FONTENAY-AUX-ROSES, FRANCE – ICAPE Group (ISIN code: FR001400A3Q3 - Ticker: ALICA), a global technology distributor of printed circuit boards ("PCB"), today announced the evolution of its governance.

In agreement with the Board of Directors, Cyril Calvignac, ICAPE Group’s Chief Executive Officer, today submitted his resignation from his position as Chief Executive Officer and Board member. Yann Duigou, the Group's current Chief Marketing Officer, will succeed him as Chief Executive Officer. Before pursuing a new professional project, and in the interests of good governance, Cyril Calvignac will continue to support the Group until the end of 2023 to ensure this transition.

Yann Duigou, aged of 61, current Chief Marketing Officer and Board member, brings over thirty years' experience in the electronics and PCB industry. Before joining the ICAPE Group in 2017 as Director in charge of e-commerce, he held various executive positions within the CIRE electronics group. He was notably Factory Director and then Managing Director for ten years, from 2002 to 2012. Yann Duigou is a graduate of the Institut Supérieur de Gestion (ISG Paris).

The Board of Directors warmly thanks Cyril Calvignac for his vision, commitment and action at the service of the Group since 2003, for which he notably led the IPO to a successful conclusion, and wishes him every success in his future projects.

In addition, the Board of Directors decided to strengthen the Group’s Executive Management with the appointment of two new Deputy CEO, namely Arnaud Le Coguic, who becomes Chief Financial Officer of the Group, and Bingling Li Sellam, who replaces Yann Duigou as Chief Marketing Officer. Shora Rokni sees her scope extended as Chief Strategy and M&A Officer. ICAPE Group's Executive Management is thus composed of a Chief Executive Officer, supported by five Deputy CEO.

The Group's Board of Directors also evolved with the appointment by cooptation of Mr. Thomas Chea as Board member, replacing Mr. Calvignac. This appointment will be subject to ratification by the next Annual General Meeting. Arthur Mendes and Bingling Li Sellam also join the Group's Board of Directors as censors for a 3-year term.

Thierry BALLENGHIEN, ICAPE Group’s Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated: "I would like to offer my warmest thanks to Cyril Calvignac for the commitment he has demonstrated daily since joining our Group. Over the past 20 years, he climbed the Group's ladder by my side, one by one, and supported its structuring at the highest level, with its IPO as a major achievement. Yann has my full confidence to pursue the ambitious objectives we set ourselves within the framework of our IPO, and I am sure that his experience and expertise will be major assets to reinforce our trajectory of strong profitable growth. The experienced management team currently in place, composed of experts in the PCB industry, also has my full confidence to successfully lead the Group's future development."

Yann DUIGOU, ICAPE Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, added: "I am particularly proud of the opportunity given to me today to become Chief Executive Officer, and I would like to warmly thank Thierry Ballenghien for the confidence he placed in me. Thanks to our many assets and the strengthening of our governance, I am convinced that the offensive strategy we are deploying today will consolidate our position as a key player in printed circuit board distribution."

NORTH BILLERICA, MA – BTU International, Inc., a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the electronics manufacturing market, will exhibit its new Aurora reflow platform at NEPCON China. The show is scheduled to take place July 19-21, 2023 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. The new Aurora 150N, 12-zone reflow oven will be on display in booth #1D38.

Aurora systems feature modern conveyor options, fully updated user interface, integrated Aqua Scrub™ flux management technology, innovative Smart Power energy savings software, and advanced process control technologies. The Aurora’s conveyor system offers five moveable rails with advanced center support options as well as dual-lane, dual-speed configurations. The conveyor platform, which can accommodate even wider boards than previous models, was designed concurrently to allow for the use of common parts.

“The Aurora launch is the culmination of more than three years of development,” said Joe Yang, product manager for reflow ovens. “We’ve taken feedback from our customers, and blended it with current technology to create a better user experience and performance. We are thrilled to bring this to the Asian market after having great success in the recent launch at the SMTconnect show in Germany,” added Yang.

One of the major innovations for the Aurora platform is the new Wincon 8 oven control system. This proprietary software was designed to mimic the style of SEMI E95 compliant interfaces and features a simplified and configurable main monitor graphic. The updated GUI navigation for Wincon 8 uses icons instead of menus, which significantly enhances the language independence of the control system. Wincon’s Smart Power feature has been upgraded to use the facility power even more efficiently during oven start-up.

In the Aurora reflow oven, maintenance access, oven contamination, input power and process gas usage have all been improved and optimized to deliver the absolute minimum in Cost of Ownership. Aurora’s combination of superior thermal performance, process flexibility and vision for the future sets the new standard for reflow ovens today – and for tomorrow.

To learn more visit www.btu.com 

Half Moon, NY – PVA, a global supplier of automated dispensing and coating equipment, today announced plans to exhibit with its distributor Kasion at NEPCON China. The show is scheduled to take place July 19-21, 2023, at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. Together, PVA and Kasion will demonstrate the Delta 8 Selective Conformal Coating Machine.

Ideal for selective coating, potting, bead, and meter-mix dispensing applications, the Delta 8 is designed for maximum flexibility and can be configured for custom assembly applications. The Delta 8 has many options and integrated features including robotic system repeatability of ±25 microns and multiple dispensing applications or materials in one cell.

Kasion’s team will be on hand to discuss PVA’s Conformal Coating Systems, including the PVA350, Sigma, Delta 6, and Delta 8. They will be available to answer questions about coating and dispensing as well as other application solutions in the PVA lineup such as coating inspection, optical bonding, and curing ovens.

For more information about PVA, please contact PVA at info@pva.net or (518) 371-2684.

SANTA CLARA, CA and KYOTO, JAPAN – ROHM Semiconductor, an electronic parts manufacturer, and Vitesco Technologies, a leading international manufacturer of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions, today announced they have formed a long-term silicon carbide (SiC) supply partnership worth more than one billion U.S. dollars (2024 through 2030). The development partnership between the companies, which started in 2020, formed the basis for the supply partnership.

Vitesco Technologies’ advanced inverters with integrated ROHM SiC chips will be adopted by two customers, to be applied inside electric vehicle powertrains. Vitesco Technologies will start supplying a first series project as early as 2024, ahead of the originally targeted timeline.

SiC devices enable the design of particularly efficient power electronics, such as those needed for electric car inverters. SiC chips are a key technology, particularly for high voltages and for vehicles with demanding range targets and optimum overall efficiency. During the existing development partnership, with ROHM the relevant SiC chips were further optimized for use in automotive inverters starting in 2024.

“The supply partnership agreement with ROHM is an important building block for securing Vitesco Technologies' SiC capacities in the years ahead,” said Andreas Wolf, CEO of Vitesco Technologies, at the signing ceremony in Regensburg, Germany. “We have had very good experience in our development cooperation so far and are now looking forward not only to continuing it, but also to intensifying it further,” adds Wolf.

“In the high-growth automotive market, SiC is a pathfinder for higher efficiency. With an expected higher market share of more than 30 percent, we are strongly positioned here and have gained a strategic partner in Vitesco Technologies for further market penetration,” said Dr. Kazuhide Ino, Member of the Board, Managing Executive Officer, and CFO of ROHM Co. Ltd., at the signing ceremony.

Small cause – big effect

Silicon carbide belongs to the so-called wide bandgap semiconductors, whose wide bandgap (simplified: the energy gap between the non-conductive state and the conductive state of the electrons in the material) enables lower electrical resistance, fast and low loss switching chips for power electronics. At the same time, SiC chips are more thermally resistant, so that the power density of electronics can be increased.

Thanks to these features, SiC electronics have reduced conversion losses compared to conventional silicon (Si). Especially at high voltage levels such as 800 V, SiC inverters are more efficient than Si models. Since 800 V is the prerequisite for fast and thus convenient high-voltage charging, SiC devices are at the beginning of a worldwide boom. Reduced conversion losses in the inverter are also significant for the overall efficiency of electric driving and thus for range. Competition for sufficient capacities in components made of this high-tech material is correspondingly fierce.