Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

TOKYO -- The board of Harima Chemicals Group has approved a plan to acquire the solder materials business of Henkel for an undisclosed amount.

WASHINGTON – Global semiconductor sales were $49.7 billion in November, an increase of 23.5% year-over-year and 1.5% sequentially, says the Semiconductor Industry Association.

MT. LAUREL, NJ – inTEST Corp. completed its acquisition of Acculogic and its affiliates. The company previously announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Acculogic on Dec. 9 for approximately $9 million.

NEW YORK -- Crestview Partners has acquired Emerald EMS from New Water Capital for an undisclosed amount.

Mike Buetow

You know the labor situation is bad when even the Air Force is getting involved to find solutions.

Indeed, as was recently announced, the Air Force Research Laboratory is working with NextFlex to come up with ways to attract students to careers in technology and science.

NextFlex isn’t a random choice. It was formed under the auspices of the US Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology Program. As one of eight DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, the consortium is a partnership among the DoD, industry and academia. Its specific focus is development of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), and to develop an education and workforce development program.

To the latter, the goal is nothing less than the creation of a skilled pipeline of STEM talent ranging from R&D to manufacturing. To that end, NextFlex is working on training and recruitment programs that work hand-in-hand with existing curricula. Called FlexFactor, this model is considered far more effective than designing a program from scratch and convincing institutions to adopt it.

BANNOCKBURN, IL -- Materials and labor costs continue to be the largest issue facing the electronics supply chain, with nine in 10 electronics manufacturers reporting rising materials costs and more than three-fourths reporting rising labor costs.