Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

MOR, HUNGARY -- Flextronics plans to lay off 360 employees from its manufacturing plant here, local media are reporting.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit last night reported fiscal third-quarter revenues of $3.46 billion, up 32% from a year ago.

PLANO, TX – Rapid Tooling Inc. has relocated to a 14,310 sq. ft. manufacturing facility here.

The facility has more than 9,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space.

Rapid Tooling provides wafer tooling and process tooling for components in JEDEC trays, router fixtures, solder pallets and SMT pallets, as well as press/fit tooling and placement equipment tooling. The company also provides numerous services for electronics and semiconductor packaging.

BANNOCKBURN, IL -- Some 29 representatives of US-based companies converged on Washington earlier this month, intent on explaining the circuit board fabrication and assembly industry to their legislators.

FUKUOKA, JAPAN – The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics forecasts the semiconductor market to grow 28.6% to $291 billion in 2010.

In 2009, the semiconductor industry was affected by the global economic crisis, down 9% to $226.3 billion. In 2010, the industry is recovering with revived enterprise and consumer spending, WSTS says.

The latest forecast is a more optimistic outlook for the year, with an increase of $44 billion over the fall forecast.

The industry is now expected to top $320.2 billion in 2012, with a three-year compound annual growth rate of 12.3% from 2009 to 2012.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA -- Already battered by the recession, manufacturers are concerned a wave of retirements across their industry will saddle them with a shortage of qualified job applicants, huge training costs for new workers and the challenge of transferring job knowledge from one generation of workers to the next.