HONG KONG -- ASM Pacific Technology has completed its acquisition of Siemens AG’s SMT placement machine unit.

NEW YORK -- API Technologies, with help from a private equity firm, will acquire fellow EMS company SenDec in an all-stock transaction.

BUCKS, UK – On Feb. 1, The Smart Group will offer a one-hour webinar to summarize all recent changes made to RoHS and REACH, and to explain some of the issues delaying the amendment of the WEEE Directive.

The most significant impact of the changes will be bringing all ten EEE categories into scope, including medical devices and monitoring and control instruments. The creation of an additional “catch-all” category will include other EEE not mentioned elsewhere.

The WEEE Directive amendment process has stalled over some unresolved issues, but the REACH and CLP regulations continue to move forward with more SVHCs proposed; the first registration deadline passed on Nov. 30 has 4300 substances registered already. This important stage in the legislation will be covered by Smart Group technical committee members.

Topics will include: RoHS: Are you now in scope? When do you have to take action? RoHS: Are you dependent on existing exemptions that now have been revised? RoHS: What additional work will be needed now that CE marking is required? WEEE: What are the proposed changes and will the EU politicians ever agree on them? REACH: Can you rely on the availability of products and substances necessary for your products?

For more information, visit http://www.smartgroup.org/images/stories/events/RoHS2011.pdf  or contact info@smartgroup.org.

BRIDGEWATER, MA -- Chase Corp., parent of Humiseal, reported November quarter net income rose 38% year-over-year to $2.93 million.

Washington, DC -- The 90-day moving average worldwide semiconductor sales in November slipped 0.9% sequentially to $26 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.

ARLINGTON, VA – A new report from the Consumer Electronics Association finds that industry-wide unit sales of US products registered with EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) grew 10% in 2009 to a total of 48.5 million products.

The CEA 2010 Sustainability Report, a compendium of 21 case studies from a variety of CE companies, also details noteworthy milestones in green design. One manufacturer conducted a comprehensive lifecycle analysis for every product it ships to determine where greenhouse gases are created. After discovering 97% of the emission derived from manufacturing and product use, the company focused on designing new products that use less material, smaller packaging, and are more energy-efficient and recyclable.

Also, many consumer electronics companies are switching to renewable materials, including bio-based plastics, or recyclable materials instead of clamshell packaging, and are looking to reduce the amount of packaging they use. For instance, one video service provider consolidated its shipments and decreased its use of cartons by more than one million in 2009, a 75% reduction from the previous year. In 2011, all of the providers’ products will be packed with 100% recyclable materials.

Furthermore, many manufacturers have set ambitious goals for reducing GHG at their facilities. Meanwhile, other companies have launched efforts to cut power consumption at their data centers.

According to the EPA, 27,000 CE product models currently meet Energy Star specifications. The average energy savings of Energy Star electronics devices range from 20% to 55%. One semiconductor design company created a chip that can reduce its GHG by up to 40% by combining the processing and graphics processing units and the Northbridge chipset onto a single chip.

The report also says the consumer electronics industry recycled 200 million lbs. in 2009, and industry supports more than 5,000 permanent collection sites nationwide. Some examples of these efforts include one CE retailer collecting 100 million lbs. at its 1,200 US locations and one computer manufacturer operating an eCycling program at more than 2,200 US Goodwill sites.

STAMFORD, CT – Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $3.6 trillion in 2011, up 5.1% from 2010, says Gartner. In 2010, worldwide IT spending totaled $3.4 trillion, up 5.4% from 2009 levels.

EL SEGUNDO – DRAM pricing declined in December to its lowest point of the year, a leading research firm said.

TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December for the 17th consecutive month, with the PMI registering 57%, up 0.4 percentage points, says the Institute for Supply Management.

A reading above 50% indicates the manufacturing economy is generally expanding.

New orders were 60.9%, up 4.3 percentage points, while production, at 60.7%, increased 5.7 points. Inventories fell 4.9 points to 51.8%, and customer inventories dropped 5.5 points to 40%. Backlogs were up 1 percentage point to 47%.

ISM spokesperson Norbert J. Ore said, “The manufacturing sector continued its growth trend, as indicated by this month's report. We saw significant recovery for much of the US manufacturing sector in 2010. The recovery centered on strength in autos, metals, food, machinery, computers and electronics, while those industries tied primarily to housing continue to struggle. Additionally, manufacturers that export have benefitted from both global demand and the weaker dollar. December's strong readings in new orders and production, combined with positive comments from the panel, should create momentum as we go into the first quarter of 2011.”

The overall economy grew for the 20th consecutive month, says the firm.

PHOENIX – Charlie Barnhart Associates has published a new report on electronics outsourcing in emerging countries.

The 80-page Next Horizons in Electronics Manufacturing: Building a Successful Global Strategy comprises data and analysis geared specifically to EMS professionals charged with planning a global strategy.

The report includes profiles on Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

It discusses the backgrounds and a brief history of each geography; an assessment of each geography’s market potential for electronics; infrastructure issues relevant to manufacturing; population statistics: workers vs. buyers; EMS profiles of select companies already operating in the geography, as well as industry association activity, and CBA’s assessment of opportunities and challenges, plus an analytical framework for decision-making.

For a complimentary copy of the executive summary, visit http://charliebarnhart.com/next-horizon/. 

LONDON -- The global market for SMT equipment is projected to top $5.5 billion by 2015, with growth driven by technological advancements, particularly component miniaturization, according to a new research report.

BEIJING -- China has unveiled a supercomputer incorporating thousands of graphics chips and capable of achieving a sustained performance of 2.5 petaflops.