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Speaking of this Week — January 9, 2004
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
By Christine F. Della Monaca, Managing Editor, SMT
Speaking of this Week summarizes and analyzes events in the electronics assembly industry every Friday.
As much as I enjoy the holidays, isn't it nice to get back to normal? News is picking up again, as it always does after the year-end holidays, with progress and financial news taking the lead. We've also got personnel, merger and acquisition, and tradeshow news, as well as a look at the future from the consumer electronics standpoint. Buckle up, my friends:
- Progress news leads off with some awards: Teradyne Inc.'s Nashua, N.H.-based Connection Systems Div. announced that its PCB manufacturing facility received ISO 14001 certification, while Houston-based eLinear Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, NewBridge Technologies Inc. was certified by electronics giant Tyco Electronics Corp. And Wilmington, Mass.-based GSI Lumonics was recognized by Samsung Electronics as one of its top 20 equipment suppliers for the second year in a row. Speaking of Samsung, the company purchased multiple Tiger test systems from Teradyne for multi-site probes of ICs used in optical disk drive and baseband applications. In similar news, Portland, Ore.-based heavy-duty truck manufacturer Freightliner LLC implemented Herzlia, Israel-based Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd.'s eMPower software in its manufacturing plants nationwide. In more good news, Methuen, Mass.-based Parlex Corp. shipped 10 million smartcard circuits in December. The company ultimately plans to ship 100 million circuits a month. Finally, Fremont, Calif.-based Phihong has a new facility in Tiverton, UK.
- With the end of the year comes a slew of financial news. For example, Toronto-based EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. held a special meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, reporting sales growth of 11.4 percent and a 5.2 percent improvement in gross margin for its first quarter, which ended November 30. Looking ahead, Elkhart, Ind.-based CTS Corp. updated its fourth quarter 2003 guidance, announcing it expects revenues to increase 20 percent over the third quarter of 2003. This is up from previous guidance, which predicted a 10 to 15 percent increase. The company says the increase is due to stronger-than-anticipated sales in the company's EMS business. Finally, Wallingford, Conn.-based Amphenol Corp. filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC to register shares of stock, and West Chicago, Ill.-based M-Wave Inc., currently undergoing a restructuring, got an extension on its $2.4 million loan to Bank One NA to January 31. This will give M-Wave time to sell its Bensenville, Ill. collateral assets, as well as find a way to generate cash from its West Chicago assets.
- Personnel news: Shareholders of Milpitas, Calif.-based EMS powerhouse Solectron Corp. elected a full slate of directors, including new members William R. Graber and Cyril Yansouni. Meanwhile, Lake Success, N.Y.-based Park Electrochemical Corp. elected Margaret M. Kendrick as president of printed circuit material business unit Nelco Products Inc., and the Rome, N.Y.-based ESD Association selected its board members and officers for 2004.
- Companies coming together, in all the ways they do: Milpitas, Calif.-based Intersil Corp. and the San Diego-based Memec Group entered into an agreement that allows Memec to distribute Intersil products in Japan. In acquisition news, the Arlington, Va.-based Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA) bought CARTS, the passive component technology conference and exposition. Finally, San Jose, Calif.-based Cadence Design Systems Inc. completed its strategic acquisition of Q Design Automation Inc.
- A bit of tradeshow news: componex/electronicIndia, taking place in mid-February, is moving to Indian capital of Delhi. The show is in its fifth year.
- Finally, a look ahead at the blockbuster consumer electronics market: According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), manufacturer-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics products will total a record $101 billion in 2004, representing a 5 percent increase over 2003. Year-end sales for 2003 were $96.3 billion, representing a 2 percent increase over 2002. Standout products include standalone DVD players, which are recognized as the fastest selling technology of all time; personal video recorders (PVRs); and MP3 players.
This just in: According to this week's Quick Vote, 44 percent of you read SMT Online once a week, 22 percent read it less than once a week, 17 percent read it daily, and 17 percent more read it two to four times a week.
Have some insight on the industry? See something you don't agree with? Think I'm right on? Send it all to me at mailto:christinef@pennwell.com.