Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

ST. LOUIS -- La Barge Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 14% but the provider of electronics manufacturing services said first-quarter results will be hurt by customer-requested shipment delays. 2005 results were aided by strong demand from defense customers.

SPOKANE, WA -- Key Tronic Corp. said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose to $2.8 million, up from $265,000 a year ago. The electronic manufacturing services firm said revenue grew 20% to $53.2 million for the quarter ended July 2.

TEMPE, AZ -- Three-Five Systems has signed definitive agreement to sell the assets of its electronic manufacturing services subsidiary's operations in Redmond, WA.

Catalyst Manufacturing Services will purchase the subsidiary, TFS Electronic Manufacturing Services Inc., in a deal worth about $6.6 million. Catalyst will pay $3.6 million in cash and assume certain liabilities of TFS EMS.

TAMPA -- Reptron Electronics today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, and said it would lay off 10 to 12% of its workforce in an attempt to cut costs..

ARLINGTON, WA -- CheckSum, a supplier of low-cost in-circuit test systems, has opened an sales and support office in Shanghai.

John VanNewkirk, president and chief executive, said the company has more than 500 installations in China since first selling there in the 1990s.

The facility will be headed by Tony Tan, field product specialist, a veteran of Teradyne and Landrex Technologies.

PITTSBURGH -- Valor Computerized Systems' manufacturing data sets will be integrated with a startup EDA firm's component placement software in a move that could help speed electronics design.

DesignAdvance Systems, a provider of electronic design automation and CAD design-synthesis software, said its CircuitSpace component placement software will be used with Valor's manufacturing data, merging Valor's DfM capabilities with DesignAdvance's design and electrical rules checks, known as CircuitSpace.

"It is a logical next step for us to use manufacturing data sets to improve the manufacturing results of a CircuitSpace PCB design," said Randy Eager, CEO of DesignAdvance. "Valor's PCB manufacturers' data sets allows companies to calibrate their placement data with manufacturing equipment and processes."

Julian Coates, Valor vice president, corporate marketing, said, "By facilitating the use of PCB designers' production constraint data within CircuitSpace, our mutual customers are now able to consider DfM information while automating the placement of components on a PCB. This will have many positive effects including the reduction in design time and a reduction in the number of spins or design prototypes, which delay the release of new products."

BOSTON, MA – A recent run up in bookings for SMT process equipment is showing no signs of abating, and suppliers say signs point to organic growth in the industry.

Speedline Technologies today reported that second quarter bookings rose 44% sequentially and in July reached their highest level since 2000. At the end of July, backlogs had climbed 68% versus the end of the first quarter.

Thief River Falls, MN - - Micrel Inc. has signed a distribution agreement with Digi-Key Corp. for its line of advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver ICs.

Micrel provides power and mixed-signal analog, RF transceivers and transmitters, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions. Its product line of more than 4,500 IC solutions will be made available through Digi-Key.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The July book-bill for makers of semiconductor gear was 0.93, up from 0.90 in June, despite a drop in orders.

A drop in front-end orders masked gains for backend tools. Orders for backend tools jumped 44% quarter over quarter.

FRANKLIN, MA – SMT manufacturers face many misconceptions about the equipment requirements for lead-free wave soldering as they struggle to answer the question: “Is our wave soldering process ready for the transition to lead-free materials?”

To help, Speedline Technologies is hosting a free, live Web seminar on “Lead-Free Wave Soldering.” The event will be held September 15th, from 11 a.m. to 12 Noon, EST.

Topics will include:
             * Wave solder equipment configurations
             * Flux chemistries and solder alloys
             * Material/Equipment interaction
             * Defect reduction

For more info.and to register, visit speedlinetech.com/seminars.

NEW YORK – Dover Electronics will acquire Knowles Electronics, a manufacturer of micro-acoustic components, for $750 million, the company said today. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in September.

ATLANTA -- PCB Design Conference East, the premier conference and exhibition for PCB engineering, design and manufacture professionals, will celebrate its 10^th anniversary in Manchester, NH, on Oct. 10-14. Dieter Bergman, director of technology transfer at IPC, will deliver the keynote on October 12 with a presentation on "The Designer - Preparing for the Next Decade."

Attendees can choose from more than 40 technical courses taught by industry experts, and visit the two-day product and service exhibition. Special events include a Welcome Luncheon and Industry Icon Roast, an Opening Night Reception on the show floor, Trivia Night, an Ice Cream Social and a Pub Night at Jillians.

The complete conference brochure and registration details are available at pcbeast.com.

Register by September 9 for the early bird discount. PCB Design Conference alumni and members of IPC Designers Council (or other recognized industry user groups) are also eligible for discounts.