Bright Ideas Rewarded

The Orange County branch of the the American Electronics Assn. has recognized five local companies for their ingenuity and innovative products.

The award winners are:

* Adaptec-Irvine, maker of adapter cards that connect personal computers to printers and storage drives.

* ObjectAutomation in Santa Ana, an industrial automation software developer that is trying to revolutionize factory floors.

* SRS Labs Inc., a Santa Ana-based audio technology developer.

* SF2K in Lake Forest, a division of Telecom Solutions Inc. and maker of industrial automation software.

* PairGain Technologies Inc. in Tustin, a maker of telecommunication tools that speed up Internet service over standard copper wires.

The awards were announced last week at the association’s annual ceremony at Western Digital’s headquarters in Irvine. Nearly 180 businesses belong to the Orange County branch of the national trade association.

P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.