Alan Rae, Cookson Electronics' (Foxborough, MA) vice president of technology, has been named director of research by the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), an industry-led consortium focused on strengthening the global electronics manufacturing supply chain. Rae will head NEMI's newly organized research committee, which was created to stimulate research that will address gaps identified by NEMI's biannual roadmap.

Rae and the committee are responsible for organizing and publishing NEMI research priorities, presenting those priorities to research institutes and funding organizations, identifying funding opportunities, monitoring industry progress toward roadmap goals and monitoring progress in nanotechnology research.

Jim McElroy, executive director and chief executive officer of NEMI, said, "NEMI has always worked with academic research centers and government funding agencies to identify industry research needs, but we are formalizing and increasing our focus on these efforts. The appointment of Alan as director of research and the formation of the research committee are the first steps toward this goal."

"As an industry, electronics manufacturers want to avoid being blindsided by new technologies that may emerge," said Rae. "We need to effectively identify and prioritize research and development programs and then work with the appropriate government agencies, universities and other consortia to ensure the work is properly funded and executed."

Other members of NEMI's Research Committee are Bill Ballard, 3M; D.H.R. Sarma, Delphi Electronics & Safety; Rao Tummala, Georgia Institute of Technology; Frank Robertson, Intel; Carol Handwerker, NIST; and Srinivas Rao, Solectron.

www.cooksongroup.co.uk

www.nemi.org

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

Celestica Inc. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, announced that Stephen W.Delaney has been appointed Celestica's new chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately, by the company's Board of Directors.

Delaney has been acting as CEO since Jan. 28, 2004, when Eugene V. Polistuk retired as chairman and CEO. Robert L. Crandall will remain in the role of chairman of the Board of Directors.

Celestica's board conducted a thorough review of internal and external candidates as part of the search for a new CEO.  

"Since joining Celestica three years ago, Steve has distinguished himself as a very strong leader, with a relentless focus on execution and a demonstrated ability to drive operating performance and build strong relationships with customers," said Crandall. "The board looks forward to working closely with Steve as Celestica moves ahead."

"I am honoured to be selected as Celestica's CEO," said Delaney. "I am firmly committed to collaborating with our valued customers, employees, partners, and the Board to effectively position Celestica for future success.."

Since joining Celestica in 2001, Delaney has held positions including president of Americas Operations. Prior to 2001, he held executive and senior management roles in operations at Visteon Automotive Systems, AlliedSignal's Electronic Systems business, Ford's Electronics division and IBM's Telecommunications division. 

The company also recently announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004. Revenue was $2,017 million, up 27% from last quarter. Net loss on a GAAP basis for the first quarter was $8.4 million or $(0.06) per share, which includes a pre-tax $11 million charge associated primarily with the company's previously announced restructuring activities. This compares to net earnings of $3.2 million or $0.02 per share for the same period last year.

Adjusted net earnings (loss) was $8.2 million, compared to $12.8 million for the same period last year.

Delaney said, "Earnings are beginning to reflect some operating leverage, which we expect to gain momentum and drive steady margin improvement throughout 2004. To accelerate improvement in profitability, we
plan to further restructure our operations to better align capacity with customers' requirements. In this regard, we expect further pre-tax charges
in the range of $175 - $200 million. This will represent a 10-15% reduction
of the company's workforce (approximately 5,000 people) over the next 12
months."

On March 12, 2004, the company acquired Manufacturers' Services Ltd. (MSL, Concord, MA), a full-service global electronics manufacturing and supply chain services company for a purchase price of $321 million.
 
www.celestica.com

Nacom Corp. (Griffin, GA), an automotive electronic comonents provider, has been named "Large Manufacturer of the Year" for the state of Georgia. Company representatives accepted the award last week from Gov. Sonny Perdue at a gala celebration serving as the capstone of Manufacturing Appreciation Week. Perdue cited Nacom for the part it has played in both the local and state economies.

Satoshi Negishi, the chairman of the board of Nacom's parent corporation, the Yazaki Group (Tokyo, Japan); John Olson, the vice president and general manager of Nacom; and Mary Goggins, Nacom's 2003 Associate of the Year recipient, were on hand to accept the award.

Olson praised NACOM's employees and cited the grassroots level assistance the firm has received from the Griffin community, the volunteer effort  employees have demonstrated within their community and the close working relationship with Griffin Technical College.

NACOM opened its operation in Griffin in 1994 and expanded in 1997 to encompass almost 500,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and employ over 900 associates.

Indium Corp. (Utica, NY) offers a complete range of solder preforms for interconnect and joining applications. The company's product line includes their range of solder alloys, as well as a capability to produce numerous sizes and shapes.

Indium, a supplier of solder fabrications, offers solder preforms in a variety of shapes, including: washers, discs, rectangles and squares, "picture frames", shot, spheres, ganged arrays and specialty shapes.

Solder preforms are produced in a wide size range. Discs are made with diameters as small as 0.004 in.. Washers are made with inner diameters as small as 0.015 in. and outer diameters as small as 0.025 in. All preforms can also be produced in larger sizes.

Solder preforms can be specified in most of the nearly 300 alloys offered by the company, including lead free. In addition, many preforms offer the option of flux-coating. Solder preforms are packed with a variety of options including: jar, tray, palette and tape and reel.

 www.indium.com

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.