Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Current Issue

News

OOSTERHOUT, THE NETHERLANDS - Vitronics Soltec will move its global engineering and product management responsibilities to its European Business Unit, which the company says will better leverage the company's soldering knowledge and provide comprehensive products and support on a global scale.

The shift to Europe will permit the company to take full advantage of nearly a century of soldering expertise, Vitronics said. Engineering teams in the US and China will be maintained and will continue to help product development, the firm said.

The company, which released new selective and wave soldering lines this year, said it expects to debut two more products in 2015.

Vitronics Soltec’s Advanced Technology team is led by Gerjan Diepstraten. The global Engineering and Product Management team will be headed by Ton Colijn, a 25-year Vitronics Soltec veteran who has been responsible for many successful product introductions, including the recently introduced ZEVAv selective soldering machine.

BINH DUONG PROVINCE, VIETNAM -- A Fittec International EMS site here has been torched and looted, the company said. The extent of the damage remains under investigation and operations are temporarily suspended until further notice.

The events came as local Vietnamese are showing their anger over Chinese drilling in disputed waters.

The company owns the factory at the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park in southern Vietnam, which manufactures printed circuit board, electronics components and related parts. The Vietnam factory had 16 SMT lines and a production placement capacity of 24.3 billion chips per year, representing approximately 24% of the company's total production capacity.

According to the company the site generated revenues for the six months ended Dec. 31 of HK$59.2 million ($7.64 million), about 11% of the company's overall sales for the period.

"Based on the company’s best available information, the Vietnam Factory was torched and looted by rioters. As at the date of this announcement, the company could not estimate the loss caused by the riot as anti-China protests and riots continue to be carried out in and around [the park]."

Hong Kong-based Fittec has six production sites, most of which are in China, and 2013 sales of 112.1 million ($144.6 million).

NEW YORK -- A leading semiconductor analyst says expected 2014 sales growth is 8.4% year-over-year, lower than last month's forecast of 11.9%. Mike Cowan is basing his updated estimate on March global semiconductor sales as reported by the WSTS, which came in at $331.335 billion. March's actual global semi sales, which were released last week, were in at $28.095 billion, much lower than Cowan's LRA Model projections of $31.116 billion. "This lower actual sales number for March (compared to its forecast) corresponds to the model’s monthly momentum indicator, MI, of -9.7%," Cowan said. The MI has gone negative following a five-month string of positive momentum indicators, signaling a potential turning point in the sales growth trend consistent with March’s drop in 2014’s sales growth forecast. Additionally, March 2014’s year-to-date cumulative sales growth came in at 11.4 percent when compared to last year’s equivalent YTD cumulative sales number of $70.449 billion. Finally, the model’s April 2014 actual global semi sales expectation is projected to come in at $24.857 billion which corresponds to a calculated three-month moving average, 3MMA, sales forecast estimate of $26.098 billion which is normally reported by the SIA as part of its monthly published Global Sales Report, GSR, press release The Cowan LRA Model’s forecast is calculated and updated each month, reflecting the latest, actual global semiconductor sales numbers released by the WSTS each month. For more information on the Cowan LRA Model, see this a SLIDE PRESENTATION HERE.