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SAN JOSE, CA – Worldwide semiconductor sales plunged 28.6% year-over-year in January as consumer confidence continued to erode, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today. Sales fell 11.9% from December, the trade group said.

MULINO, OR – PCB maker Sunstone Circuits and National Instruments are jointly offering an integrated PCB prototype and quickturn design environment.

Once a prototype design is completed using the NI's Multisim or Ultiboard design tools, customers can order prototype PCBs through the Sunstone ECOsystem Design Environment. They will also have access to Sunstone’s live customer support. Engineers can access resources, technical documents and manufacturing information, improving productivity during the design phase.

“NI has collaborated with Sunstone because we share the mission of simplifying the PCB design experience, and we are proud to have Sunstone as part of our PCB design and prototyping network,” said Vincent Accardi, general manager of NI’s Electronics Workbench group, in a press release.

SINGAPORE -- Flextronics laid off more than 100 workers here last week in response to lower demand.

There appears some confusion over the number of workers let go. According to local reports, a company spokesperson said the layoffs affected less than half the factory's workers. But Channel NewsAsia said affected employees claimed upt o 70% of the plant's 280 workers were let go.

ST. LOUIS – LaBarge Inc. received a $1.7 million contract from Northrop Grumman Corp. to continue to produce electronics assemblies for the AN/ALQ-135 radar jammer system.

LaBarge has worked on the program since 2005. The firm expects to receive follow-on orders.

Production on this latest contract is expected to begin this month and continue through December at LaBarge's Tulsa, OK facility.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Henkel’s 2008 adhesive technologies sales rose 17.3% to 6.7 billion euros, boosted by the company’s acquisition of the National Starch businesses. The sector grew 1.3% organically.

MARLBOROUGH, MA – In January, EKRA shipped its 700th screen printer into the Americas, the company says.

EKRA America also announced a successful 2008, which matched 2007, its best year to date.

Headquartered in Marlborough, MA, EKRA America provides screen printing solutions for the SMT, hybrid and semiconductor packaging markets in the Americas.

HAMELN, GERMANY -- Orpro Vision today announced an agreement to acquire Orbotech’s assembly inspection business in a deal expected to close in April.

TORONTO -- Celestica became the latest EMS firm to announce a debt reduction plan, announcing last night plans to purchase up to $150 million worth of its 7.875% senior subordinated notes due in 2011. Under the modified Dutch tender offer, Celestica will purchase notes in a range $960 to $1,010 per every $1,000 in principal, with the offer expiring in a month.

Like many of its competitors, Celestica has large amounts of cash on hand and is using some to lower its debt and perhaps boost its earnings. At the end of December, the company had $1.2 billion in cash on its balance sheet, and was in a net cash position of $468 million.

"We believe Celestica is looking for a way to return value to shareholders through repurchasing its near-term debt," Deustche Bank analyst Sherri Scribner wrote in a research note. She estimates Celestica's buyback will reduce debt levels and lower its interest expense by roughly $10.5 million a year.

SACRAMENTO, CA -- The state of California sent a stern message to semiconductor chip manufacturers yesterday by enacting mandatory rules controlling greenhouse gases.

SMYRNA, GA -- More than 2,000 PCB designers, fabricators and assemblers registered for Virtual PCB (www.virtual-pcb.com), the industry's only virtual trade show and conference, which took place this week.

The live event was held Feb. 24-25, and the show will remain open in an archive mode for two months.

Exhibitors include several leading suppliers of placement, soldering and test equipment, materials, software, and bare boards. The technical conference includes Webinars on design, simulation, soldering, lead-free assembly, and environmental issues from well-known industry experts.

New this year were technical chats featuring experts on subjects ranging from CAD and MCAD software to laminates, and from assembly process defect solutions to the potential of alternative energy platforms for SMT manufacturers.

“We found the technical conference to be a huge draw, with some Webinars attracting several hundred attendees, which simple logistics would prevent at the industry’s ‘live’ events,” said Mike Buetow, editor in chief of Circuits Assembly, which cosponsored Virtual PCB.

A fully interactive, Web-based event, Virtual PCB incorporates all the critical features of a live event while allowing PCB design, fabrication and assembly equipment and materials buyers and sellers to interact online.

For more information about Virtual PCB, visit www.virtual-pcb.com or contact Alyson Skarbek, show manager, at 678-589-8865 or askarbek@upmediagroup.com.

Virtual PCB is produced by UP Media Group, the industry’s leading publisher of technical magazines.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – January PWB shipments fell 17% year-over-year, and bookings decreased 29.3%. The combined industry book-to-bill fell to 0.89, says IPC.

For the month, rigid shipments dropped 18.9%, and bookings dipped 30.7% compared to the same month last year. The book-to-bill slipped further to 0.88.

Flex shipments rose 16.6%, while bookings slid 1.8% year-over-year. The book-to-bill declined to 0.98.

“Sales and orders of rigid PCBs declined sharply in January compared to January 2008, but flexible circuit sales were surprisingly strong,” said IPC. “The industry has not hit the bottom yet, but we will continue to watch the leading indicators, such as our book-to-bill ratio, for signs of an upturn.”

Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90% of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC. In January, 90% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced.

For the month, flex circuit manufacturers indicated bare circuits accounted for about 71% of their shipment value.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Intel Corp. chief executive Paul Otellini offered a few words of encouragement to a battered market, saying the world's largest chipmaker is seeing "a pattern of purchases emerge again that's more predictable."