Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

Latest News

PARIS – Asteel continued its buying spree, today announcing the acquisition of MRP Electronics PLC, a UK-based EMS company. Financial and other terms were not announced.

MRP had reported 2007 sales of 12 million pounds, according to published accounts. It operates a 30,000 sq. ft. plant in Bedford, UK.

As previously reported by Circuits Assembly, Asteel's planned acquisition of Flash Electronics creates a $750 million EMS firm with 18 manufacturing sites and more than one million sq. ft. of factory space worldwide, plus a subsidiary in Romania.

Asteel is privately held and headquartered in Paris.

“This acquisition could not have come at a better time as some of our larger customers were considering taking their high volume work to the Far East,” MRP managing director Mike Perry said in published reports. “Now they can keep their MRP contacts – even for high volume production.”

MALVERN, PA – Vishay Intertechnology’s fourth-quarter profits fell 81% year-over-year on one-time costs; the company earned $4.9 million.

Revenue rose to $729.6 million for the quarter, up nearly 13% year-over-year.

The company reported restructuring and severance costs of $40.2 million.

For the year, profits fell 6.4% to $130.7 million year-over-year. Revenue rose to $2.83 billion, up 8.8% compared to 2006.

JASPER, IN – Kimball International today reported net sales of $347.8 million and income from continuing operations of $4.2 million for its fiscal 2008 second quarter.

ANGLETON, TX – Benchmark Electronics reported quarterly profits fell 24% on a 3% drop in sales for the period ended Dec. 31.

HERNDON, VA – iNEMI has scheduled a workshop looking RFID tags at the item level.

The workshop will be held Feb. 21 in Boston, co-located with the RFID Smart Labels USA 2008 conference.

iNEMI’s Item-Level Tag Roadmap attempts to identify the critical technologies and business processes that must be improved to drive adoption of RFID at the item level. This workshop will offer the first opportunity for a broader industry review of the draft document, and will be used to solicit input to, and feedback on, the work done to date.

In particular, the iNEMI RFID team will be looking for feedback on primary barriers (both strategic and tactical) limiting adoption; projected future improvements in key technical and business attributes, and industry efforts recommended to close gaps and accelerate deployment.

Registration is free and conference registration is not required.

To register, visit
http://www.inemi.org/cms/calendar/RFID-ILT_RM_Workshop_Feb_08.html.

SINGAPORE – Surface Mount Technology Holdings reported third-quarter revenue was HK$755.6 million, up 19.6% year-over-year. Net loss was HK$3.3 million, down from a profit of HK$10.2 million a year ago.

WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA – Sunburst EMS announced the purchase of New England Wire Assemblies.

No financial terms of the agreement were disclosed.

“The acquisition of New England Wire Assemblies broadens our service portfolio with extensive cable assembly expertise and tooling,” said Andrew Chase, Sunburst president and CEO.

New England Wire Assemblies specializes in the production of custom wire harnesses and cable assemblies. The company has provided epoxy custom molded assemblies, discrete wire and multi-conductor cables, connectors for high vacuum applications and other electromechanical assemblies.

Sunburst EMS provides contract electronics manufacturing services, including design, prototyping, PCB assembly, conformal coating, box build and supply chain management.

MACAO, CHINA – Nam Tai Electronics reported fourth quarter net sales of $186.9 million, down 18.6% year-over-year. Gross profit was $21 million, a decrease of 4.4% compared to the same quarter of 2006.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Agilent Technologies will showcase its latest test and inspection solutions at Virtual PCB on Feb. 12-13.

A first for Agilent, the virtual trade show permits visitors to view their products from office or home.

Agilent will showcase new products for automated optical inspection, automated x-ray inspection, in-circuit test technology and automotive functional test.

Visitors can interact real-time with booth duty staffers or send questions to the company’s panel of experts.

To register, visit www.virtual-pcb.com.

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Lenovo yesterday said it plans to sell its failing mobile phone business for $100 million to a private equity firm under its parent, Legend Holdings.

TORONTO – Celestica Inc. reported fourth quarter revenue slipped 2% from last year to $2.2 billion. The EMS firm’s net loss shrunk to $11.7 million, from $60.8 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA – Key Tronic Corp. reported December quarter revenue of $50.8 million, up 14% sequentially and 2% last year.

Net income was $1.6 million, up from $300,000 a year ago. The results include a gain of approximately $951,000 from the company’s sale of its former facility in Las Cruces, NM.

Gross margins were diminished from higher overtime and shipping expenses.

In a press release, president and chief executive Jack Oehlke said, “Accelerated customer demand in December caused our revenue to actually exceed expectations. We expect over 10 new customer programs to be generating revenue by the end of the fiscal year” in June.

Key Tronic expects March quarter revenue in the range of $49 million to $51 million. Said Oehlke, “In the second half of fiscal 2008, we expect increased revenue and earnings, as well as some improvement in our gross margins.”