SMYRNA, GA – The PCB West 2008 two-day exhibition will be held Sept. 16 – 17 at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, CA.

The exhibition features a sold-out show floor of 46 exhibiting companies for the PCB design industry. Exhibitors include Advanced Assembly, Applied Spectra, Dassault Systemes, Elgris Technologies, EMA Design Automation, Intercept Technology, IPC, JetPCB, National Instruments, Sigrity, Taconic, T-Tech, Valor Computerized Systems, X2y Attenuators, and others.

PCB West is for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators and managers and includes a five-day conference of more than 35 technical courses.

For more information, visit www.pcbwest.com.

TAIPEI – Compal Electronics today lowered its annual sales guidance by 9 to 13%, citing slowing US and European demand. The company, the world's second largest contract assembler of laptops, expects to ship 28 million to 29 million units this year, down from a previous forecast of 32 million. The company also forecast third-quarter shipments would grow 15% sequentially, down from earlier guidance of 20%.

ESPOO, FINLAND – Elcoteq SE has closed on a deal to purchase Philips' flat panel TV assembly operations in Juarez, Mexico. Under terms of the deal, Elcoteq will pay $32 million in cash for certain fixed assets and inventories.  The 740 local Philips personnel will become employees of Elcoteq.

WASHINGTON – While enactment of the RoHS Directive made waves, what’s been less visible is enforcement. This week, Fern Abrams, IPC’s director of government relations and environmental policy, discussed the association’s role with regard to RoHS and other looming “green” issues. 

VANCOUVER – Creation Technologies today acquired Circuit Service Inc. and its Chinese subsidiary, Changzhou CSI Ltd. (CCSI) of Changzhou, China. 

STAMFORD, CT – Asia-Pacific semiconductor revenue will outperform global revenue growth of 4.6% in 2008, reaching nearly $160 billion, up 6.4% year-over-year, said Gartner Inc.

Gartner forecasts Asia-Pacific semiconductor revenue will reach more than $203 billion by 2012.

“Worldwide semiconductor revenue is set for single-digit growth over the next five years; however, selected devices in specific electronic equipment types will post much higher growth,” John Barber, research director at Gartner, said in a statement.

China’s electronics sector will continue to lead growth in the region and the global semiconductor arena, said the research firm. However, China’s electronics manufacturing industry slowed in 2006 and is forecasted to record slower growth until 2012.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Driven by government mandates, global shipments of automotive MEMS sensors are expected to nearly double from 2006 to 2012, according to iSuppli Corp.

iSuppli forecasts worldwide automotive MEMS sensor shipments will grow to 935.7 million units in 2012, rising at a CAGR of 12% from 2006.

Global auto MEMS sensor revenue will increase to $2.1 billion in 2012, increasing at a CAGR of 8%.

“Driving the rapid growth of the automotive MEMS sensor market in the United States and Europe is a set of chassis safety-related mandates that makes compulsory the implementation of electronic stability control systems and tire-pressure monitors,” said Richard Dixon, senior analyst for MEMS at iSuppli.

Shipments of MEMS pressure sensors for tire pressure monitoring systems are expected to reach 179 million units in 2012, up from 43.1 million in 2006. Shipments of MEMS inertial and pressure sensors used in ESC systems will increase to 158 million units in 2012, rising at a CAGR of 17%.

“These applications will allow the automotive MEMS sensor market to outgrow the automotive and car electronics segments over the next few years,” Dixon said.

A substantial market driver will emerge in 2009 when Europe’s stringent emission–control regulations go into effect, said the firm. This will boost demand for powertrain pressure sensors. Other healthy MEMS markets include high-g accelerometers for airbags.

“Mandates are reshaping the supply chain,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS at iSuppli. “In the case of ESC systems, transitioning rapidly from an expensive option to a standard function in just a few years will create a space for newcomers and threaten established second-tier suppliers.”

Bouchaud added the market transparency brought by government mandates may herald greater commoditization and price erosion in MEMS sensor products, as all suppliers provide products that conform to government specifications, and which accommodate a range spanning the most expensive to the cheapest available vehicle.

This will reshape the competitive landscape for MEMS sensors because of increased competition, Bouchaud added.

SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group, parent company of Circuits Assembly and Printed Circuit Design & Fab, announced The Future of ECAD-MCAD Collaboration Webinar would be broadcast Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. EDT.

Presented by Mentor Graphics, the free event will explore business drivers and their impact on electro-mechanical design, as seen by the product lifecycle development experts at CIMdata. It also will introduce the industry’s most advanced solution for ECAD/MCAD collaboration, jointly developed by PTC and Mentor Graphics.

Attendees will learn how to link disconnected ECAD-MCAD domains, track incremental updates instead of reviewing large databases with unknown changes, eliminate design re-spins and missed schedules, and how to reduce product development costs while optimizing performance. 

The Webinar will be presented by Larry Kenyon, product marketing manager for Mentor Graphics; Pawel Chadzynski, vice president of product management for PTC; and Ken Amann, director of research for CIMdata.

To register, visit www.pcbshows.com/webinars.