Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Flextronics (Singapore) has announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Net sales for the quarter were a record $3.8 billion, a 23% increase over the March 2003 quarter. Net sales for the fiscal year reached $14.5 billion, up $1.2 billion, or 9%, from 2003.

Proforma net income was $72.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share for Q4, up $47.4 million from Q4 2003. Including after-tax amortization expense of $8.8 million and restructuring costs of $48.0 million, net income was $16.0 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, down from $19.5 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, year-on-year..

"Our financial results continue to improve as we realize the earnings leverage embedded in our business, said Michael E. Marks, chief executive officer of Flextronics. "Quarterly revenues grew 23% on a year-over-year basis, while proforma profits nearly tripled. Both operating margin and revenues were stronger than expected, as the quarter ended less seasonal than expected for handsets and other consumer related products."

Flextronics also announced that it intends to convert all of the outstanding 0% Convertible Junior Subordinated Notes issued in March 2003 into approximately 19 million shares of common stock. The company filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 to register the shares, and the conversion will be completed after the Securities and Exchange Commission declares the Form S-3 effective. The conversion will not impact Flextronics' diluted EPS, as the stock equivalents have always been included in the diluted EPS calculation.

www.flextronics.com

Intellon Corp. (Ocala, FL), a provider of integrated circuits (ICs) for high-speed powerline networking, has shipped its one millionth HomePlug IC. According to the company, virtually all of the HomePlug powerline communications products in the global market today are powered by Intellon's integrated circuits.

The ICs enable high-speed communications over existing powerlines in homes and small businesses. They power over 50 products from more than 24 equipment manufacturers. These products can be purchased at retail outlets such as Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Mediamarket and Radio Shack.

Intellon customers are continuing to develop new products that take advantage of the ICs with applications as WiFi extension, online gaming, whole-house audio and security. The ICs are also being used for broadband over powerline (BPL) access applications, opening a third pipe (in addition to cable and DSL) to deliver broadband to homes and multi-dwelling units such as apartments and hotel rooms.

Intellon is extending the capability of its HomePlug product line to enable HDTV distribution over home powerlines. By the end of the year, Intellon will launch its PowerAV chipsets, which support application speeds in excess of 100 Mbps, allowing transmission of multiple audio, standard-definition video and HDTV video streams over powerlines.

Intellon Corp.is a privately-held fabless semiconductor company specializing in powerline networking and communications.

www.intellon.com

Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. (Herzlia, Israel), a provider of manufacturing process management (MPM), has announced that Korea-based electronics manufacturing services provider Samsung Computers has implemented eMPower solutions from Tecnomatix Unicam, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd., in its first Chinese computer manufacturing facility. The implementation helps Samsung fulfill manufacturing traceability standards required by the plant's key customer, a major computer notebook/laptop provider.

Samsung is using the traceability management and material management modules of Tecnomatix's printed circuit board (PCB) production management system for business decision-making. The traceability management module helps Samsung Computers document a product's manufacturing history. By automating this data collection process, Samsung will reduce data collection costs and achieve simple, accurate reporting of component and PCB board traceability records.

The material management module tracks material from inventory through kitting, setup and verification with real-time inventory visibility to quantity and location. The solution manages and optimizes the feeder change over process for improved throughput.

Samsung Computers has already seen return on investment with faster change over times and an improved verification processes. Shortly after the implementation at Samsung, the material management module detected a loading error related to a non-conforming part. By alerting users of the non-conformance at an early stage in the manufacturing process, Samsung avoided having to either rework the entire lot, or have a far more costly product recall later on.

"We are pleased with the early results we've experienced with the Tecnomatix solutions we've implemented," said Lee Buyng Bum, manager of Production Support Division of Samsung Electronics Suzhou Computer Co. Ltd. "Tecnomatix has delivered a very effective set of solutions and services addressing our materials handling, verification and product traceability needs. We will continue to look to Tecnomatix for new technology in these and other areas."

www.tecnomatix.com

Asymtek (Carlsbad, CA), a supplier of automated fluid dispensing systems, teamed with Cookson Electronics' Semiconductor Products Division (Alpharetta, GA) on a new project to jet underfill. Cookson Electronics Semiconductor Products visited Asymtek's application labs to test their fluid materials on Asymtek's X-1000 series, configured with the new DJ-9000 DispenseJet.

"Many of our customers use Asymtek's technology," said Mandar Painaik, technical services engineer at Cookson Materials Group. "We wanted to learn about Asymtek's equipment so we can recommend the best materials for our customers."

The collaboration enables the investigation of new and innovative jetting methods and material optimization.

The two companies work together as a part of Asymtek's Win3 program, in which key fluid formulators, technology institutes and equipment suppliers join together for the benefit of customers, each other and the industry as a whole.

One common customer uses Asymtek's platforms with the DispenseJet and DP-3000 pumps for dispensing underfills. A die placement machine, reflow oven and batch oven are in line with the dispensing equipment. According to the companies, the customer reported better dispense volume control with Asymtek's jetting technology and Cookson's Staychip 3082 underfill material.

www.asymtek.com

www.cooksonsemi.com

Data I/O Corp. (Redmond, WA) announced a net income for the first quarter of 2004 of $296,000 or $0.04 per share, compared to a net income of $317,000, or $0.04 per share, for the first quarter of 2003. Revenues for the quarter were $6.8 million, up 11% from the same period last year.

Gross margins increased by $276,000 in Q1 compared with the same period of 2003, primarily due to the higher sales level and an increase in the aftermarket sales mix. Operating expenses were higher in Q1 this year due to the company's investments in Asia and in a new venture in in-system programming (ISP) under development, as well as the unfavorable currency translation impact of European-based operating costs. The company's lean manufacturing processes continued to show results helping to reduce inventories by $555,000 during the quarter.

Fred Hume, the company's president and chief executive officer, said, "As the geographical center of the electronics manufacturing industry has shifted to Asia, we have redeployed resources to that region and are adding staff locally. This will allow us to service and support our customers there in their time zone. We have also invested in strengthening our sales organization globally in recognition of the improving climate for capital equipment."

During the quarter, the company added Joe Murdica as vice president of sales for the Americas and Asia. The company also formed a new subsidiary in Brazil specifically to support Siemens ICM handset production in Manaus.

www.data-io.com

Advanced Circuits (Aurora, CO), a quick-turn printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer with real-time customer service, announced that it received a Gold Award from the Metro Wastewater Restoration District (MWRD) of Colorado for the second year in a row. Of

1,100 eligible Colorado companies, only 14 received the recognition.

To win the prestigious award, manufacturers must be 100% compliant with MWRD, Colorado Department of Health and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

Advanced Circuits' pollution prevention and waste minimization efforts include reclaiming metal scrap and waste copper etch solutions and using countercurrent rinses and automated sensors to control rinse water use.

In 2003, the company accelerated its focus on improving work flow and productivity through its metal finishing process operations. It invested in an automated electroless copper plating line and completed the installation of supplemental pretreatment equipment. The additional pretreatment equipment runs in unison with the existing pretreatment setup (though triple its size) and ensures that the increased volume of wastewater generated by increased plant production will meet permit discharge requirements.

"Manufacturing plants, especially PCB shops, have traditionally had a bad reputation as far as their impact on the environment," said Bob Liebsock, Advanced Circuits process engineer. "Advanced Circuits is ever conscious of the need to maintain a dedicated effort towards regulatory compliance and will continue in its steadfast goal to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible."

The MWRD is a regional organization that provides wholesale wastewater transmission and treatment service to 55 local governments in the Denver metropolitan area. These local governments provide retail wastewater services to approximately 1.5 million people. The MWRD has been recognizing environmentally conscious Colorado companies since 1991.

www.4pcb.com