MUNICH - The market for SMT placement equipment is booming again, propelled by the electronics production market, Siemens' component placement business unit said today.

Cumulative revenues of the leading machine manufacturers have increased over 200% from October 2009 to September 2010, the OEM said. Worldwide equipment revenues surpassed pre-crisis levels in the third quarter. The Siemens unit, known as Siplace, is scheduled to be acquired by ASM Pacific Technology in early 2011.

Siplace also said its bookings set a record in October.

"This shows that the industry has overcome the global economic crisis also in terms of revenues, as investments in SMT equipment have returned to pre-crisis levels," Siplace said in a press release. "The trailblazer continues to be China, although its growth rates are slightly lower than in previous quarters. Nevertheless, Chinese companies have increased their share of worldwide electronics production to over 50%."

More than 80% of the global electronics manufacturing capacity is now located in Asia, Siplace said.

Internal analysis also shows the recovery is firming in Europe and America. Since the end of 2009, both regions have enjoyed significant quarterly growth, and their sales of SMT equipment in the third quarter were only slightly below pre-crisis levels.

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