MALDEN, MA – actnano, Inc., a global leader in surface protection technologies for automotive, consumer, and industrial electronics, announced today the closing of a $40 million investment by Anthelion Capital.

actnano’s innovative solutions are trusted globally by leading electronics OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to provide advanced protection from water and harsh environmental conditions. The company will use the proceeds to continue expanding its technical sales and services footprint as well as to increase production volumes and efficiencies to meet the global demand for their product.  

“Our technology outperforms all other electronics protection available in the industry today,” said Taymur Ahmad, CEO of actnano. “Demand for our products has increased significantly because our coatings are safe, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly, and their performance surpasses that of traditional, outdated conformal coatings historically used for electronics protection.”

“It is rare to find a company that has developed technologies which are truly better performing, cost- saving, and more environmentally sustainable compared to top market alternatives,” said Vusal Najafov, Co-Founder, Anthelion Capital. “actnano is a leading innovator in the space, with its customer-driven product development driving rapid scaling within core customers and adoption across multiple new applications and industries such as sustainable energy.”

Anthelion Capital is an investment and data science platform which provides flexible capital solutions to environmentally sustainable companies, seeking cutting-edge solutions that positively impact the environment. Anthelion believes that promoting sustainability, reducing waste, and conserving resources are key steps toward achieving a cleaner environment for future generations.

Previous rounds have included investments from BMW i Ventures, Porsche Ventures, HELLA Ventures, TDK Ventures, Emerald Technology Ventures, GC Ventures America, Henkel Tech Ventures, Ireon Ventures, and Material Impact.

HANAU, GERMANY – Heraeus Electronics is proud to announce that it will host an upcoming ALL2GaN event from April 9- 10, 2024, at its facilities in Hanau. This event will focus on the groundbreaking developments in high-efficiency power electronics, particularly focusing on the capabilities of GaN chips to revolutionize the industry with higher efficiency, power density, and smaller sizes.

Heraeus Electronics is proud to be part of the EU-funded research project “ALL2GaN” (Affordable smart GaN IC solutions for greener applications). This initiative involves 45 partners and aims for a 30% energy efficiency improvement with GaN compared to silicon, contributing to a reduction of 218 million tonnes of CO2 in support of the Green Deal and EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goal.

GaN chips present unique challenges and opportunities for packaging technologies, including significant reductions in bond pad size. At the ALL2GaN event, industry professionals and experts will come together to explore these advancements and their implications. Heraeus Electronics will showcase its latest innovations tailored to meet the demands of miniaturization and high power density required by GaN chips.

During the event, Heraeus Electronics will highlight its Fine Pitch Sinter pastes and an adapted Die Top System/Bonding wires, designed to optimize the performance of GaN chips. The company has already made significant progress in processing GaN semiconductors, with promising results indicating superior shear forces and enhanced robustness with pressure sinter pastes.

Preliminary test results with finer Cu and Al wires have been promising, and prototype samples with small Die Top Systems have been successfully produced. Heraeus Electronics is actively collaborating with customers to refine layout designs, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.

Michael Jörger, Global Head of Business Line Power Electronic Materials, emphasizes the importance of ALL2GaN for Heraeus Electronics, stating, “The participation in such joint projects is one pillar of success in order to develop and introduce innovative materials for power electronics faster and even more successfully.”

For further details and media inquiries about the ALL2GaN event and Heraeus Electronics' role in advancing GaN technology, please contact Manuel Fischer (manuel.fischer@heraeus.com), Press Contact for Heraeus Electronics. Discover more about the ALL2GaN project at the official project website: https://www.all2gan.eu/home 

For more information about the ALL2GaN project, please visit the official project website: https://www.all2gan.eu/home 

For additional information on Heraeus Electronics and their contributions to semiconductor technology, visit www.heraeus-electronics.com 

NASHVILLE – KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally friendly cleaning chemistries, announced today that three members of the Clean Team will give technical presentations as part of KYZEN’s participation at the 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, scheduled to take place April 9-11, 2024.

Debbie Carboni, KYZEN’s Global Product Manager – Electronics will present “Connect, Clean and Coat PCBA – How These Can Impact Reliability and Performance,” on Tuesday, April 9 from 5-6 PM in Exhibit Halls C and D, Aisle 700 as part of the poster presentation networking event.

KYZEN’s Vice President of Global Technology Ram Wissel, will present “Strategies for Enhancing Reliability in the Cleaning of Vented Components,” featuring research from KYZEN Applications Lab Manager Chelsea Jewell on Wednesday, April 10 from 8-10 AM during Technical Conference Session 12: Assembly Processes 1 in Room 303B.

Adam Klett, PhD, who serves as KYZEN’s Director of Science, will present “Optimizing Performance and Reliability: Key Factors for Cleaning in Immersion-Cooling Applications” on Wednesday, April 10 from 10:30 AM to 12 PM during Technical Conference Session 16: Assembly Processes 2 in Room 303B.

Join KYZEN at the 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, and don’t miss these informative presentations by Carboni, Klett and Wissel. To register and view additional conference details, click here.

PETALING JAYA – VS Industry Bhd’s (VSI) margins are likely to continue facing challenges, especially from increased labour and utility costs.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said the group’s underutilised facility and cooling demand for consumer electronic products could also have an impact on margins.

“We foresee that customers will remain cautious in placing orders with the soft macro outlook and high interest rate environment. The tough economic environment continues to put a strain on operational expenditures with increase in labour, utilities and financing costs.

“Management continues to adopt prudence in ensuring a lean and efficient operating landscape to mitigate the increased costs.”

For the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2024, the company registered a net profit of RM16mil, which was slightly over half the net profit of RM30.36mil in the year-ago quarter. Consequently, its earnings per share fell to 0.42 sen from 0.79 sen previously.The group reported revenue of RM895.02mil, down from RM1.15bil in the previous corresponding quarter.

For the six-month period ended Jan 31, 2024, VSI’s net profit dropped to RM64.99mil from RM91.07mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue stood at RM2.05bil, compared with RM2.4bil a year earlier.

HLIB Research is trimming its financial year 2024 (FY24) and FY25 forecast down 42% and down 6% respectively, adjusting for lower sales and margin challenges in the near term.

Meanwhile, RHB Investment Bank said that the worst could be over for VSI.

“Management guided that customer X’s order volume is gradually recovering and this should support a quick earnings rebound sequentially.

“Also, customer X has new product launches, in which VSI will participate in. The order volumes from its other key customers are growing steadily.”

The research house added that VSI is focusing on upgrading its capabilities by offering more services and solutions to its customers.

“This should bear fruit soon by enhancing its profit margins. We assume FY25 net margin will expand by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year to 5.1%.

“Ongoing discussions with prospective customers are also seeing good progress and VSI is hopeful of a positive outcome as soon as end-2024.”

Meanwhile, CIMB Securities said VSI is entering an earnings upcycle with core net profit growth of 34.2% and 24.5% in FY25 and FY26 respectively.

The research house said this would be backed by recovery in sales orders, introduction of new product models, acquisition of new customers and margin accretions from enhancements in value chain.

“VSI’s significant operational scale and on-going efforts in vertical integration positions it well to benefit from opportunities arising from the prevailing China+1 trend.

“VSI’s share price is supported by FY25 to FY26 dividend yields of 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively, backed by its strong balance sheet (0.07 times net gearing and RM699mil in cash balances as at end of the second quarter of FY24).”

CIMB Securities, however, said potential downside risks include continued sluggishness in the global consumer electronics market and potential reduction in or redirecting of orders from its key clients to other contract manufacturers in other regions.