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Speaking of this Week -- October 25, 2002
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
By Christine F. Della Monaca
Speaking of this Week reflects on the electronics assembly industry every Friday.
Progress news leads the pack again this week, followed by companies coming together in the many ways they do. This week, however, announcements that two high-profile alliances had fallen apart made as much news as companies joining up. We've also got financial and personnel happenings, as well as the requisite trade show announcements and release of studies examining the industry. Read on:
- On the progress front, the Minneapolis-based SMTA established a Corporate Advisory Council, made up of 10 leaders from industry who will advise the SMTA Board of Directors on enhancing member benefits, as well as identifying current issues, standardization and getting the most current information to international members. Over at Northbrook, Ill.-based IPC -- Association Connecting Electronics Industries(r), the trade organization has released surface mount placement standard IPC-9850, Surface Mount Placement Equipment Characterization. Over at Canoga Park, Calif.-based Smart Sonic Corp., the company is celebrating Maxeville, France-based Permali Composites S.A.'s selection of Smart Sonic's ultrasonic stencil cleaners and 440-R SMT detergent for cleaning flux residues from reflow and wave solder pallets. In a somewhat similar vein, Surface Mount Technologies relocated from Laguna Hills to Huntingdon Beach, Calif. to a facility owned by Nortek Automation, Surface Mount Technologies' only systems software developer and supplier. In award news, Chanute, Kan.-based PC Boards Inc. achieved Preferred Supplier status as a PCB supplier to Tektronix Inc. for year 2002, and Key Largo, Fla.-based A.P.E. South's sales and management team has been certified as IPC-A-610 Class A instructors on Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies. UK-based Tin Technology is leading a project to develop halogen-free, flame-retardant systems in PCBs and encapsulated electronic components, funded by the UK government's Department of Trade and Industry. Finally, Nam Tai Electronics Inc. has completed its five-story factory in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Orem, Utah-based EMS provider Wolf Electronix was named Utah's fastest-growing company, with more than 7,100 percent growth in the past five years, by the Mountain West Venture Group. This kind of growth is refreshing to see in this age of downsizing, shrinking financial results and excess inventory.
- Some alliance news this week: Boston-based Teradyne's Assembly Test Division (ATD) and Nashua, N.H.-based Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. announced that Tecnomatix Unicam Inc. will acquire Teradyne's CIMBridge CAD/CAM optimization software product line. In other Tecnomatix news, France-based carmaker PSA Peugeot Citron chose Tecnomatix's eMPower MPM software to help implement its digital factory project for its powertrain division. And Holliston, Mass.-based Lista U.S. Holding, the parent company of Lista International Corp., will purchase the assets of Canada-based Arbell Inc., effective November 1. Finally, in alliances that aren't anymore: Chandler, Ariz.-based Amkor Technology Inc. called off its proposed equity purchase of Fujitsu Ltd.'s semiconductor assembly and test operation in Kagoshima, Japan, and Milpitas, Calif.-based Solectron Corp. has begun unwinding its outsourcing and asset-purchase agreement with North Andover, Mass.-based Lucent Technologies, citing softness in optical networking. A Boston Globe story published this week stated that the move will probably mean layoffs at Lucent, according to union representatives.
- One bit of financial news this week: Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based AVX Corp. reported net sales for the second quarter ended September 30 of $295.4 million. Net income for the quarter was $1 million, translating into 1 cent per diluted share. That can't be good.
- A piece of personnel news: Madison, Ala.-based Nextek Inc. hired Richard B. "Rick" Gunn as director of engineering.
- Some tradeshow announcements: The co-located NEPCON West, Assembly West and Fiberoptic Automation Expo shows, taking place December 4 through 6 in San Jose, Calif., reportedly are a hotbed of activity for testing, while IPC has issued a call for papers for its International Symposium on Flexible Circuits and Chip Scale Packaging, taking place February 10 through 12, 2003, in Tempe, Ariz.
- Finally, more reports measuring the state of the industry, present and future, came out this week. London-based Frost & Sullivan released an analysis of the world market for LAN/WAN test equipment, showing a projected jump from revenues of $854 million in 2001 to $1.45 billion by 2008. And San Mateo, Calif.-based ElectroniCast Corp. forecasts that global consumption of 10 Gbps data communication transceivers will rise from $68.7 million in the recessionary baseline year 2001 to $3.26 billion in 2006.
Have some insight on the industry? See something you don't agree with? Think I'm right on? Send it all to me at christinef@pennwell.com.