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MULINO, OR – Sunstone Circuits has released a factory certified add-on that enforces the PWB manufacturer's capabilities interactively inside CadSoft’s Eagle PCB Layout tool.

“With the DFM Add-On, Eagle PCB users can now design with more confidence that their PCB will be manufacturable,” said Sunstone CEO Terry Heilman in a statement.

The add-on leverages the CadSoft's design rule checking engine with a complement of Sunstone-specific rules. The tool, Sunstone says, will help eliminate errors early in the design process and cut the time to build a design.

The Sunstone add-on is offered as a complimentary service and can be downloaded at sunstone.com/pcb-resources/Downloads.aspx or cadsoft.de/download.htm (in the miscellaneous downloads section).

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA -- Flextronics is in negotiations to construct a plant here, and a deal could be in place by next month, according to published reports.

CNews, citing the local department for economic development, said the EMS firm plans to invest up to $50 million in the facility, which would build TVs, monitors and laptops.

GLEN ALLEN, VA – Signage manufactured using printed and organic electronics will generate $2.5 billion by 2015, according to analyst NanoMarkets.

Electrophoretic displays, electrochromic displays, cholesteric liquid crystal, field-emission displays, OLEDs, electroluminescent materials and emissive carbon nanotube technology will impact a variety of signage markets ranging from large outdoor billboards to point-of-sale labels, says NanoMarkets. This will offer major opportunities to manufacturers of OLEDs and paper-like displays, as well as the materials, equipment and printing companies that support them.

Conventional LCD technology is under pressure from electrophoretic, electrochromic and cholesteric LCD technology in the point-of-purchase display business. These technologies bring the advantages of flexibility, readability in bright sunlight and especially low power consumption, according to the research firm.

Thirty-five million electronic shelf labels are expected to ship in 2008, and by 2015, NanoMarkets projects the printed and organic electronic POP displays business will reach $1.4 billion in revenues.

NanoMarkets projects the market for organic and printable electronics enabled billboards and large advertising displays will reach $320 million by 2015. Reflective displays technologies are challenging high brightness LEDs in large area advertising displays. Proponents say such displays make for an easier electronic retrofit for traditional, reflective, hardcopy signs because such signs are usually situated in well-lighted areas. Power benefits are often as much as a 5:1 advantage over inorganic LEDs, says NanoMarkets.

NanoMarkets estimates the market for OLED signage will grow to around $303 million by 2015. At a time when the OLED industry is struggling with active matrix technology, signage offers an attractive alternative market for backlighting and actual displays. Printed OLED backlights are thin, lightweight, bright, and relatively efficient. They could be the successor to the EL lamp if viable encapsulation technology can be brought to bear and materials and manufacturing costs reduced. OLEDs also offer the essential wide-color spectrum needed for advertising displays where superb printed color graphics are the norm.

MANASSAS, VA –Zestron is continuing its expansion in anticipation of sustained demand for cleaning materials.

FOSTER CITY, CA – PLM software provider Arena Solutions has named Craig Livingston chief executive officer. He succeeds Michael Topolovac, company cofounder, who remains on the company’s board of directors.

Livingston previously served as VP and GM of Agile’s SME Solutions division.

SAN JOSE – Joseph Fjelstad, president of Verdant Electronics, will keynote Meptec’s 4th Annual Thermal Management symposium.

This one-day technical event will be held Feb. 28 in San Jose.

Fjelstad will trace the history of thermal management across the various stages of electronics and at different hierarchical levels, reviewing some of the innovative ways thermal management engineers have responded to the challenges over time in his presentation, Beating the Heat – Dealing with the Thermal Challenge: Past, Present and Future. The presentation will conclude with a look at some of the new and prospective materials and methods that the thermal challenge might be addressed in the future.

To register, visit www.meptec.org.

SHANGHAI — “China is an important and growing manufacturing hub in the global electronics industry, and we are making a concerted effort to increase our presence and consortial activities here in order to serve the needs of our members who are already running significant operations in this region, and also to help those fast-growing Chinese companies to become international players by providing well-integrated global solutions.”

So said International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative chairman Nasser Grayeli, vice president, technology and manufacturing of Intel, as the trade group celebrated the grand opening of its Shanghai office.

SHENZHEN – Solder materials supplier P. KAY Metal has opened an office in Shenzhen, the company announced.

The company also named Huang Ji Hai sales manager. He is a former account manager for Laird Technology and a graduate of Hubei University of Technology.

ATLANTA – Manufacturers that adopt manufacturing execution system capabilities are more likely to realize best-in-class performance levels, reveals a new report from the Aberdeen Group research firm.

The survey of more than 650 manufacturing executives found best-in-class manufacturers had 98% products in compliance, 95% first-pass yield, 36-minute response time to nonconforming shipments, and 96% on-time delivery.

The study, "Compliance and Traceability in Manufacturing," was undertaken to better understand key capabilities that help manufacturers manage compliance and traceability initiatives. (Visiprise Inc., a supplier of MES software, helped underwrite report.)

The report defines best-in-class manufacturers as the top 20% of performers, while laggards represent the bottom 30% in a weighted average across the four measured areas.

The report notes "a direct relationship between best- in-class performance and technology adoption." Companies experiencing best-in-class performance are 53% more likely to have invested in MES capabilities than companies experiencing laggard performance to support their compliance and traceability initiatives.

Aberdeen further reports companies can gain visibility into product and process information across their value chain by establishing real-time interoperability between MES and other systems. “Best-in-class performance is differentiated by the adoption of MES and Quality Management System capabilities, which helps ensure comprehensive product and process traceability for manufacturers," said Mehul Shah, research analyst, Aberdeen Group. "Best-in-class manufacturers are further linking these applications with enterprise solutions, so that this traceability continues across the supply chain to customer receipt and beyond, enabling manufacturers to quickly and effectively respond to nonconformance incidents."

The report is available for free download at: http://aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410184&cid=4138.

HELSINKI – Nokia on Tuesday said it will shutter its plant in Bochum, Germany, by mid-year and will pare as many as 2,300 staff from its payroll.

WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA – Silver Mountain Design will represent the full range of Sunburst EMS’s electronics manufacturing services in the Western U.S., including design, prototyping, PCB assembly, conformal coating, box build, and supply chain management.

Silver Mountain Design is a manufacturer’s rep with three sales offices representing Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California.