TORONTO – EMS provider SMTC Corp. reported 2008 fourth-quarter revenue of $61.1 million, up 1.6% sequentially and down 8.5% year-over-year.

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EL SEGUNDO, CA — After years of singlehandedly powering the robust growth of the global electronics manufacturing services business, Foxconn (Hon Hai) grew marginally in 2008, and the top-tier EMS market contracted, according to preliminary market-share results from iSuppli Corp.

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LONDON – Despite a lackluster fourth quarter, the Cookson Group reported its 2008 revenue climbed 23% to ₤2.203 billion ($3.04 billion).

The company, the parent of Alpha Metals and Enthone, reported trading profits up 11% to ₤216.3 million ($298.3 million), and pre-tax profits climbed 18% to ₤176.3 million ($243.1 million).

The electronics division saw a year-over-year revenue increase of 11% to ₤620 million ($854.9 million) at reported exchange rates.

For the year, assembly materials sales fell 10% to ₤382 million (US$526.8 million) on an increase in metal prices, especially tin and silver. Chemistry sales dropped 9% to ₤238 million (US$328.2 million) on the sharp decline in the electronics and automotive markets.

Nevertheless, the fourth-quarter slide has continued into the first quarter, and Cookson plans to reduce its overhead by $55.2 million.

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, IL – Bosch 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.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Average pricing for PCBs is expected to decline until the third quarter of this year, in concert with declining costs for a key PCB raw material: copper, says iSuppli Corp.

In Asia, the primary market for PCB production and consumption, pricing for what iSuppli calls “a key product that indicates market trends” began to decrease in October. (The research firm did not identify the product.) Contract pricing for this PCB in the second quarter is expected to fall to 15.3 cents per sq. in., down 8.4% from last October. Pricing is expected to rebound slightly in the third quarter, rising 1.3% to 15.5 cents, and will remain at that level in the fourth quarter, says the research firm.

“Weak demand is negatively impacting PCB demand,” said Jason Ma, director and senior analyst, pricing and competitive analysis for iSuppli. “However, PCB pricing trends now are being dictated by copper costs.”

Ma notes the price of copper reached a peak level of $4.10 per lb. in the second quarter last year, and then began to drop, falling to $1.50 per lb. in February. This drop, combined with falling pricing for another key raw material, laminate, has helped PCB suppliers reduce costs.

PCB demand is expected to rise slightly in the third quarter, boosting pricing, Ma predicts.

Demand for PCBs has fallen significantly since the global economic crisis began. The major applications for PCBs are notebook PCs and consumer-oriented products such as mobile handsets and flat panel displays, all of which have slumped during the downturn.

Overcapacity has forced PCB fabricators to tighten their belts, while banks kept rigid control of their business loans. Moreover, the Chinese government is beginning the process of increasing its tax on corporate profits to 25% in 2012, up from 18% in 2008. China’s government also established environmental protection laws in 2008 that place new burdens on the PCB industry.

“This combination of factors is hurting PCB makers in China,” Ma noted. “Companies now must use their own [cash] to buy water recycling equipment, causing many small PCB factories to close. PCB suppliers have been forced to move their facilities to new locations like Vietnam or India.”

MINNEAPOLIS -- HEI, Inc. reported net sales of $55.8 million and net income of $1.1 million for the 16-month period ended Jan. 3.

The company had net profits of $243,000 for the four-month period ended Jan. 3.

The unusual 16-month reporting year (September 2007 to December 2008) came about because HEI modified its fiscal year to end on the Saturday closest to Dec. 31.

HEI had net income of $857,000 for the 12-month period ended Aug. 30, 2008, versus a net loss of $5.7 million the 12-month period ended Sept. 1, 2007.

In a statement, CEO Mark B. Thomas said HEI reported a 16-month period to save on costs of a separate audit for the original 12-month fiscal year and a subsequent four-month period.

ANKARA, TURKEY -- A massive computer manufacturing plant planned by HP and Foxconn Technology Group is scheduled to commence production by 2010 and will employ about 2,000 workers, the companies said. 

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