Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

CHICAGO - On the heels of the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, Newark InOne has issued a warning about the need for a comparable US law. The complete text can be viewed at www.newarkinone.com/fedlaw.

ST. LOUIS – Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems awarded LaBarge Inc. with a contract worth some $5.5 million for continued production of backplane assemblies for the F-22 Raptor fighter plane.

LaBarge, which is currently building assemblies for Raytheon, expects production on the extended contract to begin in January 2007.

The F-22 was developed for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin.

EL SEGUNDO, CA - The large-sized TFT-LCD panel market is in shape for strong growth in the second half of 2006, according to iSuppli Corp. The research firm believes large-sized TFT-LCD panel unit shipments growth in the third quarter will rise 9% sequentially, while fourth-quarter unit shipments will grow 10.9%.

Strong demand has been reported for wide-format monitor panels, especially for the 19-, 20- and 22² sizes. The notebook market is already recovering and is transitioning to larger sizes and wider format.

While future quarters hold good news for panel suppliers, they may bring worry for panel buyers, iSuppli said. Some buyers are reportedly hedging by double-booking LCD orders, destabilizing the market and contributing to faster price increases.

The tight supply has pushed prices sharply higher on mainstream desktop PC monitor panels. iSuppli expects prices to increase for most desktop monitor and notebook panels throughout the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Synova, a maker of water jet-guided lasers, will open its second micromachining center in the U.S., the company said today. The Boston site is aimed at the medical, electronics and tooling markets and will open in January.

The company is also opening a site in San Jose.

"Further expansion in the U.S. reinforces our strategy to better support all of our served markets worldwide," said Synova chief executive Bernold Richerzhagen. "Proximity to our customers is our top priority."

To date, Synova has more than 50 full-production machines at customer sites worldwide, of which 12 are operating in the U.S.

AUSTIN, TX -- Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the semiconductor spinoff of Motorola, will be acquired by a group of private equity firms in a deal worth some $17.6 billion.

The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Permira Funds and Texas Pacific Group -- will purchase all outstanding Class A and B shares of Freescale for $40 per share, thereby taking the company private.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The OEM Critical Components committee of the IPC will write a standard on the manufacturing process and quality control of lithium-ion battery cells.The committee hopes to release the standard by the second quarter of 2007.

The goal of the committee is to work with all stakeholders to achieve an order of magnitude improvement in lithium-ion battery quality.

The committee met last week in San Jose. Attendees included representatives from Dell, Polycom, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard. John Grosso, director, supplier engineering and quality, sub-tier and critical commodities, Dell, is chairing the effort.

It plans to meet again within a month.

“It is a very good initiative and we support it. It is gratifying to see how companies can put their competitive instincts aside to benefit the industry and the public in the interests of safety,” said Susan Davies, vice president of corporate quality of Polycom.

"Our message is that public safety comes first," said Tony Corkell, quality and standards executive, Lenovo. "Last week's efforts are an important first step towards examining the issues surrounding battery cell manufacturing, and we look forward to working with the leaders of our industry through IPC."

ST. LOUIS -- LaBarge Inc. has landed an additional $1.3 million contract from Boeing Co. to continue supplying wire harness assemblies for training jets used by the Air Force.

The wire harness assemblies are part of the Air Force's avionics upgrade program, which is aimed at extending the life of advanced supersonic trainers until 2020.

Production will take place at LaBarge's Berryville, AK, facility starting in September and continue through March 2007.

KENOSHA, WI — Promation Inc., a maker of PCB handling and in-line automated equipment, has moved into two new facilities in Forth Worth, TX.

Promation said continued growth in Trotter Controls, the automation segment of its business, required the additional capacity.

The Trotter Controls division produces automated soldering systems and robotic assembly solutions for the North American customers.

SAN JOSE -- Troubles continued at EMS firm Sanmina-SCI which this week concluded that its financial statements for the fiscal periods from September 2002 through April 2006 will be restated. The firm will take material charges for problems stemming from past stock option grants.

The company had previously disclosed a special special committee of its board to review matters related to stock option policies and practices dating to Jan. 1, 1997.

IRVING, TX – EMS firm Elcoteq will take over supply-chain management for Andrew Corp.'s filter business in Europe, a deal worth an estimated $100 million in net sales next year, Elcoteq said. Elcoteq will also pay $12 million for Andrew's manufacturing unit in Arad, Romania.

OTTAWA, IL – B&B Electronics, a provider of automation and communications products, has acquired Advanced Embedded Systems, a designer and developer of wireless solutions for the industrial market. Other terms were not disclosed.

AES will become part of B&B's engineering and technical group in Ottawa, IL. The acquisition provides B&B with in-house wireless design expertise, enhancing the company's research and development capabilities.

AES was founded in 2000 and is based in Phoenix.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Inventory at EMS providers rose 18.6% during the second quarter across a sample of publicly traded EMS companies, according to research firm iSuppli.

Circuits Assembly’s own research of 18 North American EMS firms found just two companies saw year-over-year revenues climb faster than inventories during their most recently reported quarter: SigmaTron (52.35% and 45.56%, respectively) and Winland Electronics (49.5% and 48.7%, respectively). Only one company, Suntron, actually saw stock levels drop, but revenues there fell 4%.