For the technology sector, 2003 was a “very bad year,” says Kevin Conlon, president of Palomar Technologies in Vista. “While the general economy had indications of things getting better, that was not the indication in manufacturing for technology.” Palomar Technologies manufactures high-precision assembly systems. “If we were in the bread business, we would make the ovens, not the bread,” Conlon explains. As IT spending increases, orders will trickle back to his company. “As we’re at the end of the food chain, we’re the last to recover.” When cell phone sales pick up and manufacturers need to expand production or upgrade machinery, that’s when Palomar gets called. “As we go into next year, we are feeling optimistic,” he says. “But we’re not planning for it to be a barn-burner.”