Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

WOODSTOCK, GA -- Ron Daniels, former editor and publisher of Circuits Assembly, died Sunday at home. He was 56.

At the time of his death, he was editor of Circuitnet, an online news service, and principal consultant at ITM Consulting.

SALT LAKE CITY - -CirTran Corp., an contract electronics manufacturer, today announced the termination of a pair of finanical arrangements worth up to $25 million with Cornell Capital Partners.

CirTran cancelled a standby equity distribution agreement (SEDA) signed more than a year ago and worth $20 million. The EM company also cancelled a $5 million equity line of credit with Cornell.

Iehab J. Hawatmeh, CirTran's founder and president, said the termination of his company's relationship with Cornell came after CirTran negotiated and completed issuance of a $3.75 convertible debenture at "far more favorable rates" as the latest step in its strategic financial plan.

Hawatmeh said CirTran will withdraw the registration statement currently being reviewed by the SEC regarding shares to be issued to Cornell. In addition, he said that CirTran will receive more than 38 million of its shares currently held in escrow by Cornell in connection with the previously-outstanding notes, and that CirTran will not issue any additional shares of common stock to Cornell with relation to the equity line or SEDA.

WASHINGTON – At least 67 senators have signed on to a bill to hit China with tariffs of 27.5% on all imports at the end of this year unless China revalues its currency within the next six months.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), poses a harsh and controversial reply to China’s recent economic gains – many of which, critics say, have come at the expense of the U.S. manufacturers.

MINNEAPOLIS –The SMTA has once again organized the Contract Manufacturing Symposium to provide information to form profitable relationships for the contract manufacturer, customer and investor. Organized by Mike Buetow, editor in chief of Circuits Assembly, the symposium will take place Sept. 26, as part of the co-located SMTA Internation/ ATExpo Show in Rosemont, IL.

One session on Mid-Tier EMS Strategy will focus on the continuing demand for high service solutions in North America by looking at three different service providers and the competitive strategies they have used to meet the needs of their niche markets.

The second session, Models and Markets, will examine an exciting emerging sector known as JDM (joint design manufacturer), in which aerospace and defense OEMs collaborate on design with EMS providers, and also a methodical process to OEM supplier selection and emerging market opportunities will be discussed.

Papers will include:

- Creating a High Service EMS Environment Through Business Process Alignment;

- Optimizing Lean Manufacturing in EMS;

- Key Issues in Supporting Lead-free and Complex Prototypes in the EMS Environment;

- Design Collaboration in A&D Leads to Emergence of Joint Design Manufacturers;

- Capability Maturity Model for Outsourcing Improvement: A Case Study;

- Emerging Market Opportunities.

For details, visit smta.org/smtai.

BUFFALO, NY – A group of nanoscience experts recently delivered a briefing on nanomaterials to the U.S. Congressional Research and Development Caucus.

NanoDynamics Inc.'s CEO Keith Blakely, along with Mark Kryder of Seagate Corp. and Carl Koch of North Carolina State University, described the industrial technology of nanomaterials and identified the essential material research directions needed for commercialized development of the materials.

The May 12 briefing was part of the Materials Information luncheon program presented by the Federation of Materials Societies. The program aims to provide background on materials science and technology issues to Congressional members and their staffs who may be involved in legislation pertinent to the field.

Princeton, NJ – Rockwood Specialties Group will consolidate its 200 mm wafer reclaim operations over the next nine months to two high-volume centers.

The supplier of wafer reclaim services for the European and U.S. semiconductor markets will maintain centers in Gréasque, France, and Prescott, AZ.

Rockwood will close its Rockwood Electronic Materials Wafer Reclaim facility in Riddings, Derbyshire, UK and the Exsil facility in Providence, RI, both of which are predominantly focused on the declining 150 mm reclaim market.

The closure of the UK Wafer Reclaim business will not affect the Ultra Pure Chemicals business based at the same site. The company also said the 300 mm reclaim business, based in Germany, is not affected by these closures.