HAMPTON, NH – Vitronics Soltec USA is moving its corporate headquarters to a new facility here, effective Aug. 1.

Management, engineering and R&D teams will work out of the new location.

All US manufacturing is now taking place at the company’s Camdenton, MO, facility. The transition of all production from Stratham, NH, to Camdenton took place between April and July.

Six XPM reflow systems have already been shipped to customers from the Camdenton location. 

Vitronics Soltec specializes in the design and manufacturing of mass soldering equipment for the global circuit board assembly market, including reflow, wave and selective soldering technologies.

SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies reported second-quarter revenues of $70.7 million, down 5.2% year-over-year.

Micro-electronics revenue was $60.5 million, down 7.1% compared to the same quarter in 2010.

Total GAAP net income was $11.6 million, a decline of nearly 23% year-over-year.

For the six months ended June 30, total revenue was $138.5 million, nearly flat with the same period last year. Micro-electronics revenue was $114.1 million, down 5.6% year-over-year.

GAAP net income for the six-month period was $22.8 million, a drop of 8% compared to the year-ago period.

Early in the third quarter, Tessera hired Rich Chernicoff to lead the IP and micro-electronics division.

MINNEAPOLIS – CyberOptics Corp. today reported second-quarter consolidated sales of $16.9 million, up 2% year-over-year.

Net income was $1.4 million, up 44% compared to the year-ago period.

CyberOptics’ order backlog totaled $11.6 million at the end of the quarter, up from $10.6 million at the end of the first quarter. The majority of this backlog is scheduled to ship in the third and fourth quarters.

“Our second quarter revenues…benefited from strong sales of our QX500 automated optical inspection system, which drove total AOI sales to more than $4 million, a new record for CyberOptics, as well as a new record for total systems revenues. QX500 sales increased over 150% from the year-earlier period, paced by significant orders from several of the industry’s largest original design manufacturers in Asia. Sales of SMT alignment sensors were consistent with our second quarter outlook, although sales of solar wafer alignment cameras for the photovoltaic cell market were below forecasted levels, reflecting the impact of aggressive solar market production capacity expansion in recent months and resulting near-term inventory buildups,” said Kathleen P. Iverson, CEO and chair.

The firm is forecasting sales of $16.5 million to $17.5 million for the third quarter. Full-year sales are expected to be $60 million to $63 million.

ANGLETON, TX – Benchmark Electronics posted second-quarter net income of $15 million, a drop of 25% year-over-year.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Ninety-day moving average North American circuit board shipments increased 4.4% in June, as orders decreased 4.2% compared to the same month in 2010, says IPC.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Shipments of small- and medium-sized display panels fell for the second straight month in May, as demand decreased from cellphones and all other major product categories – with the major exception of tablets – according to IHS iSuppli.

Coming on the heels of a 6.9% decline in April, shipments of SMD displays from the two major groups of suppliers in South Korea and Taiwan fell further to 187.1 million units, down 4.2% sequentially.

SMD panels, ranging in size from 1" to 9", are used in consumer items, including smartphones, tablets, digital still cameras and personal navigation devices. Nearly all of these displays employ LCD technology.

“SMD demand in May was impacted by declining sales to the cellphone market – the leading application for such displays – along with other key areas, including digital still cameras and portable navigation devices,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director for small and medium displays at IHS. “The only exception was the tablet market, where demand continued to exceed supply.”

Suppliers of SMDs for cellphones in May trimmed their forecasts in light of weaker-than-anticipated handset shipments from Nokia and Research In Motion. Both companies have been under intense pressure because of strong competition from Apple’s iPhone, as well as from handsets based on the Android operating system, says the research firm.

Handset panel shipments to China during the period were also disappointing, with officials in the country cracking down hard on an illegal gray market estimated at 255 million units this year, according to IHS iSuppli. No relief appears in sight, with the gray market in China projected to decline starting next year.

The market for SMDs in digital cameras continues to be impacted, as panel supplies are shifted to the more lucrative smartphone and tablet spaces. Meanwhile, the portable navigation device segment continued to shrink steadily.

This is expected to be a short-term slowdown, with shipments set to rise for the entire year and during the following years.

The one positive aspect in the SMD market is the fast-growing demand from the tablet segment. Along with high shipment growth, tablet displays command a relatively high price compared to SMDs in other applications. This is because of their high specifications required for advanced performance, says IHS iSuppli.

Taiwanese vendors will start mass producing for Apple iPad panels starting in the third quarter, while Korean vendors have aggressive plans for capacity expansion to meet demand for PC-type tablets, such as H-P’s TouchPad.

Fearing possible component shortages after the Japan quake disaster in early March, branded vendors and channels pulled in SMD shipments ahead of time to bolster stocks, says the firm. However, with inventory in the channel building up and in light of endemic weak demand, panel shipments could not recover and declined in April and May. The uncertain picture in Europe, with rising inflation and sovereign debt issues, was also a contributing factor to the SMD panel decline in general during the period.

SANTA CLARA, CA – The total global TV shipment outlook for 2011 has been reduced by about 3% to 252 million units, as demand in many developed countries continues to be soft, according to DisplaySearch.

TV shipments in North America are only expected to grow about 2% this year, after 4% growth in 2010, while Western European TV shipments will fall about 1.5%.

In addition, the Japanese TV market will decline more than 40% in 2011, although demand leading up to the July 24 analog broadcast shutoff has been better than expected, and may result in a slightly lower decline, says DisplaySearch.

“With so many consumers having traded up from CRT to flat panel TVs in developed markets like North America, Europe and Japan, we’ve been anticipating slower growth in demand for 2011,” noted Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for DisplaySearch. “Demand in emerging markets like China, Latin America, and India is continuing to grow strongly, with a relatively low level of flat panel TV household penetration.”

The CAGR for TV shipments in emerging regions is expected to be 6% from 2011 through 2015, but just 0.3% in developed regions. China will become the world’s largest flat panel TV market in 2011, overtaking North America and Europe with more than 46 million units shipped, and will hold that position throughout the forecast, says the firm.

LCD continues to increase its share of the TV market, at about 84% currently. LCD TV shipments are forecast to increase from 192 million in 2010 to 210 million this year. This is lower than the previous forecast of 217 million.

New technologies, like LED backlights and 3D, are helping to keep overall LCD TV prices stable in 2011, falling only 7% year-over-year on a volume weighted average basis, which in turn will keep revenue growth slightly positive. However, LCD TV revenues should start to decline around 2013, when these new features see a more significant drop in price premium. LED-backlit sets will account for about 46% of total 2011 LCD TV unit shipments, while 3D-capable sets account for 8%.

Plasma TV continues to be a relevant part of the global flat panel TV industry, but is seeing slowly shrinking market share as LCD continues to grow. This is particularly important in the 40 to 49" category, so plasma TV makers are likely to start focusing on 50"+ displays. Plasma’s share of the TV market will fall from about 7% of units shipped worldwide in 2011 to less than 5% by 2015, but maintain a 40 to 50% share of the 50"+ segment through the forecast, says DisplaySearch.
OLED is set to debut in late 2012 as a contender in the 40"+ category, but will only grow to about 2% of the 40"+ segment by 2015, as a result of high prices and limited availability.

Emerging regions, including China, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Middle East/Africa, will have the strongest flat panel TV growth during the next four years, averaging 17% growth per year. The Asia Pacific region is positioned for strongest growth, as the late-adopting India market begins to boom. By comparison, developed regions (North America, Japan, and Western Europe) will see no growth over the same time period.

3D TVs are expected to account for about 20 million in 2011, rising to more than 100 million shipped by 2015. Although some consumer confusion about technology and standards is likely to persist, the falling premium and cost associated with 3D will make it a standard feature of 40" and larger sets. In 2011, almost a quarter of 40" and larger TVs shipped worldwide will be 3D-capable, rising to 84% by 2015, says DisplaySearch.

SAN JOSE – DEK has appointed Brian Smith as general manager for electronic assembly (Americas), Jim Price as regional sales manager for electronic assembly (US West Coast), and Mike Burgess as process support products sales manager (North America).

Prior to joining DEK, Smith spent 14 years at Kester in the roles of business manager, director of product marketing and technology, and global sales and marketing manager.

Price, who will report to Smith, has more than 15 years’ experience building integrated sales operations, most recently with Sony Manufacturing Systems America as sales manager, SMT sales.

Burgess has previously worked in consultative sales with Canfield Technologies, AIM Solder, Photo Stencil and Cookson Electronics.

DEK provides screen printing equipment and processes.

NEW YORK – A recent China Labor Watch report reveals labor violations in Chinese electronics factories.

The 136-page report focuses on ten factories that supply finished manufactured electronic products to the likes of Dell, Salcomp, IBM, Ericsson, Philips, Microsoft, Apple, HP, Nokia and others. 

An investigation found that factory workers were required to work an excessive amount of overtime hours, especially during the peak manufacturing season.

All of the electronics factories investigated required staff to work between 36 and 160 hours of overtime per month. No one investigated factory was found to be in strict compliance with China’s labor laws regarding overtime hours, says CLW. In many cases, workers were coerced into working overtime hours ‘voluntarily’ to earn a monthly salary that would pay for basic living costs.

The minimum monthly wage found in nine investigated factories did not adequately provided workers with the financial means to afford basic living costs.

The level of labor intensity was found to be extremely high in all ten factories investigated. On one HP assembly line, workers were required to complete their assigned task every three seconds, while continually standing over a ten-hour period, says CLW. The high level of labor intensity left workers more prone to developing long-term occupational illness or injury.

Investigators found that many factories were signing coercive labor contracts with workers. In many cases, workers were not properly informed about the specific details of their contracts.

All ten factories investigated were found to have discriminatory recruiting practices, hiring only young and healthy candidates, while restricting against others based on age, gender, or medical condition, specifically those infected with Hepatitis B, according to CLW.

CLW believes the inhuman working conditions found in these factories not only reflect severe problems in China’s electronic manufacturing industry, but also reveal serious systematic problems in the international electronics industry as a whole. 

The investigations took place over an eight month period from October 2010 to June 2011; 408 workers were interviewed in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces.
Investigators posed as workers to gain access into the factories.

For a full report, visit http://chinalaborwatch.org/pdf/20110712.pdf. 

GLENVIEW, IL – Illinois Tool Works today reported second-quarter 2011 revenues of $4.62 billion, up 17.5% versus the year-ago period.

ELKHART, IN – CTS Corp. today posted second-quarter 2011 revenue of $146.9 million, up 6% year-over-year.

Net earnings were $4.1 million, down 30.5% compared to the second quarter of 2010.

Earnings decreased year-over-year primarily as a result of lower expected automotive sales from the disruption caused by the Japan earthquake. However, these sales shortfalls are anticipated to begin to recover in the fourth quarter, as OEM production ramps up and inventories are replenished, the firm says.

Components and Sensors segment sales decreased $4.2 million (6%) from the same quarter last year, primarily due to a 10% decrease in automotive product sales. Electronic component product sales were flat year-over-year. The company estimates second-quarter impact from the Japan earthquake on this segment’s sales was a decrease of approximately $6 million to $7 million.

EMS segment sales were up $12.3 million (18%) year-over-year, with increases reported across all markets served. This growth resulted from new program launches with existing and new customers, primarily driven by a 46% increase of sales into industrial markets.

 “While our second-quarter results were in line with expectations, we look forward to a stronger second half as we begin to launch new programs like piezoceramic elements for disk drive applications, a global pedal program and increased sales to our key Japanese automotive OEMs, who will begin to ramp up their production. Our key initiatives to further improve our cost structure include expanding our low cost facilities in Mexico and Thailand, and starting up a new manufacturing facility in India, which is slated to be operational later this year,” said Vinod M. Khilnani, CTS Chairman and CEO.

The firm maintains full-year 2011 guidance of a sales increase in the range of 9% to 13% over 2010.

CTS designs and manufactures electronic components and sensors, and provides electronics manufacturing services to OEMs in the automotive, communications, medical, defense and aerospace, industrial and computer markets.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC has released the B revision of IPC-CH-65, Guidelines for Cleaning of Printed Boards & Assemblies.