Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

Latest News

NORTH BILLERICA, MA – BTU International today reported fourth-quarter 2010 net income of $2.2 million, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million in the same quarter of 2009 and breakeven in the preceding quarter.

Net sales for the period were a record-breaking $27.4 million, up 127% year-over-year, and up 44% sequentially.

Net income for 2010 was $2.2 million, compared to a net loss of $14.6 million in 2009. Full-year net sales were $81.6 million, up 81% year-over-year.

“Our alternative energy business contributed 60% of our system sales in the fourth quarter. This marks the first time that our alternative energy – solar and nuclear – business exceeded our electronics assembly business to become the primary contributor of net sales. The growth of our solar business was driven by both our inline diffusion and metallization products,” said Paul J. van der Wansem, BTU chairman and CEO.

The firm expects first-quarter revenues to be in the $24 million to $26 million range because of a softer electronics business.

BTU supplies advanced thermal processing equipment and processes to the alternative energy and electronics manufacturing markets.

Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com

LONDON – A new publication by a electronics industry collaborative provides guidance to manufacturers and design engineers on recent RoHS changes.

The free RoHS eBook incorporates new rules invoked last September, and will eventually include a range of additional electronics and electrical products not previously covered by the European environmental legislation. It also outlines dates when medical devices and monitoring and control instruments (along with additional exemptions) will fall within scope.

The collaborative known as element14 also offers guidance on EU RoHS, China RoHS, Korea RoHS, REACH, ErP, WEEE, the Battery Directive plus state and provincial environmental laws in the US and Canada.

TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the 19th consecutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management. The PMI registered 61.4%, up 0.6 points, with new orders at 68%, up a slight 0.2 percentage points. Production was 66.3%, up 2.8 points. Inventories dropped 3.6 points to 48.8%, and customer inventories fell 5.5 points to 40%. Backlogs reached 59%, up 1 percentage point.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – January printed circuit board shipments from North American fabricators increased 4.3%, but orders fell 6.5% year-over-year.

The book-to-bill ratio posted a gain of one-tenth, to 0.97, says IPC. It was the fourth straight month the ratio was below 1.0, the leading indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Rigid PWB shipments were up 3.7%, and orders dropped 7.7% compared to January 2010. The book-to-bill edged up to 0.97.

Flex shipments for the month were up 10.7%, while orders were up 5.3% year-over-year. The flex book-to-bill climbed above parity to 1.01.

IPC said the sales followed normal seasonal patterns, and that the figures are stable.

Rigid PWBs represent an estimated 89% of the current industry in North America, says the firm. Rigid circuit producers reported military sales accounted for 24% of their sales for January, and flex circuit producers reported 46% military sales.

In January, 81% of total shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 81% of rigid and 86% of flex shipments.

SAN JOSE – North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers reported January orders of $1.54 billion, up 30.3% from last year, an industry trade group said.

While the numbers look good versus a year ago, the industry at that time was still coming out of a deep recession. The 90-day average bookings fell 2.9% from the revised December figures, said SEMI.

The book-to-bill ratio was 0.85, meaning that $85 worth of orders were received for every $100 worth of equipment shipped. It was the fourth straight month below 1.0, suggesting slower shipments ahead.

The 90-day average worldwide billings were $1.8 billion, up 2.5% from revised December levels and 88% from January 2010.

“Orders declined slightly although they remain well above January 2010 orders,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “Industry spending remains solid at the start of the year and we are encouraged by the strength in capital expenditure plans announced over the past month.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of US dollars.

ALAMEDA, CA – A new paper presents findings on three small-to-medium-sized electronics manufacturing services firms and common themes for success.

Through interviews with Digicom Electronics, Nistec Group, and PartnerTech over a 15-year span, the paper shows how management has survived economic fluctuations, parts shortages, demanding customers, and an ever-broadening scope of services, while competing with companies leveraging low-wage regions, huge buying power, and economies of scale.

Technology Forecasters’ “Contract Electronic Manufacturers with Staying Power” is available at http://www.techforecasters.com/whitepapers/wp_tfi_lasting_cms.pdf.

TEKIRDAG, TURKEY – Foxconn has launched production here to produce HP desktop PCs.

MILPITAS, CA – This week’s SEMA meeting here will address the evolving China photovoltaics model and its ramifications for the North American and European industries.

Matthew Holzman, president of SEMA, will present a technical assessment of the Chinese photovoltaic industry Mar. 3 at Flextronics, offering comparative data to help attendees understand the key differentiators in capital cost models, technology, manufacturing efficiency and quality practices.

RSVP to Jasbir Bath at jasbir.bath@solar-ema.org.

For more information about SEMA, visit www.solar-ema.org.

KEMPELE, FINLAND -- PKC Group, a top 50 EMS company, has signed an agreement to purchase Segu's wire-harness companies in Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

LOS ANGELES – Industry analysts this week are providing disparate views on the current state of chip inventory.

BANGKOK – Electronics manufacturer SVI Public Company Ltd. reported fourth-quarter 2010 gross profit of $8.4 million, up 23% year-over-year, and up 11% sequentially.

KIRKLAND, QUEBEC – In a rebound from depressed 2009 levels, global demand for light vehicle original equipment manufacturer automotive electronics will advance 12.3% annually to $174 billion in 2014, says Electronics.ca Publications.

Beyond the expected recovery from the 2009 recession, automotive electronics demand will find uplift from increasing regulatory pressure and the continued search among automakers for cost-effective ways to differentiate their products.

Safety and security electronics will register the biggest increase through 2014, as more advanced safety features percolate down into mass market vehicles. Powertrain electronics will also experience strong demand, driven by stringent fuel economy and emissions standards in developed markets, particularly the US and Western Europe, according to Electronics.ca.

Communication and navigation electronics systems will see rapid increases, as more OEMs integrate these technologies into vehicles. Instrumentation and comfort, convenience and entertainment electronics will experience lower, but still attractive growth rates, as more emerging market players install these features into vehicles.