TOKYO -- Kyocera Corp. has made plans to outsource its cell phone production in North America to Flextronics International and cut 1,700 jobs at its mobile phone division to turn the loss-making business around.
The latest restructuring follows Kyocera's announcement in March that it will quit its struggling digital camera operations this year. The company will outsource production at U.S. unit Kyocera Wireless Corp. to Flextronics from late May.
BOSTON -- Nepcon East, the longtime expo for electronics
assembly, took place under chilly conditions in Boston. But that didn't
deter decent-sized crowds from checking out the latest equipment and
materials.
The biggest exhibitors were Universal, Assembleon and Bosch Rexroth. Some notable local suppliers chose to forego exhibiting while competitors made the trip to Boston. For example, of the three leading screen printer suppliers in North America, NJ-based DEK exhibited, although Speedline Technologies and EKRA America, both of which are based in the Boston suburbs, did not.
The biggest exhibitors were Universal, Assembleon and Bosch Rexroth. Some notable local suppliers chose to forego exhibiting while competitors made the trip to Boston. For example, of the three leading screen printer suppliers in North America, NJ-based DEK exhibited, although Speedline Technologies and EKRA America, both of which are based in the Boston suburbs, did not.
Numerous bare-board fabrication (MEI, Bare Board Group, Circuit Connect, Printed Circuit Corp., Sierra Proto Systems) and assembly companies (Masstech EMS and LightSpeed Manufacturing among others) were on hand. Most told Circuits Assembly that business growth was modest year-to-date and orders for lead-free boards were few and far between.
- Juki Automation, the second leading seller of placement
machines worldwide, rolled out a pair of selective soldering units.
Called the 300L and 400L, the machines come with internal spray or
drop-jet fluxers, nozzles ranging from 4 mm to 30 mm and preheat
capability, and the 400L has a three-stage inline system for high-speed
automated soldering. The 400L can also be customized for three
miniwaves or a combination of one miniwave and one full wave.
- Datron Dynamics, a
supplier of milling and routing equipment for assemblers, showed off
its new low-cost (under
$47,000) CNC machine for milling and engraving. The mini-Raptor has a
51 x 51" footprint and comes with a 60,000 rpm spindle, a solid granite
table and a 3-tool changer feed. It is said to reach rates up to 400"
per minute.
- Excelta is offering the Smart Tweezer, a slick little device that among other things IDs the capacitance,
resistance or inductance of the surface mount device being picked up.
Once a major convention in its own right, the expo
has morphed into a solid regional show. It was in its third location in
three years, having shifted this
year to the brand new Boston
Convention Center, a
mammoth (510,000 sq. ft.) hall located on a pier just east of downtown.
Official attendance numbers have not yet been released.
Oyster Bay, NY -- Annual global sales of "dual-mode"
mobile phones -- which can connect to either a conventional cellular
service or a Wi-Fi network -- are likely to exceed 100 million by 2010,
according to a new study by ABI Research.
Dual-mode handsets have been virtually unknown to consumers until recently, and have not penetrated the enterprise space to any degree either.
But according to ABI Research senior analyst Philip Solis, some of the giants of global telecommunications -- notably British Telecom and Korea Telecom -- plan to offer dual-mode services by the end of 2005. That could start a very large ball rolling.
"The advantages of dual mode handsets and services, when they arrive, can be summed up in two words: seamless and economical," Solis said. Though the full spectrum of capabilities won't appear in the first generation of products, when these services are mature you will be able to start a phone call at home (connecting to residential Wi-Fi network and then broadband VOIP phone service), continue it in your car (switching to your cellular provider's network) and wind it up at work (phone switches to 802.11 LAN, and VoIP). The handset would sense the available signals and switch automatically from one network mode to another.
Dual-mode handsets have been virtually unknown to consumers until recently, and have not penetrated the enterprise space to any degree either.
But according to ABI Research senior analyst Philip Solis, some of the giants of global telecommunications -- notably British Telecom and Korea Telecom -- plan to offer dual-mode services by the end of 2005. That could start a very large ball rolling.
"The advantages of dual mode handsets and services, when they arrive, can be summed up in two words: seamless and economical," Solis said. Though the full spectrum of capabilities won't appear in the first generation of products, when these services are mature you will be able to start a phone call at home (connecting to residential Wi-Fi network and then broadband VOIP phone service), continue it in your car (switching to your cellular provider's network) and wind it up at work (phone switches to 802.11 LAN, and VoIP). The handset would sense the available signals and switch automatically from one network mode to another.
Anaheim, CA -- DDi Corp. reported first quarter 2005 sales of $44.9 million, up 2% sequentially but down 7% year-on-year.
The decrease is related to a reduction in the number of PCB layers shipped, reflecting a softer market. Partially offsetting the decline in PCB sales was a $1.8 million increase in net sales from the quick-turn assembly operation.
Despide the limited PCB growth, president and CEO Bruce McMaster added that March PCB bookings were at their highest level since October 2003.
Gross profit for the quarter was $8 million, up from $5.6 million for the first quarter 2004, due to a $6 million decrease in non-cash compensation charges and intangibles from the prior year. Excluding non-cash charges, adjusted gross profit increased sequentially by $0.5 million on the $0.9 million increase in sequential net sales.
The company reported net income of $9.7 million from discontinued operations, primarily due to a $11.1 million non-cash gain on the disposition of DDi Europe.
DDi announced that it will close its Arizona plant to shift production of mass lamination cores back to its four North American PCB plants. It is also closing is Corporate Support Center in Colorado Springs to streamline operations from its Anaheim headquarters.
The decrease is related to a reduction in the number of PCB layers shipped, reflecting a softer market. Partially offsetting the decline in PCB sales was a $1.8 million increase in net sales from the quick-turn assembly operation.
Despide the limited PCB growth, president and CEO Bruce McMaster added that March PCB bookings were at their highest level since October 2003.
Gross profit for the quarter was $8 million, up from $5.6 million for the first quarter 2004, due to a $6 million decrease in non-cash compensation charges and intangibles from the prior year. Excluding non-cash charges, adjusted gross profit increased sequentially by $0.5 million on the $0.9 million increase in sequential net sales.
The company reported net income of $9.7 million from discontinued operations, primarily due to a $11.1 million non-cash gain on the disposition of DDi Europe.
DDi announced that it will close its Arizona plant to shift production of mass lamination cores back to its four North American PCB plants. It is also closing is Corporate Support Center in Colorado Springs to streamline operations from its Anaheim headquarters.
Göteborg, Sweden - FlexLink AB, a provider of factory automation systems in the manufacturing and assembly industries, has been acquisired by ABN AMRO Capital, a European private equity provider. FlexLink was acquired via a management buy-out from EQT, the private equity funds group that acquired a 90% interest in FlexLink from AB SKF in 1997.
Founded in 1980, Flexlink has 540 employees, with its head office in Göteborg and business activities in 50 countries.
Johan Bjurström, Nordic Head of ABN AMRO Capital, said the company had prospered under its previous ownership but had further potential for geographic growth and to lead consolidation in its sector - key investment criteria for ABN AMRO Capital. "FlexLink is well positioned for future growth, as factory automation systems continue to develop in sophistication in response to the increased use of robotics and the growing need for flexibility in manufacturing," he said.
Founded in 1980, Flexlink has 540 employees, with its head office in Göteborg and business activities in 50 countries.
Johan Bjurström, Nordic Head of ABN AMRO Capital, said the company had prospered under its previous ownership but had further potential for geographic growth and to lead consolidation in its sector - key investment criteria for ABN AMRO Capital. "FlexLink is well positioned for future growth, as factory automation systems continue to develop in sophistication in response to the increased use of robotics and the growing need for flexibility in manufacturing," he said.
Jersey City, NJ - Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials has launched an RoHS Materials Declaration Service on its Website to provide access to information for many of its lead-free products.
The site -- alphametals.com/lead_free/rohs.html - should facilitate the search for RoHS-compliant materials (RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC restricts the use of six hazardous materials, including lead, from electrical and electronic equipment).
The format for declarations is based on the design of the joint industry group of EIA, EICTA and JGPSSI. The library of declarations will be updated regularly.
The site -- alphametals.com/lead_free/rohs.html - should facilitate the search for RoHS-compliant materials (RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC restricts the use of six hazardous materials, including lead, from electrical and electronic equipment).
The format for declarations is based on the design of the joint industry group of EIA, EICTA and JGPSSI. The library of declarations will be updated regularly.
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- ROCKA Solutions Continues Expansion in Brazil with New Location in Manaus