LONDON – The
UK Department of Trade and Industry yesterday issued a timetable for
implementing the WEEE Directive and “takeback” of electronics products by producers
and distributors.
In a so-called Consultation Document, the DTI proposed a national distributor
takeback program under which network of designated collection facilities would
be established.
Elektrotryck, said to be the largest PCB fabricator in Sweden, has declared bankruptcy. The company said a large increase in orders wasn't enough to avoid the filing.
"To
survive through the summer holidays we needed a larger billing that we
now have managed therefore we now have to take this step",
Elektrotryck's owner and CEO Anders Björsell reportedly told an online journal. "Hopefully
a solution can be found that would lead to that the business will
continue which would be great for the Swedish industry."
Elektrotryck suppliers telecom equipment to Nordic OEMs. The company is said to supply about 25% of Sweden's bare boards. The company was founded 40- years ago.
MINNEAPOLIS – Sungchul Joo, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology is winner of the 2006 Charles Hutchins Educational Grant.
The SMTA Grant Committee selected Joo for his project, Rapid Prototyping of Micro-Systems Packaging by Data-Driven Chip-First Approach Using Nano-Particle Metal.
Recently his experience has been in chip-first approach, embedded actives, and nano-interconnection, as well as evaluation of nano-particle metal, demonstration of embedded actives packaging, reliability testing at fine pitch, demonstration of data-driven process and rapid prototyping systems.
Joo has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Inha University in Korea, and a master's in mechanical engineering from Yonsei University in Korea.
Joo hopes to work in the field of electronics assembly and packaging. He believes that he can combine his interest in applying creative thought to the electronic packaging field to help create new packages of his own in the future. His goal is to help create smaller and lighter laptop computers, more functional cell phones, and faster desktop computers, leading to increased convenience and comfort to consumers.
The award includes a $5,000 honorarium for the student, plus travel expenses to SMTA International. UP Media Group, parent company of Circuits Assembly, donates $5000 from the proceeds of its Service Excellence Award program toward the grant each year.
This grant was established in memory of past SMTA president and industry colleague Charles Hutchins, who died in May of 1997. For more information, or to make a donation, visit the Hutchins Grant section on smta.org or contact SMTA executive administrator JoAnn Stromberg at 952-920-7682 or joann@smta.org.