Under the terms of the agreement, Desco will acquire patents, designs, inventory, tools and equipment and company brand names. Anaheim, CA- based SPI does business under the name SPI Westek.
In a press statement Wayne Hunter, president of Desco, commented that the acquisition of SPI would enhance Desco's range of ESD solutions.
Tom Seratti, president of SPI Westek, will join Desco.
The mission is aimed at business executives seeking to develop familiarity with the Indian electroindustry supply base and market, acquire firsthand knowledge of emerging business practices and establish contact with key business and government officials.
NEMA is arranging meetings with the U.S. Commerce Department officials, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other local officials. The trade group will also attend various engineering conferences and manufacturing sites.
Commitments are due Jan. 10; www.nema.org/media/pr/upload/india-commitment.pdf.
Fabrinet will add equipment for laser diode attachment and thermosonic ball and stitch wire bonding from Palomar Technologies, the companies said today.
The equipment will be installed in Fabrinet's manufacturing facilities in Bangkok.
"Fabrinet is one of a very few EMS companies capable of the precision manufacture in high volume of complex components such as those in the optics, optomechanical, and optoelectronic industries," said Bruce W. Hueners, Palomar vice president of marketing and business development, in a statement.
BANGALORE, Dec. 20 - Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials has opened a research center in India, making its the first electronics assembly materials company to do so, the company said today.
The opening of the center on the campus of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore brings to four the number of R&D labs Cookson operates worldwide located. The others are in the U.S., the U.K. and Japan.
"Cookson Electronics remain[s] steadfastly committed to serving our customers in the fast growing Asia/Pacific region where we have experienced double-digit growth over the past five years with no slowdown in sight," said David Zerfoss, president of Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials, in a statement.
The new center, a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, employs eight doctorates among its staff.
SAN JOSE, Dec. 22 -- Third quarter EDA revenues fell 2% from last year to $953 million, according to the latest statistics from the Electronic Design Automation Consortium.
License and maintenance revenue, the largest revenue category, declined 3%. North America les the way down, with all major categories off vs. last year.
"Despite a weak third quarter, the EDA market has shown a 3% growth rate on a year-to-date basis," said Wally Rhines, EDAC chairman.
The largest tool category, computer-aided engineering, was flat with sales of $453 million. IC physical design and verification revenue was down 9% to $272 million.
Revenue for PCB and MCM layout tools totaled $81 million in Q3, down 1%. Services revenue was $66 million, up 5%.
Semiconductor intellectual property revenue rose 8%, to $81 million.
North American revenues fell 9% to $472 million. Europe's revenues rose 4% to $192 million, as did Japan's ($183 million). Double-digit growth continued in the rest of the world, which showed total revenues of $107 million, up 11%.
Employment rose 4%, to 20,500 professionals, the third straight quarter of new highs in employment.
STAMFORD, CT, Dec. 16 — Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is on pace to grow 61% in 2004, but next year's spending is projected to drop 15, according to Gartner Inc.
"The emergence of excess inventories, macroeconomic uncertainty and slowing end-user demand casts a shadow over the outlook for 2005," said Klaus Rinnen, vice president for Gartner's semiconductor manufacturing and design research group. "Device production has slowed in recent months, and with it semiconductor manufacturers have readjusted their capacity ramp-up and equipment purchase plans."
All major segments of the capital equipment market are forecast to decline in 2005 except for the automated test equipment market, which is expected to grow 3%, followed by a 30% drop in 2006. Gartner analysts said the industry is in a downcycle, but this period will be shorter than the prior one in 2001.
"Given more modest-capacity investments during the cycle, the supply-demand imbalance will be far less severe than in the prior two cycles," Rinnen said. "Consequently, the approaching downcycle will be mild, allowing for a return to positive annual investment growth possibly as early as 2006."
Worldwide semiconductor wafer fab utilization rates peaked in the second quarter at 94.9% before dropping to 91.3% at the end of the third quarter, as semiconductor manufacturers trimmed production levels in response to excess inventories.
"By the middle of 2004, capacity caught up with demand, and excess capacity started to emerge," Rinnen said. "However, any excess capacity during this down period will be considerably less than in prior downward cycles, and utilization rates will decline only to about 85% before starting a gradual increase through 2006."
The packaging and assembly equipment market will fall 22% in 2005, to about $3.5 billion. Growth will be limited to packaging lithography and flip-chip bonder tooling. Packaging utilization rates will likely bottom out in the second half of 2005, giving way to a pickup in orders by the end of the year or very early in 2006.
Gartner analysts said the automated test equipment market will experience a slight increase due to the continued growth of test outsourcing, and the remaining strength of semiconductor assembly and test services providers.
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