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From the Editor:
Reaching for Balance
December 31, 1969 |
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Yesterday, I left N.H. behind eagerly. The snow outside my door, where a plow left the scrapings from our street, stands four feet taller than I am, dwarfing all that drive by. We were headed out for sunny Atlanta, where cherry and magnolia blossoms welcomed spring, and the grass was halfway green already not a bit of snow. Ah, sweet change. On top of increasing temperatures, we were visiting old friends in the industry at Siemens, Viscom, and Assembléon to talk about their plans for the future, see new products, and meet new personnel. What could be better than that?
Everywhere we go, engineers, business managers, and marketing personnel seek to know from an editor's perspective how business is doing in the U.S. Every month, I report the numbers and trends to my publisher, so this is either a prelude or a summary of my job that month, and I usually have an answer for them. Editors, in fact, have never been accused of having a shortage of opinions. I talked to John MacWilliams of Bishop Associates before leaving for this trip, and the ammunition was ready. "Globally, the board assembly business is huge, at $35 billion; however, the portion of it remaining in the U.S. is under $5 billion," he stated. Why then is the U.S. important to the industry? I asked. "There are two outstanding facts: one, we do high-end board business, such as military and medical, which is where the profits are; and two, the OEMs and ODMs design and specify how new designs will come about throughout the industry. Our influence remains huge."
The next stop on our March tour is the Burn-in and Test Sockets (BiTS) Workshop in Mesa, Ariz., to learn what's new regarding in test and sockets. New socket designs for the ultra-fine-pitch, the lead-free, or the more unusual components can cost more than $1,000; this is a specialty area that remains healthy, despite its narrow niche. There will be lots of changes in product designs there, not to mention the welcome heat of Ariz. sun.
Then it's on to SEMICON China, surveying the packaging side of the industry. Here, Kulicke & Soffa will introduce a piece of equipment that should rock the wire bonding industry. So many companies now are introducing high-volume equipment at the NEPCON and SEMICON shows in China that each show is becoming a "don't miss" for those of us seeking knowledge of cutting-edge developments.
APEX in Las Vegas is my final stop in late March/early April. There will be plenty of new product introductions there, to be sure. Our VISION Awards ceremony is on Wednesday, April 2 in Mariner A of the Mandalay Bay Resort. Please join us to toast the winners' innovative product introductions of 2007. This is the exciting part of our industry, recognizing those who expand our horizons.
In the midst of all that's happening in U.S. politics lately, where the many candidate choices have dwindled down, it seems as though what we seek is enough hope for positive change yet enough stability to give us balance. The potential for positive growth contributes to that feeling of balance. The U.S. board business still has that potential for positive growth.
Gail Flower, editor-in-chief