He replaces acting chief financial officer Mark Lustig, the company controller who had been serving as interim CFO since Rick Ackel quit the position in January.

White, who has 20 years of experience in technology manufacturing, was senior vice president and CFO of Asyst Technologies, a provider of integrated automation tools for semiconductor and flat-panel display manufacturing. Previously, he was president and chief executive of Candescent Technologies, a developer of field emission display technology.

He also held positions at Zehntel Inc., Burroughs Corp. (now Unisys Corp.) and Digital Equipment Corp.

White has a bachelor's in physics from Brigham Young University and an MBA in finance and operations analysis from the University of Washington.

Under the freshly minted agreements, Niche Tech (2004) will provide services in Thailand, Sigmatek Corp. in Taiwan, SIP Technology Sdn Bhd in central and northern Malaysia, and SIP Technology Pte. Ltd. in southern Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In a press statement, Speedline president and CEO Pierre de Villemejane touted the firms' experience. "The management and staffs ... represent years of experience in the capital equipment and PCB assembly industries. All are industry veterans who clearly understand the challenges faced by - and are well equipped to deliver the required solutions to - the region's manufacturers."

(Ed.: Click on the respective company names for links to their Web sites.)

The reseach firm predicts revenues will grow 27% this year, to $226 billion. Gartner previously forecast growth of "more than 25%."

The report followed on the heels of an improved outlook for semiconductor tools from the trade group SEMI. It is not clear, however, whether Gartner's report takes into account a recent announcement that Intel Corp. will slash pricing by up to 35%. 

In a statement, Gartner said concerns that rising inventories in the supply chain were overstated. "Had the increased inventory been accompanied by a flat or even falling semiconductor market, it would have been of grave concern. In a rising market, increasing inventory levels are normal.

Gartner's research vice president Richard Gordon acknowledged the industry still harbors jitters from the last downturn. "Despite the improving market conditions that semiconductor vendors have enjoyed over the past several quarters and the expectation that revenue growth this year will be close to 30%, this industry upcycle is notable in that few in the industry have felt able to acknowledge it as a boom."

NEW YORK, Aug. 24 - A majority of U.S. business and IT executives anticipate increases in IT expenditures over the next three years, according to results of a survey released today by Accenture.

The study, which queried more than 300 general business managers and IT executives of large U.S.-based companies, found that 55% of respondents expect their organizations to increase their IT expenditures over the next three years, with only 10% expecting decreased spending.

In addition, of the 84% of respondents who indicated that productivity at their companies had increased over the past several years, most identified IT-related factors as key to that increase. Specifically, 83% cited "better use of technology" and 65% selected "the right amount of investment in technology."

However, the survey identified several areas where the business managers were disappointed in the effectiveness and impact of IT. Most notably, 47% of business managers and 51% of IT executives said their companies did not know how to make their technology organizations accountable for delivering real business value. In addition, 52% of the business managers said that IT is underdelivering relative to what their companies spend.

The results are based on an online survey conducted in June and July. A total of 302 executives were surveyed at U.S. companies with more than 5,000 employees and median annual revenue of $10 billion.