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SAN FRANCISCO -- Manufacturers of semiconductor equipment expect 2006 to be the second largest year ever for sales of new semiconductor equipment, according to a mid-year forecast by the SEMI Capital Equipment Consensus announced during SEMICON West.
 
Following an 11.3% decline in 2005, the equipment market will grow 18% to $38.8 billion in 2006. Survey respondents – based on interviews conducted in May and June with major equipment companies – see the market remaining flat in 2007 but resuming double-digit growth to reach $44.1 billion in 2008.
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Singapore – EMS provider Flextronics will hire more than 1,000 workers at its plant in northeast Hungary starting in September. Miklós Temesfalvi, deputy head of the local labor center, announced the hires in an interview with the Budapest Business Journal last week.
 
Temesfalvi said that the number may include a number of rehires. In February, the company announced plans to lay off 950 workers, but only 300 actually left. The plant currently has 1,100 employees.
 
Flextronics explained the earlier layoffs citing the seasonal nature of the products it makes, as well as differences in the size and number of its orders.
ST. PAUL, MN3M has acquired SCC Products Inc. and JJ Converting LLC, both based in Sanford, NC. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
 
SCC Products is a sister company of Static Control Components and provides engineering, manufacturing and sales of flexible static control packaging and workstation products for electronic devices. JJ Converting produces film used to make static control bags.
 
According to a press release, these acquisitions broaden 3M electronic solutions for flexible packaging in key electronic market segments.
 
SCC Products Inc. and JJ Converting LLC employ approximately 150 people worldwide. The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions.
ARLINGTON, VA – Electronic component orders were flat in June, while the index showing the average for the past 12 months continued its steady rise, according to the monthly report compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA).
 
“Energy prices, world tensions, lack of consumer confidence, and the typical summer lull have conspired to create some hesitancy among manufacturers,” said Bob Willis, ECA president. “That hesitancy is reflected in the four-to-five-week index. The good news is that the 12-month average is up about nine points over last year. Corporate spending will be the key over the second half, but I expect the index to remain positive.”
   
ST. LOUISLaBarge has been awarded a $2.1 million contract by Raytheon Missile Systems to provide additional cables called seeker harnesses for the JSOW (Joint Standoff Weapon) system.

The LaBarge-built cables send electronic data signals throughout the GPS-guided weapon. In addition, LaBarge is providing cable assemblies used to perform tests for JSOW functionality.

LaBarge will perform the work at its Berryville, AR, and Joplin, MO, facilities.


SAN FRANCISCOSynova is scheduled to open its first micro-machining center (MMC) in the U.S. in January 2007. The Silicon Valley-based MMC will provide demonstrations, sample testing and application development. It will also offer micro-machining services to the local industry.
 
Previously, the company's application labs were based at its headquarters in Switzerland. 
 
"Establishing our presence here in the U.S. not only demonstrates our commitment to our existing customers, but also shows our focus on speeding the adoption of our technology to an under tapped, yet significant, customer base," said Synova CEO, Bernold Richerzhagen. "The U.S. poses large market opportunities for us in the areas of inkjet printer head MEMS, HDD and organic LED sectors." 
 
Joseph Battaglia will head up the MMC and direct sales of the company's Laser MicroJet technology in the U.S. Most recently, he was field sales and marketing development manager for North America at EFD/Nordson Corp., and has also worked with Speedline Technologies and Cookson Electronics.
 
The new facility will be set up during the next 6 months and fully operational in Q1 2007.
 
The company is exhibiting this week at SEMICON West, booth # T21.
 
NEW DELHI -- Arun Kumar, 57, president and managing director of Flextronics Software Systems died Friday night of a cardiac arrest in San Diego, reports the Times of India.

According to available information, Kumar had gone to a hospital for a regular health check up, where the doctors detected irregular heart beats and recommended immediate surgery.  

 In India, he headed Hughes Software Systems, India, which was later acquired by Flextronics. He was awarded the Hughes Chairman's Honour Award of Excellence in May 2000, and that September he was nominated for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Kumar is survived by his wife Amita, and his son Kunal.  

"While we all remember Arun as a visionary leader and a professional, he was first and foremost an outstanding human being," said Ash Bhardwaj, CEO of Flextronics Software Systems. "Arun had an unyielding belief that people always come first. This philosophy impacted everyone who came into contact with him, both professionally and socially. We have lost an outstanding leader, a true friend and a genuinely decent man. All of us at FSS mourn Arun's passing and extend our deepest sympathies to his family." 
 
Framingham, MA -- According to a recent report from Manufacturing Insights, the APEJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan) manufacturing industry has been recovering and gaining momentum after the initial turnaround observed in 2004. APEJ manufacturing IT spending was valued at $15 billion in 2005 and is expected to reach $22 billion in 2010, a CAGR of 7.7%.
 
The top three segments in terms of IT expenditure are high-tech, automotive and chemical. From a geographic perspective, the Greater China sub-region had the largest manufacturing IT spending, followed by ANZ and Korea.
 
"2005 has been a year plagued with external environmental uncertainties globally and notably in the Asian region, with high-profile events such as the repeated terrorists bombing in Bali; the Asian tsunamis and numerous other natural disasters across the region; the bird flu; rising oil price and ongoing geo-political tensions. Despite the above factors, the Asian region as a whole has continued its recovery and stabilization from the economic crises, which began in the late 1990s," says Tan Mang Teck, research director, Asia/Pacific manufacturing research. "The APEJ region will continue to be a fast growing regional economic block, powered by the emerging economic engines of China and India."

Sunnyvale, CA -- Palm admitted last week that it has stopped shipping its Treo 650 phone to Europe because the devices do not comply with the EU’s RoHS restrictions that fell into place on July 1. This was the only Palm smart phone available in Europe.
 
The company decided nine months ago that it would not update the product to meet the regulations, according to an IDC report published in Macworld.

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STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending will rocket to new heights this year before falling to earth in 2007, Gartner said in a new report. The research firm said equipment sales were on pace to jump 24.8% this year, to $42.3 billion.

However, the firm forecasts a 4.5% drop in 2007 and then a rebound in 2008.

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SIDNEY, NY -- Flooding hit a Amphenol manufacturing site in upstate New York and the company says it will take $15 million to $30 million in expenses in its second quarter as a result.

According to various reports, several feet of water deluged the Sidney plant, a 600,000 sq. ft.  facility which builds aerospace and industrial connectors. The plant employs about 1,500 workers and generates a reported $150 million to $200 million per year.

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SAN JOSE, CAX-line Asset Management, a provider of disposition and auction services, will conduct a second auction on behalf of Connor Winfield for the former assets of AG Communications in Genoa, IL, on July 10-12. The online liquidation includes over 200 pieces of SMT, PCB, and test and measurement equipment.  
 
The company will also auction surplus equipment for Benchmark Electronics in Leicester, UK, on July 18. Highlighted items include 10 high-speed Siemens pick-and-place machines, three Genrad ICT testers and three DEK screen printers.
 
X-line is conducting this second sale in conjunction with the Branford Group and Bache Treharne.
 
For more info. about the auctions, visit xlineassets.com.

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