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MENLO PARK, CA -- A March survey of senior operations and supply chain professionals at 75 electronics OEMs uncovered concern over the viability of key supply chain partners, including both EMS providers and component suppliers. Also, a number of companies are considering strategic operations alternatives – such as relocating outsourced production to different geographical regions or partners – to address the heightened need to further reduce costs in this challenging environment, Riverwood Solutions' survey found.

Key findings include:

· 69% of OEMs believe that supply chain management can be a source of competitive advantage; 31% believe that their supply chain is more nimble than that of their competitors.

· 53% plan to geographically relocate at least some of their outsourced production in the next two quarters; 50% plan to move some production to another EMS provider during that same period.

· 31% report being “Very Concerned” that their EMS provider will be unable to meet their delivery commitments in the coming year based on financial difficulty; less than 2% of respondents report being concerned that their EMS provider may be acquired by another company.

“The results of the OEM survey are consistent with what we are hearing from current and prospective customers,” said Courtney Ryan, senior vice president, Global Business Units at Jabil, in a press release issued by Riverwood. “OEMs continue to seek opportunities to reduce cost and improve competitiveness – but with a renewed focus on the supply assurance and financial stability of their EMS partners.”  

 

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL -- SigmaTron International reported third-quarter revenues fell 34% to $27 million, while the net loss dropped to $265,458 from a profit of $312,464 for the period ended Jan. 31.

Gary R. Fairhead, president and chief executive, said, "As noted in our last press release on Dec. 9, we experienced a drop in revenue of approximately 30% the first week of our third quarter when compared to the prior month's run rate, and that trend continued through the entire quarter. Current indications are that our revenue will continue at approximately the same rate for the short term. Beyond that, the uncertainty associated with the worldwide economy in general and the US economy specifically make forecasting close to impossible. All of our customers' markets remain volatile, and I believe we will continue to see lower revenues and volatility until at least the fall of 2009."

At the end of January the company laid off 72 employees in its US operations and has implemented salary reductions for all remaining non-union US payroll employees.


ELKHART, IND -- CTS Corp. has completed first quarter restructuring actions, which cost 95 workers their jobs.

The moves, which took place in three regions, are expected to reduce spending by $5 million annually.

The company is taking a pretax first-quarter charge of approximately $1.9 million.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILBosch Rexroth AG, parent company of Bosch Rexroth Corp., reported $8.3 billion in 2008 sales, up 9.8% year-over-year.

Sales in the Americas were up nearly 8%. The company anticipates a significantly weaker performance for the current fiscal year, but said it is maintaining its R&D investment.

The Bosch subsidiary spent around $364 million on R&D in 2008, or 4.5% of sales.

The growth experienced last year by the manufacturer of drive and control technologies was led by developments in the German, European and Asian markets.

HERNDON, VA – The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative will release its 2009 Roadmap in April.

iNEMI is scheduled to discuss findings at industry venues worldwide, including Apex on Mar. 31 in Las Vegas; SMTA China East on Apr. 21 in Shanghai; at the Astride the Packaging Roadmap seminar, held at TWI Ltd. on Apr. 22 in Cambridge, UK, and at the European Microelectronics & Packaging Conference June 15-18 in Rimini, Italy.

The 2009 Roadmap covers five product sectors and 20 technology and business topics.  For additional information, visit http://www.inemi.org/cms/roadmapping/2009_Roadmap.html.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – A company that repairs stencil damage has been formed and has applied for a patent on its novel process.

Coinx has reportedly developed a patent-pending repair method that uses similar processes and techniques as for auto body repair.

Repairs can include long creases across the foil’s surface to unsightly dents up to ¼" deep. In most cases these repairs can also be made in the aperture field as well, provided it does not distort the integrity of the openings, says James Bishop, the founder.

Most dents and dings can be removed quickly and effectively by a trained person on your staff at your facility, he adds.

Bishop has been involved in the repair of dented and dinged metal panels for 17 years, primarily serving the auto body industry. Lately, the firm has worked with PhotoStencil to refine the process for stencils used in electronics manufacturing.

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