded in 1961 to develop and commercialize new technologies, the company now has subsidiaries in the fields of micro fuel cells and non-contact precision instrumentation.

The company has suffered financially this year, according to its latest quarterly report. Product revenue in the first half of 2012 had decreased steeply from the last half of 2011, from $2.1 million to $1.4 million. And as of June 30, the company had an accumulated deficit of $121.5 million.

In a July regulatory filing, MTI reported that it had established a new target bonus for Lim. If the company achieved a certain profitability by the end of the year, he would receive a $50,000 bonus.

Prior to his position with MTI, Lim held management positions in companies developing electronic multimedia. He served as president and CEO of the now defunct Tapwave Inc.

Before Tapwave, Lim was part of an executive team at California-based smartphone manufacturer Palm Inc., where he directed product development and engineering.

He has also held positions with Fujitsu, Texas Instruments and Zenith Data Systems and served on the boards at Novatel Wireless and Inventec Appliances.