SALEM, NH -- EMS provider Data Electronic Devices yesterday officially opened its NPI center here in the building in which the company was launched in 1977.
The two-story facility at 18 Bridge St. has been completely remodeled and refinished, but retains much of the charm of the original building, which dates to 1914. A hand-operable elevator near the center of the open concept building offers both tremendous visual interest as well as functionality in a pinch, for example.
The site features several workstations for engineering projects, hand soldering and test benches, a full SMT line including two stencil printers and a Mydata MY500 printer, Mydata MY9 and MY12 placement machines, a Heller 1809EXL reflow oven and a Pillarhouse Jade S-200 selective soldering machine.
Other lines include a VJ Electronix Summit 1800 rework machine, Nordson YesTech B3 AOI, Aqueous Technologies Trident cleaner, Glenbrook xray, and aThermatron environmental chamber.
ESD flooring has been installed throughout the entire building.
The company named Lori Giglio to manage the NPI center.
DataEd had an NPI line in its production factory in Salem, but said the new site was opened as the request of customers who wanted to be able to work on projects away from the bustle of the main site, Bob Bibeau, vice president of engineering/quality, told CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY.
The company has assigned seven workers to the NPI facility, where all workers will eventually be cross-trained. It also has 115 workers at its 65,000 sq. ft. production plant in Salem and 275 at its 55,000 sq. ft. plant in China. DataEd customers range from entrepreneurs to billion-dollar companies.
WESTLAKE, OH -- Nordson today reported second-quarter results at its Advanced Technology Systems business unit fell 3% from the prior year. Solid organic growth in electronics test and inspection and fluid management equipment was offset by softness for automated dispensing equipment in certain mobile end-markets.
For company's fiscal second quarter ended April 30. The ATS unit includes Dage, YesTech, Asymtek, and March, among others.
Orders for Asymtek have been recovering, however, the company's top executive said.
"We have begun to see an increase in orders for automated systems in recent weeks and we expect to generate solid sales growth in our third quarter within this segment,” said president and CEO Michael Hilton.
Geographically, organic sales growth in the second quarter over the prior year in the US and Europe was offset by softness in other regions. Operating margin for the Advanced Technology segment was 24% in the second quarter, up 13 percentage points from the first quarter.
Overall company sales for the quarter were $417 million, up 9% from a year ago.
HERNDON, VA – iNEMI released a rare earth metals white paper.
"Rare Earth Metals: Current Status and Future Outlook” discusses the sources of rare earth metal ores and processed materials. Potential solutions to prevent future supply constraints are suggested.
"Demand for rare earth metals has increased significantly in the past decade," said Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI. "REMs can be found in every electronic device produced today. But the electronic industry is not the only sector requiring an increased supply of REMs. These materials can be found in every hybrid automobile and most batteries, as well as every fiber-optic amplifier, LED, fluorescent light, and even in wind turbines. As demand continues to grow, shortages are a real risk."
Bader says iNEMI developed its REM white paper to inform the electronics industry about the REM situation worldwide and to urge the industry to take steps to become better informed and ready to react appropriately to future challenges. He notes some affected industries are developing policies and alternative technologies to reduce their dependence on REMs and/or mitigate risks to their supply chains, and that the electronics industry should consider taking a similar approach.
To view the white paper, visit http://thor.inemi.org/webdownload/projects/iNEMI_REM_Whitepaper.pdf.
KANATA, CANADA – Test and measurement equipment from OneChip Photonics will be sold at auction in early June.
Items up for auction include a Royce Model MP300 autoplacer die sorter; SEC Model 830 manual pick-and-place system; Finetech Lambda flip chip bonder; Averna life test system; Royce Model DE35-ST semiautomatic die handler; bar tester systems; Tektronix Model CSA8000 Scope; wafer probers; Agilent DCA-J 86100C; HP Model 8703A Lightwave component analyzer; Ando Model AQ6317C optical spectrum analyzer; two Agilent Model 86142B optical spectrum analyzers; two Agilent Model 86140B optical spectrum analyzers, and TestEquity 1007C temperature chambers
The online auction is being conducted by Baja Bid at www.BajaBid.com. Bidding will open at 4 AM EST on June 3 and will close at 11 AM EST on June 5.
MELBOURNE, FL – Electronics manufacturer MC Assembly is moving to a new facility here.
OOSTERHOUT, THE NETHERLANDS - Vitronics Soltec will move its global engineering and product management responsibilities to its European Business Unit, which the company says will better leverage the company's soldering knowledge and provide comprehensive products and support on a global scale.
The shift to Europe will permit the company to take full advantage of nearly a century of soldering expertise, Vitronics said. Engineering teams in the US and China will be maintained and will continue to help product development, the firm said.
The company, which released new selective and wave soldering lines this year, said it expects to debut two more products in 2015.
Vitronics Soltec’s Advanced Technology team is led by Gerjan Diepstraten. The global Engineering and Product Management team will be headed by Ton Colijn, a 25-year Vitronics Soltec veteran who has been responsible for many successful product introductions, including the recently introduced ZEVAv selective soldering machine.
BINH DUONG PROVINCE, VIETNAM -- A Fittec International EMS site here has been torched and looted, the company said. The extent of the damage remains under investigation and operations are temporarily suspended until further notice.
The events came as local Vietnamese are showing their anger over Chinese drilling in disputed waters.
The company owns the factory at the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park in southern Vietnam, which manufactures printed circuit board, electronics components and related parts. The Vietnam factory had 16 SMT lines and a production placement capacity of 24.3 billion chips per year, representing approximately 24% of the company's total production capacity.
According to the company the site generated revenues for the six months ended Dec. 31 of HK$59.2 million ($7.64 million), about 11% of the company's overall sales for the period.
"Based on the company’s best available information, the Vietnam Factory was torched and looted by rioters. As at the date of this announcement, the company could not estimate the loss caused by the riot as anti-China protests and riots continue to be carried out in and around [the park]."
Hong Kong-based Fittec has six production sites, most of which are in China, and 2013 sales of 112.1 million ($144.6 million).
TAIPEI – Hon Hai Precision Industry has instructed its Vietnam staff to take a three-day leave of absence starting Saturday, according to reports.
Vietnam is currently experiencing vandalism, factory closings, and deaths as a result of anti-China protests that originated with a dispute in the South China Sea, say reports.
Hon Hai is the parent company of contract manufacturer Foxconn.
LOGANSPORT, IN -- A Cal-Comp EMS plant here caught fire this week but damage was minimal. No one was hurt, and production has been restarted, according to reports.
The fire was sourced to bone pile material, reports indicated.
While damage was contained and minor, production was temporarily halted to allow smoke to clear and air quality to return to appropriate levels. A sprinkler system in the loading dock area was activated, leaving some water to be cleaned uo.
Cal-Comp acquired the site from Total Electronics in 2010.