Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – IC Insights believes Asia-Pacific will continue to gain marketshare and represent almost one-third (32%) of worldwide IC sales in 2011.

Asia-Pacific companies have grown from holding only 2% of the IC market in 1985 to 26% in 2006, says IC Insights. The Asia-Pacific supplier segment is primarily composed of Taiwanese, South Korean, and Chinese companies.

After reaching a high of 51% in 1988, Japanese IC suppliers have displayed a steady decline in marketshare; in 2006, the Japan-headquartered companies' share dropped to only 17% of the IC market. IC Insights believes Japanese companies will continue to lose IC marketshare during the next five years, to a 14% share in 2011.

In 2006, IC companies headquartered in the Americas region held almost half of the worldwide IC sales marketshare, says the firm.

Since 1982, European companies have always held 8-10% of the worldwide IC market. IC Insights believes European companies will stay in this range through 2011.

NANJING, CHINA — Kimball Electronics Group has begun production at its 132,400 sq. ft. facility in Nanjing, the company said today.

SARASOTA, FL — Inovaxe Corp. announced free inventory management software with each Inocart purchase effective Aug. 1.

The software provides inventory-tracking benefits, in addition to part number and quantity.

Component Add allows users to scan a bin, a component part number, inventory quantity, and to identify package status, RoHS-compliance status or vendor consignment status. It also features print label functionality.

Inventory View allows users to display all bins in the location on a single page display, while Component Remove scans a bin and presents the quantity available, allowing users to type the quantity they would like to remove.

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Endicott Interconnect Technologies has conditionally qualified its assembly operation for high-volume commercial applications in Shenzhen, and is ramping for full production.

The company leases 40,000 sq. ft. of production space in Lorom Industrial Co.’s Shenzhen facility, and has installed production equipment to support the operation.

Under the agreement, EI will provide all materials, technical know-how and training. The company will maintain control of design, new product introduction activity, specifications, quality requirements, sales and technical support worldwide.

Lorom will be responsible for facility maintenance, production staff and general support.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL – EMS company SigmaTron International Inc. reported revenues increased 32.9% to $165.9 million in 2007, up from $124.8 million in 2006.

Net income decreased to $1.7 million, compared to $1.9 million last year.

For the fourth quarter, revenues increased to $39.5 million compared to $34.5 million year-over-year.

ATLANTA – A new Excel spreadsheet tool aids users in determining the best surface finish for a particular design. The tool was created by Bob Lazarra, former designer and now vice president of business development for PWB fabricator CircuitConnect.

ANAHEIM, CA – Flexible circuit maker Multi-Fineline Electronix today said third-quarter net sales unexpectedly declined sequentially due to an ongoing decline in sales to its largest customer.

FOSTER CITY, CA – PLM software provider Arena Solutions has issued a white paper on manufacturing outsourcing, the company said today.

ATLANTA – UP Media Group, parent company of Circuits Assembly, announced today that a 60-minute Webinar, Korea RoHS/ELV – What You Need to Know, will be held Aug. 14 at 12 PM EDT.

The Webinar will be presented by Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates LLC, and Junsik Yoon, an associate with Korean environmental firm Eco-Frontier.

The Webinar will help electronics and automotive companies understand and comply with Korea’s RoHS-, WEEE-, and ELV-like regulation when it goes in to force on Jan. 1.

Korea's Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electric Products and Automobiles has elements of several EU directives such as RoHS, WEEE, ELV, and EuP, and has a short timeline and details that will not be officially published until fall.

Yoon’s presentation will describe the law, similarities and differences between it and the relevant European directives, and the implementation requirements for the Jan. 1 deadline. Kirschner will describe the steps to compliance OEMs must take to ensure compliance.

Registration for the event, which will include a Q&A session, costs $169 and is available online at www.pcbshows.com/webinars.

STOCKHOLM – Elari of Finland has increased its outsourcing to EMS provider Note by some $6 million of late, according to the companies.

Elari, a Schneider Electric company, supplies lighting products and fire safety equipment.

The added orders raise the reported total annual value of Note’s business with Schneider Electric to some $13.5 million.

Production relocation from Elari to Note Pärnu in Estonia has begun, with initial deliveries scheduled for fall.

STAMFORD, CT – A lull in demand for semi equipment has arrived, as worldwide semi capital equipment spending is forecast to total $43.1 billion this year, a 2.7% increase year-over-year, according to Gartner Inc. However, the mark represents a large increase over the research group’s earlier forecast.

PALO ALTO – The LCD manufacturing equipment market topped $1.5 billion in 2006 and will reach $2.3 billion by 2013, Frost & Sullivan’s World LCD Manufacturing Equipment Markets reveals.

Improved HD and larger LCD televisions increase demand and drives the growth of the LCD manufacturing equipment market. Additionally, decreased panel prices have made LCD TVs more affordable, which will lead to phenomenal LCD TV growth, says Frost.

Despite the increase in panel sizes, the sales of older generation equipment will not come to a standstill as desktop monitors, cellphones and other electronics utilize smaller display sizes. Countries such as China will continue to see investment in older generation equipment as they manufacture large volumes of small-sized displays, says the research firm.

The market’s fierce competition leads to extreme price pressures, further compounded by the fall in glass substrates’ prices. Therefore, for equipment vendors to maintain profitability, they must manage cost structures and find new ways to control costs, concludes the firm.