Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Active RFID is said to be growing, with several applications already more than $100 million, and is responsible for more than 20% of all spent on RFID. Leading the way: The U.S. military.

New IDTechEx research indicates that the value of sales of active systems will rocket from $550 million in 2006 to $6.78 billion in 2016.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA – Kulicke & Soffa will acquire Alphasem, supplier of die bonder equipment, from Dover Technologies for $30 million, subject to a working capital adjustment. The acquisition is expected to close around Nov. 3, K&S said today.

In a statement, vice president Christian Rheault, called the acquisition “a natural extension of K&S’s core equipment business into die bonding equipment. The die bonding process precedes the wire bonding step in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and normally utilizes adjacent floor space and a common engineering team. This supplier consolidation will enhance our ability to provide solutions to our customers across a greater span of the semiconductor assembly process.”

The die bonder market was $520 million in 2005, according to VLSI Research. Dover put Alphasem and several other business units on the block in July.

HIALEAH, FL -- Electronics contract manufacturer Simclar Inc. expects June quarter net income of $790,000 on sales of $30.5 million, compared to net income of $510,000 and sales of $21.8 million for the March quarter.

The company will restate its 2005 and March quarter 2006 financials due to accounting errors in the company's Mexico subsidiary during 2005.

ARMONK, NY -- IBM Corp. last week issued layoff notices to about 400 employees of its hardware development division. The company downsized staff in Austin, TX; Burlington, VT; San Jose; Raleigh, NC; and Rochester, MN.

Employees have 30 days to secure another job within the company, according to a spokesman.

TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS -- The CEO and president of EMS provider Bonso Electronics International retired, effective Oct. 1.

Chairman Anthony So has taken over as president and CEO from George O'Leary, who was with Bonso for 15 years.

THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN – Digi-Key has signed an agreement to globally distribute the power transducers and other components from CR Magnetics.

CR Magnetics manufactures current, voltage, power and frequency transducers, relays, current transformers, hall effect sensors and other devices.

Separately, Digi-Key announced its distribution agreement with Winbond would be extended to include Europe.

Winbond supplies various semiconductors.

Digi-Key distributes electronic components and currently ships product to more than 140 countries.

MILPITAS, CA -- Electronics manufacturing services provider Solectron Corp. will cut 1,400 jobs -- about 2.5% of its workforce -- and close or consolidate roughly 11% of its square footage in Western Europe. The firm will take restructuring charges of $50 million to $60 million for the job cuts, which would be spread over the next 12 months.

MINNEAPOLIS – The SMTA is seeking papers for the 4th annual Medical Electronics Symposium, to be held May 1 to 3.

The mini-conference will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Bloomington, MN.

The symposium will focus on medical electronics and device applications. The technical committee is soliciting abstracts and papers from the medical community on current electronics practices, technology and applications. Abstracts and presentations must be noncommercial and emphasize medical technology, not branded products.

Abstracts are due to Melissa Serres, conference coordinator, at melissa@smta.org by Dec. 1. Papers are due March 30, 2007.

MONTREAL - ReMaTek and ATE Fixturing & Design, both test fixture suppliers, have agreed to join forces, the companies said today. The merged company will provide a common customer base with an enlarged suite of products and services.

The entity will leverage ATE’s 3D design capabilities as a basis for future developments in test fixture technology.

The focus will be on increasing business development in North America and Asia. The new company will be headed by Marco Deblois, René Mélançon, Dan Gallant and Michael Lister.

SEHO Systems GmbH has officially changed its name from SEHO Seitz & Hohnerlein GmbH, effective this month.

The company, which makes soldering equipment, has been under the ownership of Uwe Adler and Markus Walters since May 2006.

“This step should lead to a future strengthening of the SEHO brand on a worldwide scale. The focus on innovation at SEHO Systems GmbH, as well as the high product quality will naturally continue to be of key importance to the company,” the company said.

A complete update to the company's Web site, seho.de, is scheduled for later this month.

SAN JOSE -- Nineteen members of the SEMI trade group have signed their names to the list urging Congress to extend the R&D tax credit, which expired on Dec. 31, 2005.

In a letter sent to Congressional leadership, SEMI urged Congress to pass the current proposal, which would extend the R&D tax credit through 2007 and apply it retroactively.

PALO ALTO, CA -- Former Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn is scheduled to appear in a California court room today afternoon to face felony charges of identity theft and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The California Attorney General's office charged five persons, including Dunn and former H-P senior counsel Kevin Hunsaker, with having initiated or employed illegal searches of H-P employees or directors.