JACKSON, MI -- EMS services
provider Sparton Corp. has completed its acquisition of Astro
Instrumentation for approximately $26.15 million, the company said today.
Privately owned Astro had audited sales
for the year ended Dec. 31 of $33
million.
Additional
consideration may be paid to the sellers over the four years following
the closing based on a percentage of earnings before interest and
taxes.
Astro designs, manufactures and sells a variety of specialized
medical laboratory
test equipment. It operates a 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Strongsville, OH, and has a 20,000 sq. ft. addition under construction.
Sparton's intent is to operate the business as a wholly-owned
subsidiary at its present location and with the current operating
management and staff.
Munich – SUSS MicroTec successfully completed initial reliability testing with IBM for 300 mm Pb-free C4NP solder bumped wafers. SUSS is currently building a high-volume manufacturing C4NP tool set for IBM in preparation for production use.
C4NP, a wafer-bumping technology developed by IBM, stands for Controlled Collapse Chip Connection - New Process. It is an alternative to the electroplating process. Bulk solder is injection-molded into glass molds and subsequently transferred from mold to wafer in a single step.
In the reliability testing, 300 mm wafers were bumped with SnCu and SnAg solders using a 200 micron pitch with 1.3 million bumps per wafer test vehicle. Chips measuring 14.7 mm² were joined to organic buildup chip carriers and subjected to the following tests: JEDEC moisture level 3 preconditioning Shock and vibration Deep thermal cycling (-55 to + 125°C) HAST and THB moisture stressing High temperature storage Electromigration Wettability Construction analysis Alpha emissions
Pittsburgh, PA – DesignAdvance Systems, a developer of design automation software for users of EDA and MCAD tools, has entered the European PCB design market with its appointment of CADLOG as a distribution partner.
Based in Rome, the distributor will provide PCB designers in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland with DesignAdvance products and technical support.
MANKATO, MN -- XATA Corp. has increased its purchase commitments to Winland Electronics by $3.3 million. The increase is anticipated to be consumed by the end of this year. Winland manufactures products used in XATA's onboard GPS tracking and wireless communications system marketed to the fleet trucking industry.
Lorin Krueger, Winland CEO, said in a press release, "This significant order follows the original $4.5 million purchase order we received from XATA Corp. in September of 2005. We have a multi-year agreement with XATA and look forward to being a part of their long-term growth."
ATLANTA — UP Media Group (UPMG) today named respected industry veteran Kathy Nargi-Toth as editor of Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture magazine.
Nargi-Toth has more than 20 years experience in the PCB industry, most recently as global business director at Technic Inc., a supplier of precious and non-precious metal plating chemistry and equipment for electronic component manufacturing.
“We wanted a world-class leader and in Kathy we have one,” said Mike Buetow, editorial director of UPMG’s electronics division and Circuits Assembly’s editor-in-chief. “Kathy is known the world over for her knowledge, insight and sensitivity to the issues that matter most to our readers. I can’t think of anyone better to continue PCD&M’s 20-year history as a vital industry journal.”
“I am excited to bring my expertise to the industry from a different vantage point as editor of PCD&M,” said Nargi-Toth. “I look forward to the opportunity to be able to guide the publication in innovative ways that continue to support our goal of delivering a comprehensive source of information that is relevant in today’s rapidly evolving printed circuit board design and manufacturing environment. My objective is to ensure that our publication provides unparalleled value to our over 35,000 readers in every issue.”
Nargi-Toth replaces Andy Shaughnessy, editor of PCD&M since 2004, who has been tapped by UPMG to head up a new, music-oriented online media product. He will continue to serve as an editor at large for PCD&M and Circuits Assembly.
Prior to Technic, Nargi-Toth was technical marketing manager, HDI materials and metallization at Enthone. She also has experience as a multilayer process engineer for a major supplier of printed wiring boards.
Nargi-Toth has authored numerous papers on PWB metallization and high density interconnect structures (HDIS) techniques. She has been a featured contributor to PCD&M,Circuits Assembly,HDI,Electronic Packaging & Production and numerous other trade journals for the PWB industry. She has also presented dozens of training seminars and technical sessions at the world’s leading PWB fabrication, assembly and OEM companies worldwide.
Active in the IPC, she has contributed to numerous industry standards and on marketing committees, including committees for HDIS, the Technical Marketing Research Council and the PCB Suppliers Council.
TOKYO – Denso Corp. in July will begin construction of new facility on the premises of its Agui Plant located in Japan. Denso Elecs Co. Ltd. will transfer its headquarters and electronic product manufacturing plant from its Takatana Plant to the new facility, expected to be completed in March 2007.
The company expects to invest around $19 million (USD) in the 12,800 sq. m. building.
Production of electronic products including bar-code readers, IC card readers, and programmable controllers is scheduled to start in May 2007.
The company also announced future plans to move the development division of Denso Wave to the Agui plant.