VZCZCXRO6671
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #0283/01 0701547
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111547Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3533
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0259
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPINS/HQ BICE INTEL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000283 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR (MAZZARELLI) 
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC SF GM
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN REPONSE LICENSE 050115687: ASC SITE 
VISIT 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 0067 
     ¶B. STATE 123126 
 
¶1.  (SBU) As a follow-up to Ref A, EconOff conducted a site 
visit to Advanced Sensors Calibration (ASC) GmbH.  Based on 
this site visit, we assess that ASC is a reliable handler of 
United States Munitions List (USML) items.  On March 3, 
EconOff met with ASC GmbH CEO Peter Bay at ASC's 
headquarters, received a tour of all of ASC's facilities, and 
obtained a comprehensive understanding of how ASC handles 
USML items. 
 
ABOUT ASC 
--------- 
¶2.  (SBU) ASC is a small enterprise of 4-6 employees that 
specializes in the packaging/calibration of domestically 
produced accelerometers for the German auto industry and is 
an authorized European distributor of high end Honeywell 
accelerometers (mainly the QA3000 line).  ASC is run by a 
husband and wife duo (Peter Bay - CEO, Renate Bay - Marketing 
Director) with an annual turnover of roughly 1 million euro 
per year. 
 
ASC'S HANDLING OF USML ITEMS 
---------------------------- 
¶3.  (SBU) The only USML items that ASC receives are Honeywell 
accelerometers with a transaction frequency of a handful of 
orders per year.  Bay emphasized that ASC is only a 
distributor of these accelerometers and that his company does 
not perform any kind of work (calibration/repair) requiring 
direct access to the items.  Normally, ASC simply ships these 
items to the end-user the same day ASC receives them.  Bay 
explained that in the case that items cannot be shipped the 
same day, they are stored overnight on a shelf in Peter Bay's 
locked office and shipped the next day. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) EconOff recommended an additional layer of security 
for overnight storage of USML items.  Bay agreed to store 
these items in his personal safe (4.5' x 2.5' x 2.5') in the 
future for overnight storage.  EconOff assesses that this 
safe is of a sufficient size and weight such that it could 
not be easily removed in the event of a robbery. 
 
PRIOR CASES WHERE HONEYWELL DENIED ASC ORDERS FOR USML ITEMS 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) Bay explained the due to ASC's small staff size, 
they do not have sufficient resources to perform in-depth 
checks on their customers requesting Honeywell 
accelerometers.  For this reason, Bay said that his company 
relies heavily on their contact at Honeywell, Rich Johnson, 
to provide ASC with the proper guidance.  Bay recalled two 
examples where Honeywell was not able to obtain the necessary 
USG export control permit for ASC customers.  In the first 
example, a Swiss customer requested Honeywell accelerometers 
for use in a centrifuge design.  Bay said that Honeywell 
elected to deny the order outright and cited that the order 
size (about 7,000 euro) was not worth the effort that would 
be required to obtain the DTCC approval.  The second case 
involved a Russian customer requesting Honeywell 
accelerometers for downward drilling machines. 
 
FRUSTRATION WITH LONG LEAD TIMES FOR DTCC PERMITS 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶6.  (SBU) Bay said that his customers requesting Honeywell 
products are frequently frustrated with how much time it 
takes to get DTCC export approval and that his company would 
welcome greater transparency into the DTCC export permit 
process.  As an example, Bay cited a recent order from Carl 
Zeiss Optronics GmbH (BL 050115687) that also involved firms 
from Sweden, Israel, and South Africa valued at over 50,000 
euro.  Bay said that although ASC did eventually receive the 
DTCC approval, it took over year and Carl Zeiss was blaming 
ASC for the delays.  Bay's concern is the potential loss of 
future business resultant from DTCC approval delays. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶7.  (SBU) Bay appeared sincere with his company's commitment 
to adhere to and respect restrictions placed on USML items. 
This was evident in Bay's immediate receptiveness to 
improving security regarding storage of USML items overnight 
and interest in learning more about the DTCC export controls 
process.  Although USML items represent only a small portion 
of ASC's transactions, they are an important element to ASC's 
 
BERLIN 00000283  002 OF 002 
 
 
profitability.  For this reason, Bay places importance on 
adherence to DTCC rules in order to avoid compromising his 
company's ability to distribute of Honeywell accelerometers. 
Koenig