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SAN JOSE -- A few years back, Flectronics invested heavily into camera modules, anticipating that their eventual use in cellphones would give the EMS provider a boost in landing 3G handset contracts.

Today none other than Eastman Kodak said it will divest its entire digital camera manufacturing requirements to Flextronics, including assembly, production, and testing. About 550 Kodak personnel are expected to be transferred to Flextronics facilities. Closing is expected in Kodak's third quarter, pending regulatory approvals. The companies did not specify the value of the deal. However, Deutsche Bank estimated that the deal would grow from

VANCOUVER -- Nam Tai's net sales rose 15.3% in the second quarter to $214 million, in line with company guidance. Operating income rose 39.4% to $20 million, and net income more than tripled to $18.5 million.

In the quarter SG&A and R&D expenses as a percentage of sales was reduced to 4.7% from 5.1% last year. The company generated $17 million of net cash from operating activities and had capital expenditures of $3.4 million.

Nam Tai said growth momentum will be sustained in the third quarter and will further accelerate in the fourth quarter of 2006. The firm reiterated its long-term target of 25% sales growth.

The company expects to begin trial production of flex circuits by the end of the third quarter and is also looking for other opportunities to support the growth of its key component subassemblies business.

A factory expansion is planned for Shenzhen, and Nam Tai plans to construct a factory complex in Wuxi, pending local government environmental approvals.

FRANKLIN, MA – Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EI) has chosen the MPM Accela printer, made by Speedline Technologies, for its SMT and semiconductor back-end assembly processes. The companies are jointly conducting beta testing on several new, advanced hardware and software options for the printer.

These advances will leverage Speedline’s patented texture-based inspection algorithms to develop exponentially higher resolution 2-D inspection capabilities. This will enable the ultra-fine feature 2-D capabilities required by emerging higher-density assemblies that employ smaller or finer pitch components.

In addition to this joint inspection development, EI plans to use the Accela printers to process substrates in flat carriers, as well as perform fine feature assembly inspection in their Endicott, NY, facility.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Tight supplies, rising prices and increasing demand for DDR SDRAM caused global DRAM revenue to exceed expectations in the second quarter — and boosted the market share of the Taiwanese suppliers that specialize in the part, according to a preliminary estimate from iSuppli Corp.

Worldwide DRAM revenue rose to $7.5 billion in the second quarter, up 14.3% from $6.6 billion in the first quarter. iSuppli had expected revenue growth of only 4.4%. Many suppliers are phasing out production of DDR in favor of the new mainstream DRAM: DDR2. This constrained supplies of DDR, contributing to an increase in prices. In contrast, prices for DDR2 declined during the quarter as availability increased. The overall impact was a rise in global DRAM prices of 4% compared to the first quarter.

Three months ago iSuppli had predicted a 4% decline for the quarter, which would be closer to a normal decrease in DRAM pricing. Confirming iSuppli’s prediction from three months ago, overall DRAM bit production growth worldwide increased by 10% during the quarter compared to 15% during the same quarter last year. This deceleration in bit production growth provided further support for pricing. Other supply-side factors boosting DRAM pricing included tight availability of DDR2 667 and a shortage of 1Gbit density parts.

“Along with rising prices, tighter supplies and lower production, the DRAM market’s strong performance in the second quarter was fueled by better-than-expected demand,” said Nam Hyung Kim, principal analyst for iSuppli. “PC core-logic chipset suppliers in the second quarter aggressively promoted products that supported DDR, boosting demand for the memory just as DRAM suppliers were phasing out production of the part.”

Due to the rise in DDR prices, the smaller Taiwanese suppliers that are the main suppliers of the part outperformed the tier-one suppliers, according to iSuppli’s preliminary ranking. The three major Taiwanese suppliers, Nanya Technology, Powerchip Semiconductor and ProMOS Technologies, all achieved sales growth of more than 20% sequentially in the second quarter.

Stow, OH – The wafer fab industry's monthly capacity is set to reach a new high next year, increasing 17%, according to analysis firm Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA).

Collectively, the 35 new fabs coming online in 2007 will have the capacity to produce up to the equivalent of 2 million 200-mm wafers. The value of these fabs may reach $56 billion over the next three years.

The expected 17% increase brings with it growth opportunities, as well as the risk of overcapacity, especially in the memory arena, SMA warned.

Up to 60% of the added capacity is expected to be allocated for memory, specifically DRAM and non-volatile flash, which has become ubiquitous in consumer electronics.

FlashPartners, the Toshiba-SanDisk joint venture, may eclipse fab capacity leader Samsung in flash memory, with ambitious plans to bring three 300-mm fabs online by 2008.

Chip foundries are also setting a new record in fab construction, with Taiwan-based TSMC, as well as China-based SMIC and Hua Hong Electronics, planning to bring new 300-mm capacity online next year.

The firm projected equipment sales to near an all-time high. Total capital spending by chip companies is set to grow 14% this year to $47.3 billion, and by 10% next year to $59 billion, just shy of the all-time high of $61.5 billion set in 2000.

BANNOCKBURN, IL — According to trade group IPC, the North American rigid PCB book-to-bill ratio for June was at parity at 1.00, while the flexible book-to-bill climbed back to the positive range at 1.01 after a three-month dip below parity.

The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2006 was 1.00. The ratios are based on monthly data collected from PCB producers that participate in IPC’s monthly PCB Statistical Program.

Ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders over the past three months by the value of sales. A ratio over 1.00 suggests expansion.

Rigid PCB shipments are up 12.5% and bookings rose 19.2% year-on-year. Year to date, rigid shipments are up 11.3% and bookings are up 13.9%.

Flex shipments were up 1.7% from June 2005 and up .9% to date. Bookings increased 18.9% YOY, but are down 7.6% YTD. Sequentially, flex shipments and bookings increased 17.4% and 73.8%, respectively.

Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 85% of the current PCB market in North America, according to IPC.

In June, flexible circuit manufacturers surveyed indicated that bare circuits accounted for 65% of their monthly shipment value.

Over 88% of PCB shipments reported were domestically produced.

REDMOND, WA -- Data I/O Corp., a top provider of manual and automated device programming systems, today said its second quarter revenues were up 12% sequentially and 8% from a year ago. The company posted a net loss of $398,000, up from a net loss of $512,000 in the first quarter of 2006 but down from net income of $53,000 last year. The company posted sales of $7.2 million for the quarter.

TORONTO -- Celestica Inc.'s second-quarter net loss was $30.3 million on sales of $2.2 billion, the company said today. Earnings dropped from $12.6 million last year. Revenue, while at the high side of previous guidance, slipped 1%, on strong demand for telecom and server gear.

SAN JOSE -- Thieves have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment from at least 18 Silicon Valley high-tech firms this year and show no signs of slowing down.

The thieves are targeting chips, flash memory cards and electronic devices, say persons familiar with the crimes.

Police have identified a silver minivan with a skull and crossbones in the back license plate area as a common vehicle in many of the robberies. In many instances, a woman distracts delivery workers by asking for directions.

On Wednesday, a delivery truck at Viva Computers in Fremont was robbed of CPUs and hard drives valued at $13,000. Other firms recently targeted have been Bell Microproducts in San Jose, which has been hit several times, and Advanced Micro Devices. Last Friday, Ampro Systems in Fremont was robbed of about $200,000 in flash memory cards.

The San Jose Mercury News quoted an employee at one of the South Bay companies that has been repeatedly robbed as saying, "Our trucks get hit at stoplights in broad daylight. These guys are so smart, armed with the latest communications technology, that this problem continues unabated.''

ROCHESTER, MN -- Pemstar Inc.'s June quarter revenue rose 1.3% to $212.5 million, and net income jumped to $4.8 million, compared to a net loss of $17.6 million a year ago.

The June quarter period includes a one-time gain of $2.5 million related to the reversal of previous restructuring provisions.

President and COO Roy Bauer said, "We are still doing a little bit more realigning of our portfolio. We are considering, as previously disclosed, strategic alternatives for our Tianjin, China, operations. We see optimism in our medical, computing and data storage and industrial businesses for the second half of the year."

For the quarter, industrial sales accounted for 38.4% of net sales, computing and data storage was 23.5%, communications was 36.2% and medical was 1.9%.

Accounts receivable at June 30 was $125.5 million with days sales outstanding of 53 compared with $121.1 million in accounts receivable with DSO of 56 at March 31.

Net inventories were up nearly $10 million, to $64.2 million, and inventory turns dropped 0.9 turns to 12.4 times. Cash cycle was 31 days, down from 40 days in the March quarter.

Jefferies Broadview was retained to explore possible partnerships or a sale of the Tianjin, China operations. Pemstar said it seeks to reduce its consumer business and focus on more profitable markets like medical, industrial, instrumentation, military/aerospace and process equipment.

For the September quarter, Pemstar expects net sales of $200 million to $220 million.

NEW YORK -- The world market for SMT screen printers will grow from $190.2 million in 2005 to $366.4 million in 2012, a research firm said today. Sales of glue dispensers will grow from $26.3 million in 2005 to $42.1 million in 2012, said Frost & Sullivan.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government today reported that orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods fly higher in June, boosted by demand for commercial aircraft.

Durables orders rose 3.1% in June, well above the 1.7% gain previously forecast by Wall Street.

Commercial aircraft rose 8.8%, reversing two months of big declines. Last month, Boeing booked orders for 135 aircraft, up from 33 in May.

Analysts believe that output in the manufacturing sector will continue to rise in coming months but at a slower pace, reflecting an economy that is slowing under the impact of surging energy prices, rising interest rates and the cooling housing market.