SUNNYVALE, CA – PCB maker Sierra Proto Express has acquired PC Boards Inc., a board fabricator based in Chanute, KS. In a press release, Sierra said PC Boards would be renamed Sierra Midwest and through future acquisitions expects to double the plant’s size within a couple of years. “PC Boards has everything we need to actualize our future growth plans,” said Sierra president Ken Bahl. “They represent a perfect complement to what we do in Sunnyvale. Combined with PC Boards’ offshore alliances, this will allow us to provide our customers with a complete PCB solution.” Sierra expects sales to top $40 million in 2007.

SAN JOSE – Fourth quarter electronic design automation revenue was $1.5 billion, up 19% year-over-year. For the year, revenue totaled a record $5.3 billion, up 15% from 2005. During the quarter, PCB and MCM layout revenue rose 41% to $123 million. EDA and SIP product and maintenance revenue (excluding services) rose 20% year-over-year to a record $1.4 billion. Computer-aided engineering, the largest tool category, was up 17% to $634 million. CAE revenue was up 14% to $2.2 billion, and SIP revenue reached $274 million, up 31%. Services revenue was up 12% to $77 million. Reporting companies employed 25,390 professionals in the quarter, 10% more than 2005. For 2006, SIP revenue increased 21% to $989 million. PCB and MCM Layout revenue totaled $391 million, up 14%. Services revenue totaled $308 million, up 9%. North America, with 53% global share, purchased $788 million of EDA and SIP products and services in the fourth quarter, a 39% increase year-over-year. Western European sales rose 6% to $287 million, while Japan’s revenue dropped 10% to $230 million. Rest-of-world growth increased 19% to $188 million. For 2006, North American revenue was $2.6 billion, up 22% over 2005. Western Europe rose 12% to $977 million, Japan 3% to $1.1 billion and ROW 19% to $657 million.

WASHINGTON, DC – To help curb piracy, the U.S. has filed two World Trade Organization cases against China: one regarding deficiencies in China's legal body to protect and enforce copyrights and trademarks on various products, and the second on the country's distribution barriers to trade in books, music, videos and movies. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. consultation request on IPR protection and enforcement seeks to eliminate structural barriers that grant pirates and counterfeiters in China safe harbor to avoid criminal liability. It also aims to reduce the volume of counterfeit goods crossing the border into China and to provide copyright owners more tools to prevent unauthorized copies in the country. According to a Xinhua report, China has recently ordered that anyone caught with 500 pirated discs will face criminal penalties, compared to the previous penalty for owning 1,000 pirated discs. In addition, fines for piracy were raised to up to 15 times a pirate's illegal gains, the report said. Fines for smaller offenders were also increased. However, the USTR statement held that wholesalers and distributors would continue to be able to operate below high thresholds without fear of criminal liability.

SANTA BARBARA, CA – Design Solutions Inc. has opened a design center in Munich. The site provides electronics engineering, design, simulation, and prototype manufacturing services. The center also includes a high-level FPGA and ASIC development group. Software manager Stefan Dragomir was named to manage the branch. DSI currently has seven locations in the U.S. and two in Europe.

CRANSTON, RI – Seven things defense contractors must know before selecting an EMS partner for outsourcing military and government projects is the theme of a free new white paper. The paper, “Selecting an Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Partner for Military/Government Applications: 7 Things You Must Know,” by Ed Evangelista of Federal Electronics, provides how-to advice on such issues as determining the appropriate outsourcing strategy; matching business profiles and capabilities; addressing product mix; enterprise resource planning; new product introductions, and cost strategies and issues. It is available at www.federalelec.com/militarypaper.  

CLINTON, NY – Indium Corp. promoted Ross Berntson to vice president of its solder products business unit, responsible for sales and technical services for printed circuit board assembly, semiconductor packaging, engineered solders and thermal interface materials. Berntson joined Indium in 1996 as a product specialist and was previously director of the solder products business unit. He is active in several industry consortia including the IPC Solder Products Value Council. Bernston has a bachelor’s in chemistry and master’s in teaching and business administration from Cornell University.