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News

SAN JOSE – September semiconductors sales set another high as manufacturers geared up for the fourth-quarter holiday season. Global chip sales reached $21.4 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year and 4.2 % sequentially, on strong demand for cellphones, MP3 players and PCs, the Semiconductor Industry Association said today.

For the quarter, global semiconductor sales were $64.1 billion, up 8%. Year-to-date, sales reached $182.6 billion, up 8.9% and on pace for a record.

MILPITAS, CA - Lenthor Engineering had published the latest version of its Flexible Circuit Design Guide. The updated document, revision 6.0, provides more comprehensive technical descriptions of material construction requirements for the full range of flexible circuitry. It includes full-color graphics and descriptions on construction of single-sided, double-sided and multilayer flexible circuits. The book covers standards, flex circuit types and classifications, terminology, manufacturing tolerances, construction of single- and double-sided and multilayer flex and rigid-flex boards, drawing notes, panelization, limitations, electrical design, stiffeners, and hole-to-copper features. It is available online at www.lenthor.com.

YAVNE, ISRAEL – Valor Computerized Systems installed its Trilogy 5000 pre-production engineering software and parts library at Hitachi’s manufacturing facility in Orléans (Loiret), France. Hitachi’s machine program processing time has reportedly been reduced by 50% since the installation, Valor said in a press statement. Valor’s parts library is an online data service covering more than 36 million component geometries. Trilogy 5000 is a pre-production engineering tool for NPI, assembly preparation and optimization, test and factory floor documentation.

HIALEAH, FL -- The Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has found electronics contract manufacturer Simclar Inc. in compliance with all applicable listing standards and listing of the company's shares on the Nasdaq exchange will continue.

In August Nasdaq had issued a delisting warning for Simclar's failure to file on time its second quarter 10-Q report. The delay in filing the report resulted from a review of accounting errors discovered by the company at its Brownsville, TX, and Matamoros, Mexico, facilities.

Simclar filed its second quarter report on Oct. 27, along with an amended 2005 10-K and amended 10-Q for the first quarter of 2006, both of which restated financial statements for to correct accounting errors at Simclar (Mexico) Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS -- EMS provider Nortech Systems today reported net sales rose 21% to $25.3 million for its third quarter ended Sept. 30. Net income rose 17% to $304,587 versus the third quarter 2005.

Year-to-date the company's net sales are up 28% to $77.5 million, and net income is up 76% to $498,210.

"This was an excellent quarter for us at the top line and in terms of profitability," said Mike Degen, president and CEO. "Our growth rate continues to exceed the industry average and we believe we are well-positioned for the remainder of 2006 and beyond."

The company is on pace to surpass $100 million in revenue this fiscal year, up more than 20% from 2005. The industry average is about 11%, Degen said.

Three-month order backlogs rose 12% during the third quarter. In October the company secured an $8.5 million order for custom cable assemblies from a U.S. defense contractor, deliverable over the next 12 months.

Nortech raised its earnings for fiscal 2006 to 46 to 48 cents, compared with the 36 cents last year. The company expects revenues of $102 million to $104 million, an increase of 21 to 24% over last year.

MANKATO, MN -- Winland Electronics today announced third-quarter revenues of $9.6 million, up 29.5% from the third quarter 2005. Net income fell 11.8% to $385,456 compared to last year. Net income increased 33% sequentially.

Gross profit was $1.8 million, or 18.3% of sales, and gross profit margin increased sequentially from 15.1% for the period ended Sept. 30. Operating expenses were stable sequentially and up 16.7% to $1.1 million from last year.

Income from operations fell 13.9% to $631,262 versus last year and was up 32% sequentially.

In a press release, Winland chief executive Lorin Krueger said the company was focusing on diversifying its product mix as its major customer, Select Comfort, migrates 50% of its business to a second supplier. That previous announced transition will begin in mid November.

"During the third quarter, we brought 26 new or revised products online which included product introductions from four new customers. [W]e are optimistic that our continued efforts to diversify our customer and product offerings will offset this loss of the Select Comfort business."

NEENAH, WI -- Plexus Corp. reported record fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $42.6 million on a 23% hike in revenues over last year. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the EMS firm's sales hit $396.9 million, bringing full year revenues to a record $1.46 billion, a 19% increase over 2005.

For the quarter, net income was up 305%, including a $17.7 million gain due to tax provisions and a $500,000 loss on the adoption of "FIN 47" concerning conditional asset retirement obligations. Non-GAAP quarterly net income was $25.5 million, a company record for the fourth quarter.

ROCHESTER, MN -- EMS firm Pemstar Inc., in its final days as a standalone company, reported fiscal 2007 second-quarter revenue rose $1.2 million to $212.3 million from last year. Net income was $3.2 million compared to a net loss of $13.5 million a year ago. The prior year loss from continuing operations includes restructuring and impairment charges totaling $7.9 million.

Last month Benchmark Electronics announced it would buy Pemstar in a deal expected to close next quarter.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division has subpoenaed Sony's electronics unit for information on its sales of SRAM memory chips. The company expressed its full cooperation with the probe.

The move appears to be part of a growing Justice Department probe into SRAM sales. Earlier this month, Cypress Semiconductor said its SRAM operations were also under investigation.

VANCOUVER -- Nam Tai Electronics today reported third-quarter sales rose 5.1% year-over-year to $218.5 million. Operating income fell 11.6% to $12.4 million, and net income plummeted 35.7% to $12.1 million for the period ended Sept. 30.

LONDON -- Schneider Electric will acquire American Power Conversion for $6.1 billion in cash, the companies said Monday. The deal has been approved by APC's board and is expected to close in the first quarter 2007, pending APC shareholder approval.

The deal will make Schneider the world's largest provider of surge protector equipment.

"APC has always been a strategic target for Schneider. It is a reference brand in the fast-growing segment of critical power and has superb technology," Schneider chief executive Jean-Pascal Tricoire said on a conference call with analysts Monday.

APC had about $2 billion sales in 2005, and employs 7,600 workers.

EL SEGUNDO, CA - Voice over Internet Protocol has become a key growth driver for telecom equipment suppliers, according to iSuppli Corp. Worldwide VoIP equipment revenue will rise to $11.9 billion in 2010, a compound annual growth rate of 24.7% from $3.95 billion in 2005.

At the end of 2005, private branch exchanges accounted for 46% of VoIP equipment revenue, while infrastructure and residential gear each took a 27% share, says iSuppli. According to Steve Rago, principal analyst for networking and optical service, PBX/enterprise equipment sales will rise to $5.6 billion in 2010, a CAGR of 25.8%.

VoIP equipment revenue growth for enterprise/PBX is said to be driven by these factors:

· The need for service providers and enterprises to control capital expenditures and operating expenses.
· The introduction of new PBX features for enterprise equipment.
· The drive to networks completely based on IP.

The number of residential VoIP subscribers worldwide is expected to increase to 151.2 million by 2010, a CAGR of 57.1% from 15.8 million in 2005, iSuppli adds.

Equipment makers and telecom service providers are targeting the residential VoIP market; residential VoIP product revenues are projected to grow at a CAGR of 31.1%, rising to more than $4.1 billion in 2010, up from $1.1 billion in 2005.