Nearly three years ago, Interlink Electronics Inc. moved from the over-the-counter market to the Nasdaq, a move to bring more visibility to the Westlake Village manufacturer of touchpads and computer mouse products for rugged environments. Then last month, Chief Executive Steven Bronson announced that Interlink was “going dark” and would voluntarily delist from Nasdaq but still trade shares on the over-the-counter market. This was done to cut expenses connected with being listed on the major exchange and reporting requirements of the Securities & Exchange Commission. Bronson discussed with the Business Journal the decision to delist, what it involved and lessons learned from the experience. Question: How did you decide to delist? Answer: It was a combination of the board looking at where we are from an overall cost structure and where we could benefit all shareholders by reducing costs. Obviously one of those areas is the cost of being a Nasdaq listed, SEC reporting company. (With) our size and the fact that we have a strong balance sheet and we don’t have plans to pursue equity capital at this time, we felt it was best for the shareholders that we reduce the expenses associated with being a reporting company. There are less than 300 shareholders in Interlink. Do you know many of them? No. Did you consult with the shareholders about the delisting? As a public company, you cannot consult with your shareholders as it would technically be providing them insider information. That’s a responsibility and fiduciary duty that the board of directors have. What was the process of delisting from Nasdaq? You go through several steps. You are communicating and filing appropriate forms with the Nasdaq and SEC. It is always subject to comments by the SEC, but there are different timelines. You have to wait 10 days before filing your Form 25 with the SEC. It is a straight forward process. So Interlink will still be a publicly traded company? Correct. But the difference in paying the fees associated with being a Nasdaq-listed reporting company versus being a non-reporting publicly traded company is a meaningful number. How will you use the savings? The last two years we’ve made significant investments in our R&D activity. We established our footprint in Singapore. That team has grown to approaching 10 individuals within the R&D team in Singapore and that started with just our chief technology officer. We took a larger physical footprint and we made some significant investments. … We added some fantastic capability from both equipment and people. How will you report to shareholders? Even though we are not required to, we will publish our financial results in the same timeframe. We plan on announcing our quarterly financial results and our annual results. But our annual results will no longer be subject to SEC approval and we will not be required to do a full-blown audit. Do you think the value of the company will go down? Since we made the announcement, our stock has been more liquid. I am not sure why or the rationale behind it. When we made the announcement, there was an intra-day short-term impact but over the several weeks since making the announcement the average volume has increased and the stock price has improved slightly. Can you explain Interlink’s business? We are a sensor technology company. We are driven on providing standard sensors that detect force pressure and position. We also deliver solutions based around the core technology. When I say a solution, we sell, for example, our rugged touchpad solution is the VersaPad. And that solution we sell to the top rugged notebook manufacturers. For example, for Panasonic, one of the leaders in fully rugged notebooks, we provide our rugged touchpad that is based on our core resistive-based technology that detects force and pressure. The user can be wearing a glove, you can spill liquid on it and it still functions. What kind of technology does the company make? We are working with resistive-based technology that detect force and pressure versus touch. By detecting force and pressure and combining that with software, we can deliver an intelligent switch. Can you give an example of how your technology is used by customers? We provided a force detection system to a leading medical equipment manufacturer. They produce equipment used to treat cancer patients. It’s a radiation oncology machine where the patient is laying on a gantry and this big machine comes down and a bumper presses against the patient’s chest. If the patient were to move, that bumper would detect that movement and it’s our sensors embedded in the bumper that detects that movement. How has the industry changed? We see a greater demand for sensors across the board. Specifically, for force pressure and position sensors. The industry is looking for more organizations like Interlink that can provide a complete solution. We do our own software and firmware system integration. That capability is part of the demand from the industry. Larger tier customers don’t want to buy standard sensors. They are looking for a strategic partner or trusted advisor to meet their certain specs and demands. That’s where we are seeing more growth and more requests from potential customers. You’re also the chief executive of Qualstar Corp., a Simi Valley data storage and power supply manufacturer. Would you consider delisting that company as well? They are separate organizations and what may make sense for one organization may not make sense for the other. That is a topic that has not come up. If it’s something in the future, the board would look at it. But it’s not something to date that has been explored. If you look at Interlink, it is less profitable than Qualstar. There are different demands on different cost structures. Just because I am affiliated with both doesn’t mean any pattern either way can be determined by my association. Why did you decide to join the Nasdaq in 2016? At the time, the company was looking at some potential acquisitions and also we felt the visibility would be beneficial for the shareholders. We continued to invest heavily into the business because we felt that was the best use of capital. Businesses are fluid, like anything in life. What might be good at one point, you take a snapshot later and there are different priorities. The board is very sensitive in managing its cost structure and investing in the ongoing drive of innovation and the future growth of the business. What is your advice to other small publicly traded companies? In today’s environment, an executive needs to weigh the benefits versus the negatives or expenses of being public. One of the strong considerations is whether you are utilizing the equity to raise additional capital or for consideration of an acquisition or merger. I am committed to making sure that on behalf of all our shareholders, we are stewards of the capital.