ST. LOUIS – Viasystems Group says it has completed its $283 million acquisition of DDi Corp.

Viasystems originally announced the acquisition April 4.

The combined company provides a North American manufacturing presence serving high-mix, low-to-medium-volume manufacturing.

The company now has more than 15,600 employees and manufacturing floor space exceeding 4.3 million sq. ft. in China and 1 million sq. ft. in North America.

OYSTER BAY, NY – ABI Research forecasts 208 million phablets will be shipped globally in 2015.

Global shipments for phablets (with a touch screen size between 4.6" and 5.5") will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012 from 2011.

Despite the slow start for phablet smartphones in 2011, the research firm believes the market is at the dawn of the phablet era. HTC, LG and Sony will each introduce phablet smartphones in 2012, joining the ranks of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Nexus. Samsung will also release the Galaxy S3 by the end of May, ABI says.

With the predicted boom of phablet devices over the next two to three years, media tablet manufacturers may be worried, says ABI. In 2011, 65 million media tablets were shipped globally. More than 100 million media tablets are projected to be shipped globally in 2012. ABI Research believes hybrid smartphone/tablet will compete only with the smaller media tablet (below 7"). These smaller media tablets are forecasted to remain the smallest segment of the total media tablet market.

ROCHESTER, NY – PCB Cleaning: Challenges & Solutions is a free one-day cleaning workshop, scheduled for June 26 at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

This event aims to answer many common questions about cleaning and cleanliness testing.

For more information, visit http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5yx9ulm746ce0a3&llr=afhm8xcab.

The workshop is presented by Aqueous, Zestron, Kester and Austin American Technology.

ATLANTA, GA – UP Media Group, publisher of CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, today announced the opening of the Jim D. Raby Hall of Fame for Electronics Assembly.

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SANTA CLARA, CA – RF and microwave printed circuit board design and manufacture are among the leading topics at the upcoming PCB West 2012 technical conference and trade show.

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NORWOOD, MA – Advanced Thermal Solutions has published a paper that compiles 17 methods used by engineers for measuring thermal conductivity in electronics.

In one section, these methods are grouped according to the time dependence of the heat applied to the sample. Each method is classified under steady-state, periodic or pulsed. Another section compares the performance of each thermal conductivity measurement method, and provides an idea of sample size and preparation, and the operator skill required. There is also a list of the equipment typically needed to conduct each of these thermal tests.

Avoiding complicated boundary conditions, irregular part geometry, difficult heater placement/construction and encouraging the task of one-dimensional heat flow will simplify the measurement process, ATS says.

For more information, visit www.qats.com.

NEW YORK -- A Deutsche Bank analyst today reported the semiconductor supply chain inventory corrections are "likely complete."

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SANTA CLARA, CA – Better technologies are shrinking the global TV replacement cycle, which in the past year has fallen to 6.9 years from 8.4, says NPD DisplaySearch. The research group attributes the trend to declining prices, a wider variety of sizes, and desire for the latest technologies.

In the next year, 31% of households are planning to replace an existing TV, while 22% are planning to add a new TV, based on a study of consumers across 14 different markets.

“The rate of TV replacement varies, but on a global basis, the majority of households are still replacing CRT TVs with flat panel TVs. We are also observing mature markets, such as the US, the UK, and others, replacing their first-generation flat panel TVs,” said Riddhi Patel, NPD DisplaySearch research director, consumer insights. “Overall, LCD TVs in the range of 32" to 44" are the most popular for planned purchases.”

The most critical driver of TV replacement in nearly all countries is a desire to trade up in size, followed by wanting to own a flat panel TV with improved picture quality, says NPD. Although price is not among the top three reasons for recent replacements, it does have an impact on the purchasing decision. Thus, pricing can be a key driver in increasing flat panel TV penetration (by replacing CRTs) and shortening the replacement cycle (by replacing older flat panel sets).

As TV prices fall and profit margins are compressed across the supply chain, the push to introduce new premium features has taken on increased importance, says the research firm. The hope is that these new features, such as 3D and Internet connectivity, will drive consumers to replace TVs faster. However, results suggest otherwise, as these new features were reported to be only somewhat important in selecting a new TV, and not a strong motivator to upgrade.

“The good news is that a large number of markets still have a long way to go toward replacing all CRTs with flat panel TVs, which should continue to sustain growth, but mostly in emerging markets,” Patel said.

Other findings include:

Moving one’s household to a new location was found to be a very weak driver in all markets surveyed.

Nine markets in the study have more than 50% penetration of flat panel TVs. There are still five markets with 40% of households having only CRT sets.

The average age of the primary TV in households ranges between 4 and 7 years, with India the highest at 6.7 years and China-Urban the lowest at 3.5 years.

Households in emerging markets, such as Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and China, are much more likely to be planning to either replace or add TVs than in the US and European countries.

Over 40% of households in China are planning to replace their first-generation flat panel TVs, similar to the rates found in mature markets.

32" remains the most desired size in the majority of emerging markets, whereas 40" to 44" sizes dominate planned purchases in mature markets.

OSAKA – Panasonic is reportedly planning to cut 3,000 to 4,000 workers at its headquarters here in Japan as the money-losing enterprise tries to stem the tide.

Some employees could be relocated or offered early retirement, according to published reports citing an unnamed source at the plant. Currently, the site employs 7,000.

The firm previously announced 17,000 layoffs.

Panasonic posted a $9.7 billion loss in 2011. The electronics giant employs 350,000 workers globally.

BEIJING – China is “shocked” that the US is alleging Chinese companies provided counterfeit electronic parts to the US army, says a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry.

China’s Foreign Ministry believes the US government should first investigate contract details and identify suppliers, according to published reports.

The statements came in response to a US Senate Armed Service Committee report that states the finding of more than one million suspected counterfeit parts in the Department of Defense's supply chain, about 70% of which were determined to have come from Chinese companies. The committee also said the US Defense Ministry and US-based defense contractors worked with hundreds of independent distributors.

The parts were slated for use in US Navy helicopters and surveillance planes, and Air Force cargo planes.