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News

LOUISVILLE -- Just days after reiterating plans to lay off up to 1,500 workers, Solectron Corp. opened a 500,000 sq. ft. services center here and said it would hire up to 700 workers in the next 12 months.

The facility will perform parts fulfillment and repair for consumer electronics like cellphones.

LOHJA, FINLAND -- Elcoteq's chief executive today confirmed earlier reports the EMS firm would close its Lohja manufacturing plant and lay off a total of 242 employees by August.

The company said 215 workers would be affected by the Lohja plant closing. Another 27 would be laid off as part of changes to its NPI organization.

PHOENIX -- Electronics manufacturing provider Suntron Corp. reported net sales of $69.3 million and an operating loss of $4.7 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. The results include $1.7 million of restructuring charges due to the closure of two U.S. manufacturing operations. The net loss was $5.7 million, versus net income of $100,000 in 2005.

For the year, net sales were down 2% to $320.8 million. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales improved to 5.6% for 2006, up 0.5 points. The gross profit includes restructuring charges of $2.9 million for 2006 and $1.2 million for 2005. The company also cut debt by 33%, to about $32 million. The net loss widened $600,000 to $11.9 million, including a writeoff of debt issuance costs of $1.4 million and restructuring charges of $3.5 million.

For the quarter, the company saw a decrease in gross profit due to higher restructuring costs and lower net sales. Sequentially, gross profit decreased $4.1 million.

In 2006, Suntron closed business units in Lawrence, MA, and Olathe, KS, In February, it sold its Garner, IA, EMS plant for $4.8 million, a gain of approximately $500,000.

Although the 2006 financial results do not reflect it, we believe the restructuring actions taken during the year have poised the company for a promising future,'' stated Paul Singh, Suntron's president and chief executive officer.

"We believe that the majority of our restructuring efforts should be complete by the end of the first quarter. As we execute our 2007 business plan, our focus will be on profitable growth, working capital management, and quality customer service," said Singh.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC today announced publication of the 2006-2007 IPC International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections. The biennial roadmap provides direction for product and process development for companies manufacturing substrates and assemblies. The Roadmap is available as a free download to IPC members at www.ipc.org/membersonly. The Roadmap can also be purchased in a CD format.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – After experiencing a drop in surplus inventory at the end of fourth quarter, semiconductor stockpiles in the supply chain continued to decline in the first quarter as result of previous production cuts by chip manufacturers, according to iSuppli Corp.

MARLBOROUGH, MA – Flomerics reported sales rose 24% to $27.8 million in 2006, and gross profits climbed 30% to $2.9 million, before taxes and other charges. A key factor was the company’s July acquisition of Nika. Global sales of Nika’s Engineering Fluid Dynamics software grew 33% in 2006. Excluding revenues from Nika, sales grew 13% to $25.3 million for the year. Sales of Flomerics’ Flotherm and Flo/PCB increased 11%, while revenues from MicReD were up 80%. Revenue from Flo/EMC and MicroStripes grew 4%, and Flomerics’ Flovent product’s revenue grew 24%.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WI – Promation has been selected to design and build a custom conveyor solution that will permit the manufacture of large platform elevator control cabinets in a progressive assembly line.

The company’s power-driven roller conveyor solutions coupled with air bladder lifts, product rotating stations with overhead lighting, and tool trolleys and power crossover stations have been integrated to create a safe assembly line to manufacture the customer’s 650 lb. control cabinets.

TEDDINGTON, UK – The upcoming Soldering Science & Technology Club meeting will take place May 24 at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, UK. Presentations will include Improving the Prediction of Reliability Performance of Lead-Free Assemblies; Reliability in High Frequency Vibration of Lead-Free Solder Joints; A New Technique for Reliability Assessment based on Power Cycling; Corrosion Properties of Lead-Free Alloys; Measuring the Tin-pest Transformation; Thermal Management Technology Developments in the US; Reliability of Substrates after Processing at Lead-Free Soldering Temperatures, and Will Tin Finished Components Whisker? NPL also will launch an Industry Defect Database and there will be a tabletop exhibition. This event is suited for technologists, engineers and designers, and others wishing to gain a general background in field failures. For information, contact Dr. Chris Hunt at chrishunt@npl.co.uk.

DEARBORN, MI – The Society of Manufacturing Engineers and its Electronics Manufacturing Tech Group named Professor R. Wayne Johnson winner of its 2007 Total Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing Award. The annual award recognizes extraordinary dedication and innovation in setting new or higher levels of achievement in electronics manufacturing. Johnson is a professor of electrical engineering at Auburn University and director of the Laboratory for Electronics Assembly and Packaging (LEAP). At Auburn, he has established teaching and research laboratories for advanced packaging and electronics manufacturing. His research efforts are focused on the materials, processing, and reliability aspects of electronics manufacturing. Current projects include lead-free electronics assembly, mixed lead-free and Sn/Pb electronics assembly, wafer-level packaging, flip-chip assembly, assembly of ultra thin Si die, and electronics packaging for extreme environments. He has published 52 journal papers, 135 conference papers, six book chapters and co-edited one book on electronics packaging and electronics manufacturing. Johnson holds one U.S. patent.

SAN FRANCISCO – The nation’s CIOs expect IT budgets to grow 5.1% during the next 12 months, down from 5.8% in December. The weaker results reflect increased caution across most product categories, although a rebound in large enterprise spending is expected, says Deutsche Bank Equity Research. DB’s March poll revealed a slow start to 2007, although results for very large (>5,000 employees) and small firms (101-500) strengthened in March, with CIOs expecting growth of 7% and 10%, respectively, in the next 12 months (vs. 3% and 7% in December).

COLORADO SPRINGS – IC Interconnect, a wafer bumping company, was named sole North American representative for Jiangyin Changdian Advanced Packaging, a provider of bumping technologies. The agreement establishes ICI/jcap International, the marketing, sales, engineering and customer support arm of JCAP in North America. Under the agreement IC Interconnect can install and operate its electroless nickel UBM process at a plant in China.

HIALEAH, FL -- Simclar Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income rose 394% to $949,000 on an 83.5% hike in sales to $33.2 million. The figures include the consolidated operations of Simclar and its subsidiaries, including acquisitions made during the year.

For the year ended Dec. 31, Simclar had net income of $2.9 million compared to $947,000 in 2005. Sales rose 90% to $116 million.

In a statement, chairman Sam Russell said growth has come from new and existing customers looking to consolidate their business with suppliers.