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Speaking of this Week — October 17, 2003
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
By Christine F. Della Monaca
Speaking of this Week reflects on events in the electronics assembly industry every Friday.
News of awards dominates progress news this week, and progress news itself is found all over the place. Companies are also looking ahead to big shows like Productronica and IPC's APEX/Printed Circuits Expo, as well as their own personnel situations with new hires and promotions. We've also got companies coming together, as well as looks at the industry present and future. Let's get to it:
- The biggest bit of progress news this week is results from the recent Assembly Technology Expo and SMTA International, the latter sponsored by the Minneapolis-based SMTA. The shows were the brightest bits of light the electronics industry have seen in a while. With almost 600 exhibiting companies and 11,397 industry professionals visiting such demonstrations as the EASi live electronics assembly line in the Electronics Assembly Pavilion, the mood was upbeat. At another recent event, Northbrook, Ill.-based IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries' 2003 Annual Meeting, 43 members were honored, as well as the technical paper, "The Effect of Via-in-Pad Via-Fill on Solder Joint Void Formation," as Best Technical Paper. In other award news, Clifton, N.J.-based UTZ Technologies Inc received ISO 9001/2000 certification, and Milpitas, Calif.-based EMS provider Solectron Corp. was recognized by Cisco Systems as the company's Transformation and Integration Supplier of the Year. Ewing, N.J.-based Universal Display Corp. was ranked No. 441 on Big Five accounting firm Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 500, and San Mateo, Calif.-based ElectroniCast Corp. was selected by the Bay Area Center for International Trade Development as an Outstanding Medium-sized Business, honored at the Second Annual San Mateo County International Trade Awards. West Haven, Conn.-based Enthone Inc. was awarded U.S. Patent 6,524,644 for its ENTEK PLUS CU-106A organic solderability preservative. Finally, Chicago-based Axon' Cable will inaugurate its $1 million machine for producing flat flexible cables in its new Schaumburg, Ill. facility, and West Chicago-based M~Wave Inc. has made significant progress in its restructuring.
- Some tradeshow news: Harrisburg, Pa.-based Tyco Electronics and San Diego-based KIC both announced offerings at Productronica, which will take place next month in Munich, Germany. Meanwhile, IPC announced that Michael R. Cannon, president, CEO and board member of Solectron; Walt Custer of Custer Consulting Group; and Bill Nye — The Science Guy all will keynote APEX/IPC Printed Circuits Expo next February in Anaheim, Calif.
- Some personnel news: Bethlehem, Pa.-based FlexLink Systems promoted Paul Jarossy to marketing manager, Americas; Phoenix-based Avnet Electronics Marketing formed a team of product, market and supply chain specialists for the defense/aero and homeland security business channels; and South Portland, Maine-based Fairchild Semiconductor hired Bob Conrad as senior vice president and general manager of its Integrated Circuits Group.
- Bits of companies coming together news: Tyco Electronics has appointed WittcoSales as their manufacturer's representative to serve parts of California and all of Nevada. And Melville, N.Y.-based Nu Horizons RF, the RF/Microwave division of Nu Horizons Electronics Corp., signed a distribution agreement with Amphenol RF, the RF/Microwave division of Amphenol Corp.
- Finally, a look at the current state of the industry, and a look ahead: The Arlington, Va.-based Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA) saw electronic component orders continuing to gain momentum in the last third of 2003, with September showing the largest gain this year over 2002 orders in the same month. And Norwalk, Conn.-based Business Communications Co. Inc. predicts that the world market for thermal management products will grown from about $3.3 billion in 2003 to $5.9 billion by 2008, at an AAGR of 12.1 percent.
This just in: According to this week's Quick Vote, 75 percent of you are concerned about changeover times on the assembly line, while 25 percent are not.
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.