DUNFERMILINE, SCOTLAND -- Simclar Group's UK operations went into administration yesterday as creditors moved to protect their loans to the contract electronics manufacturer.

The business unit which has sites in China, the US, Mexico and the UK, where it employs 217 workers, reportedly intends to maintain its operations in China and the US. This could mark the end of the EMS firm's operations in the UK, however.

According to BBC, the Scotland site ran out of funding after failing to meet various regulatory requirements for a series of new products, which slowed their introduction on the market.

Simclar has had a topsy-turvy history. The company was founded in 1976, although the holding company was not formed until 2001. In the past decade, it made a series of acquisitions, including the printed circuit backplane division of Northrop-Grumman, (formerly Litton Industries), which had plants in Springfield, MO; Suzhou; and Glenrothes, Scotland. It also has facilities in Florida, Texas, Ohio, and China. Its contract assembly arm, formerly known as Techdyne, changed its name to Simclar Inc. in 2003. In 2007, it shuttered two sites in Ayrshire, UK, and laid off more than 400 workers. Simclar was traded on Nasdaq until 2008. It voluntarily deregistered in December 2008.

The EMS group had revenue of about $100 million last year, according to CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY sources.

Administration is a move by banks that have lent money on a secured basis to the borrowing company.

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