Datron Systems Forms Antenna Subsidiary

Datron Systems said it formed a Dallas subsidiary called Datron Antennas to make large data-communications antennas.

Datron Systems, based in Simi Valley, said it owns 80% of the new unit. The rest was given to the unit’s president, Charles J. Beuley, and its senior vice president, Andrew V. Crossley, as part of the deal that brought them to Datron.

Thomas V. Baker, Datron Systems’ chief financial officer, said his company will invest $2 million in the venture. He said the market for such antennas is $50 million to $100 million a year.

The antennas, which are about 60 feet in diameter, are used by companies like MCI and GTE, as well as by the government, Baker said.

Beuley and Crossley were president and vice president, respectively, of Dallas-based Universal Antennas, a leader in data-communications antennas.

Datron Systems makes satellite-communications equipment.