Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

LOUISVILLE, KY — Sypris Solutions today reported a net loss of $2.3 million on revenue of $116.2 million for its second quarter ended July 1, in line with company expectations. The loss includes $700,000 in legal and other expenses related to the bankruptcy of a large customer.

SHENZHEN – DEK says its latest manufacturing facility, opening in Shenzhen this month, is expected to account for half its worldwide production by the end of this year.

The facility, part of DEK’s ongoing capacity expansion program designed to support customers in Asia, will at first focus on producing entry-level and medium-range printer platforms.

“China is an extremely important Asian market for DEK, which is why we believe that the opening of the new Shenzhen manufacturing facility is such a positive step,” said CEO John Hartner in a statement.

The company will hold an opening ceremony Aug. 27, with local government officials, international media, and Asian customers and suppliers invited.

Those who would like to attend the Shenzhen opening may contact Louise Fang at lfang@dek.com.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Thermo Fisher Scientific’s K-Alpha has been named by R&D Magazine as one of the top 100 most technologically significant products introduced in the past year.

The K-Alpha uses x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to enable quantitative monitoring of the surface chemical composition, providing chemical characterization of the top few nanometers of inorganic, organic, biological, metallurgical, semiconducting and magnetic solids.

Thermo Fisher Scientific product manager, surface analysis, Richard G. White, said, "We are very proud to be recognized by the R&D 100 award panel for the K-Alpha's novel technical features. The award confirms Thermo Fisher's status as a leader in surface characterization, and is testament to the dedication and technological expertise of our entire team in delivering powerful analytical solutions that make a real difference to our customers in many surface analysis applications."

The R&D 100 Awards were established in 1963 to identify the 100 most technologically significant new products in a given year. Over the years, the R&D 100 Awards have recognized winning products with such household names as the fax machine (1975), the printer (1986), the Kodak Photo CD (1991), the Taxol anticancer drug (1993) and the HDTV (1998).

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Following three years of strong growth, the global electronic equipment market’s expansion will decelerate slightly in 2007, iSuppli Corp. predicts.

HONG KONG – Top 30 EMS provider Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) Ltd. reported June quarter sales of HK816,843, up 16.1% from a year ago. For its fiscal first quarter, the company’s gross profit was HK105,826, up 3.1%, while earnings were HK15,410, down 27%.

Profits were lower due to higher cost of sales resulting from higher raw material prices, wages, energy cost and depreciation charges, the company said.

“We are seeing a steady stream of new projects. Most of our customers have indicated order growth in the second half of 2007,” SMT said. “As customers are increasingly requiring EMS manufacturers to provide more design services, we are establishing product design and development capability to meet this demand.”

Revenue growth was mainly from higher demand for turnkey projects in industrial control and consumer sectors. Gross and net profit margins decreased on a sequential basis from 14.6% to 13% and from 3% to 1.9%, respectively.

For the quarter, cash from operations was HK63,639. Capital investment was HK$70 million, HK$43 million for production equipment. Five new SMT lines were installed in the quarter, and nine more are planned this fiscal year, for a total to 152.

In the June quarter, industrial controls, consumer products and office appliances made up 38%, 10% and 6%, respectively, of revenue, while computer peripheral and telecommunication products were 21% and 3%, respectively, and automotive electronics was 22%.

By region, Japan made up 54% of total revenue, Korea 16%, European and U.S. 20% and other Asian 10%.

At quarter’s end, SMT had HK183,840 in reserves, down 61% year-on-year.
Inventories were 4.8% lower, at HK 298,188.

In June, the firm opened a factory in Changchun, and in July began production on a second factory at TangXia, Dongguan. SMT has also completed the construction on a plant in Suzhou and has begun internal renovation works. Construction of a factory in Tianjin is on schedule, with operations planned to begin in mid 2008.

VANCOUVER – EMS provider Creation Technologies has acquired Lexington, KY-based SMC Inc. No financial details were disclosed. However, Creation had received $65 million in equity funding in June from Burch Hill Equity Partners.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Jabil Circuit Inc. today sold the switching power supply business of its Celetronix Power India Private Ltd. subsidiary to Red Rocket Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal includes Celetronix's capital stock, product design and manufacturing operations in Mumbai, India, products and IP. The unit's 105 employees and 550 contract personnel were also included.

Red Rocket also bought the EOS brand of power supply products and related technology.

ELKHART, IN -- CTS Corp. today announced second-quarter revenues of $169.6 million and net earnings of $5.9 million. The company, which also makes components, was boosted by strength for its EMS services.

WASHINGTON -- The Electronic Industries Alliance's board of directors has approved a plan that would split the assets of the trade goup coalition across five distinct organizations.

Under the plan, EIA will distribute its assets equally among its four current member associations -- The Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA); the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA); the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC); and the Telecommunications Industry Association -- and the Consumer Electronics Association, a former member of EIA.

SUNNYVALE, CA – A new “reverse order” interconnection method describes a way to produce a finished electronics assembly with neither solder nor a circuit board.

The method, tentatively called the “Occam Process,” is a way to build an electronics assembly using mature core processing technologies in a novel sequence. What’s more, says the inventor, the end-product is expected to be more reliable than previous solder-free strategies (e.g., using conductive adhesive as a solder substitute) or traditionally manufactured soldered assemblies.

YANTAI, CHINA – Henkel is continuing to expand in the solder sphere market, recently opening its second major production hub. The 4,100 sq. meter plant will manufacture solder spheres and Type 1 through Type 7 solder powders for semiconductor packaging and printed circuit board assembly.

MACAO -- Top 15 EMS provider Nam Tai Electronics today reported second-quarter net income rose 110% to $38.8 million despite a 7.4% drop in sales.

For the period ended June 30, the company reported revenues of $197.8 million, down from $213.7 million a year ago. Gross margins were up nearly two points to 11.5%.