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Speaking of this Week — August 1, 2003
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
By Christine F. Della Monaca
Speaking of this Week reflects on events in the electronics assembly industry every Friday.
For a time of the year that's typically the doldrums of summer, this week has been chock-full of important announcements. IPC's Book-to-Bill ratio for June showed the industry is bouncing back, while some major, mixed progress announcements gave more evidence as to where the industry is heading as well. Companies continue to woo, court and sometimes even marry one another, and financial news is showing a mixed picture. There's also personnel and trade show news, as well as some study results. Let's get to it:
- First, of course, Northbrook, Ill.-based IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries' Book-to-Bill Ratio and Business Report for June 2003. The Book-to-Bill rose to 1.02, matching the level in January and rising from May's number of 1.00. The Book-to-Bill has had a roller coaster year so far, rising to 1.03 in February, 1.04 in March, then falling to 0.97 in April. But it seems we are now heading in the right direction. Meanwhile, the Business Report also is showing signs of growth. For June, the shipment index was 110.9, representing a 14.4 increase over May's figures, and the booking index was 120.8, an increase of 16.3 percent from last month. Lookin' good.
- Some very interesting progress news: Foxboro, Mass.-based Cookson Electronics announced this week that it will sell off its Speedline Technologies product lines, including MPM, Camalot, Electrovert and Accel, to focus on advanced materials, and subsequently, profitability. This is some shocking news. Meanwhile, in another interesting move, Binghamton, N.Y.-based Universal Instruments Corp. is implementing a price reduction strategy for its surface mount products, standardizing global pricing. The company states it will pass on the dividends of cost reductions in four areas: new China manufacturing operations, globalization of the supply chain, driving costs out of the U.S. supply base, and operational consolidation in the Binghamton area. The company says these initiatives will help it return to profitability in the first quarter of 2003. In more tame news, Oldsmar, Fla.-based Genesis Electronics Manufacturing Inc. received certification to the ISO 13488 quality standard for manufacturing medical device products, while Midland, Mich.-based Dow Corning Corp. added online tools to its Web site. Finally, Tokyo-based Omron Corp. established OMRON (Shanghai) Control System Engineering Co. Ltd. under the control of the Industrial Automation Co. (IAB) in China.
- In partnership news, Plextek joined Wilsonville, Ore.-based Mentor Graphics Corp.'s FPGA Advantage Solutions Thrust (FAST) Partner Program, expanding the program to Europe. In the meantime, Shanghai-based research center DaimlerChrysler SIM Co. has partnered with Garbsen, Germany-based FEINFOCUS to explore electronics packaging in China. In sales representation news, Franklin, Mass.-based JNJ Industries Inc. appointed Tyngsboro, Mass.-based Performance Technology Group to represent its products in New England, while Frenchtown, N.J.-based Aries Electronics made Parker, Texas-based Component Technology Inc. its manufacturers' representative for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. In similar news, Wilmington, Mass.-based GSI Lumonics Inc. formed a distribution agreement with Singapore-based Kestronics Pte. Ltd. that will give GSI Lumonics expanded sales and product support across Asia-Pacific, including China. Finally, in acquisition news, Herzlia, Israel-based Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. will buy Richardson, Texas-based USDATA Corp., in line with Tecnomatix's vision for a complete MPM solution that spans the entire manufacturing process lifecycle.
- Mixed financial announcements, but mostly good news: Dow Corning's second quarter consolidated net income was $54 million, a 17 percent increase year-over-year. A slight increase for Singapore-based EMS provider Flextronics: The company's net sales for its first quarter, which ended June 30, were $3.1 billion, representing a 1.5 percent increase over the prior quarter. Finally, some mixed news for Myrtle Beach. S.C.-based AVX Corp. The company's net sales for the first quarter, which also ended June 30, declined 2 percent over the previous quarter, which the company attributes to weak demand in June. At the same time, AVX declared a 4 cents per share dividend for the same quarter, so while things were slightly down, they couldn't have been that bad.
- Two personnel announcements out of New England: Hampstead, N.H.-based P.D. Circuits Inc. appointed Andy Slade as quality manager, while Holyoke, Mass.-based Dielectric Polymers Inc. announced Pamela J. Siano as the company's vice president of sales and marketing.
- A bit of tradeshow news: The Minneapolis-based SMTA issued a call for papers for the Ninth Annual Pan Pacific Symposium, taking place next February in Hawaii.
- Finally, results of a study: Natick, Mass.-based Venture Development Corp. found that the overall U.S. market for pressure transducers, transmitter and component-level sensors was $1.3 billion in 2003, with major segments including process pressure transmitters, non-process pressure transducers and transmitters, and component-level pressure sensors.
This just in: According to this week's Quick Vote, 70 percent of you do not use recycled electronics, while 30 percent of you do.
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.