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News

BANGKOK – EMS provider Fabrinet has completed construction of a 300,000 sq. ft. addition to its Pinehurst optical manufacturing complex near Bangkok, and has commenced operations there.

PARIS – ASTEEL will acquire Flash Electronics in an all-stock deal, forming an EMS company with some $750 million in annual sales, the companies announced today.

SANTA ANA, CA – Christopher Associates announced delivery of its 100th Koh Young solder paste inspection system in North America.

The equipment was sent to a supplier of embedded computing systems in Huntsville, AL.

Christopher began selling the Koh Young product line in the U.S. in May 2005.

There are now more than 450 Koh Young systems installed worldwide.

YAVNE, ISRAEL – Digitaltest will integrate its design-to-test software with Valor Computerized Systems’ process engineering software, the companies said today.

In a press release, the companies said Digitaltest’s C-LINK tool will be built into Valor’s vPlan software.

The integration is said to deliver a manufacturing process definition to the production floor through a lean dataflow, and automatically generate machine-specific libraries on demand.

ATLANTA – The 12th annual Atlanta SMTA Expo returns to the Gwinnett Civic Center in Duluth, GA, on April 17.

This free, one-day event will feature electronics assembly suppliers displaying products and services, as well free technical presentations.

The event includes networking opportunities such as free lunch on the show floor for pre-registrants.

For more information, visit http://www.smta.org/education/vendor_days/vendor_days.cfm.

WESTLAKE, OH – Nordson Corp., parent company to Asymtek, EFD, Dage and YesTech, reported record fourth quarter sales of $290.8 million, a 20.4% increase year-over-year.

PAOLI, PA – Ametek Inc. has acquired privately held California Instruments Corp. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

California Instruments provides programmable alternating current power sources used for testing. The company has annual sales of approximately $22 million.

Ametek manufactures electronic instruments and electromechanical devices globally, with annual sales of $2 billion.

OAK BROOK, IL – A coterie of leading semiconductor experts today said looming market concerns over higher oil prices, the U.S. mortgage crisis and fears of a possible recession make the outlook for consumer spending a cautious one. The market is slipping slowly, the panel said, but there is hesitant optimism for overall growth.

TIANJIN, CHINA – Bohai Electronics Week 2008, the northern China electronics equipment trade show, will be larger than previous years, with more exhibition space, exhibitors – and, show organizers hope, visitors.

Show producer Reed Exhibitions says BEW 2008 will feature 30 % more floor space to accommodate the new segments for components, SMT, soldering, ESD and test. The 2008 show takes place Nov. 10-12.

Twenty-nine percent of China’s electronics production comes from the Bohai area.

The 2007 show drew 10% more exhibitor compared to 2006, hailing from nine countries and regions: the US, the UK, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, China and Germany, and attracted 3782 visitors, also up 10%, says Reed.

For more information, visit www.bohaielectronics.com.

SHANGHAI – Siemens’ Siplace Application Center opened here this month, offering local customers live equipment testing in a true production environment.

The new application center is equipped with a complete SMT line consisting of Siplace X-Series and D-Series machines, a DEK printer, a Rehm reflow oven and ASYS board handling.

The center focuses on such technologies such as 01005 placement, CSP stacking, IC and BGA placement. Siplace customers will have access to expert know-how regarding all NPI processes and Siplace software solutions at the new Application Center.

Siemens also has application centers in Munich, Shanghai, Singapore and Norcross, GA.

WYLIE, TX – Global Innovation Corp., an EMS and PWB supplier, reported net sales fell 10% to $8.4 million as the company’s largest customer cut orders by $1.5 million. For the period ended Oct. 31, net income was $101,578, up 18% year-over-year.

For the quarter, gross profit was $1.8 million, up 2.5%, on a two-point uptick in gross margins to 21%. Cash flow from operations was $474,750, up from $193,369 the prior year.

At quarter’s end, liabilities exceeded assets. The company indicated plans to negotiate an extension for $4.2 million in convertible promissory notes owed to chief executive Brad Jacoby at 8% interest and due next September.

The company also has loans with Amegy Bank of Texas including two $2 million five-year term loans and a $5.5 million real estate loan.

Global Innovation has been known by several names through its history, including ESPO’s Inc. and Integrated Performance Systems. In 2004, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company performed a reverse merger with Best Circuit Boards, also known as Lone Star Circuits.