Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

CHICAGO - On the heels of the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, Newark InOne has issued a warning about the need for a comparable US law. The complete text can be viewed at www.newarkinone.com/fedlaw.

ST. LOUIS – Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems awarded LaBarge Inc. with a contract worth some $5.5 million for continued production of backplane assemblies for the F-22 Raptor fighter plane.

LaBarge, which is currently building assemblies for Raytheon, expects production on the extended contract to begin in January 2007.

The F-22 was developed for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin.

EL SEGUNDO, CA - The large-sized TFT-LCD panel market is in shape for strong growth in the second half of 2006, according to iSuppli Corp. The research firm believes large-sized TFT-LCD panel unit shipments growth in the third quarter will rise 9% sequentially, while fourth-quarter unit shipments will grow 10.9%.

Strong demand has been reported for wide-format monitor panels, especially for the 19-, 20- and 22² sizes. The notebook market is already recovering and is transitioning to larger sizes and wider format.

While future quarters hold good news for panel suppliers, they may bring worry for panel buyers, iSuppli said. Some buyers are reportedly hedging by double-booking LCD orders, destabilizing the market and contributing to faster price increases.

The tight supply has pushed prices sharply higher on mainstream desktop PC monitor panels. iSuppli expects prices to increase for most desktop monitor and notebook panels throughout the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Synova, a maker of water jet-guided lasers, will open its second micromachining center in the U.S., the company said today. The Boston site is aimed at the medical, electronics and tooling markets and will open in January.

The company is also opening a site in San Jose.

"Further expansion in the U.S. reinforces our strategy to better support all of our served markets worldwide," said Synova chief executive Bernold Richerzhagen. "Proximity to our customers is our top priority."

To date, Synova has more than 50 full-production machines at customer sites worldwide, of which 12 are operating in the U.S.

AUSTIN, TX -- Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the semiconductor spinoff of Motorola, will be acquired by a group of private equity firms in a deal worth some $17.6 billion.

The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Permira Funds and Texas Pacific Group -- will purchase all outstanding Class A and B shares of Freescale for $40 per share, thereby taking the company private.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The OEM Critical Components committee of the IPC will write a standard on the manufacturing process and quality control of lithium-ion battery cells.The committee hopes to release the standard by the second quarter of 2007.

The goal of the committee is to work with all stakeholders to achieve an order of magnitude improvement in lithium-ion battery quality.

The committee met last week in San Jose. Attendees included representatives from Dell, Polycom, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard. John Grosso, director, supplier engineering and quality, sub-tier and critical commodities, Dell, is chairing the effort.

It plans to meet again within a month.

“It is a very good initiative and we support it. It is gratifying to see how companies can put their competitive instincts aside to benefit the industry and the public in the interests of safety,” said Susan Davies, vice president of corporate quality of Polycom.

"Our message is that public safety comes first," said Tony Corkell, quality and standards executive, Lenovo. "Last week's efforts are an important first step towards examining the issues surrounding battery cell manufacturing, and we look forward to working with the leaders of our industry through IPC."