Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

DORSET, UK -- Speedprint Technology Ltd. and Tecan Stencils will sponsor a number of lead-free clinics at Productronica next week.

Presentations by Tony Welton of Tecan will cover Pb-free considerations for materials, stencils, soldering and printing. The sessions will take place in booth A4.121 the week of Nov. 14, in Munich.

Tecan also will offer a Lead-free Help Desk within Speedprint's booth.

Speedprint is a division of Blakell Europlacer Group.

MELVILLE, NY -- Nu Horizons Electronics, a distributor of active components, will distribute ASICs and other products from Silicon Laboratories in North and South America. The companies announced the agreement today but disclosed few other details.

TORONTO – Celestica Inc. has acquired Displaytronix, a provider of flat-panel display repair services. Terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition gives Celestica a leg up in the rapidly growing FPD market.

ST. LOUIS -- LaBarge Inc. has been awarded a $2.2 million dollar contract from BAE Systems to produce the ethernet switch unit for the A3 Bradley Combat Systems vehicles. The ESU functions as a router and a switch, making local forwarding decisions to devices operated in the vehicle's LAN.

Production is expected to run from June 2006 and through September 2007 and will be performed at LaBarge's Huntsville, AK, facility.

ROCHESTER, NY – EMA Design Automation, a provider of electronic design automation software, was named fastest growing company among Rochester's top 100 privately held firms, according to the Rochester Business Alliance and KPMG LLP.

This is the second straight year EMA won the honor. EMA sales rose from $3 million in 2002 to $20 million in 2003 and $31 million in 2004, giving EMA a growth of 915% over this period.

Employment has also grown from fewer than 15 in 2002 to nearly 100 across the country, with 67 located in the Rochester area.

“We are extremely honored to be part of the Rochester Top 100,” said Manny Marcano, President and CEO of EMA. “It’s a testament to the skill and dedication that our employees put forth in building strong relationships with our customers, coupled with excellent products and outstanding customer service and support."

Marcano launched EMA in 1989, selling EDA tools primarily in upstate New York, and expanded the company in the 1990s to include the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. EMA now sells products across all of North America and has expanded its product line to include the Cadence Allegro and OrCAD PCB design tool product lines, RoHS compliant services and related products.

WEST CHICAGO, IL -- Sales of connectors for electronics products reached $35.4 billion this year, according to Bishop & Associates research firm.

By region, North America was the largest region, at $9.34 billion, or 26.4%, edging out Europe, at $9.12 billion (25.8%).

Japan was third at $6.11 billion (17.3%), followed by China ($4.74 billion, 13.4%), and the rest of Asia ($4 billion, 11.4%) .

New York -- Air freight markets throughout Asia are being hit with a range of market conditions that are fueling rates and fuel surcharges and curtailing lift availability.

Following the weeklong China Holiday celebration, the marketplace experienced a sudden surge of shipments, according to freight forwarder Trans Global Logistics. Electronics and hardgoods manufacturers in Northern Asia have had a significant impact on the market, and in Korea absorbed 70% of the lift out of Incheon Airport. Adding to the scramble for available lift, Microsoft is rumored to be making plans to move 2,700 tons of cargo by mid-November.

All Asian and Indian Subcontinent regions are reporting longer transit times. Shipments moving through the primary regional hubs of Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei can take an extra four to five days to connect, says TGL.

In Southeast Asia and India, space availability is tight, but rates are relatively stable. Meanwhile, in Shanghai carriers are signaling another rate increase of 10% in late November and rates in Taiwan will increase 13-15%, the country’s third rate increase since September.

In Hong Kong, demand for space is outpacing supply and carriers are responding slowly to demands for more capacity. The situation to Europe is worse: Air freight rates to key gateways are higher than to the U.S., and the cost of charter craft is being bid upwards of $400,000.

DOWNERS GROVE, IL, and INDIANAPOLIS — Made2Manage Systems has paid $5 million cash to acquire Capri Corp., parent company of ERP software provider Cimnet Systems.

M2M president and CEO Jeff Tognioni said in a press release that the acquisition should help the company expand geographically and strengthen its presence in the PCB manufacturing sector.

Mehul Davé, president of Capri Corp., added that Cimnet customers should not experience any disruption in service delivery, customer support or training during the transition.

The Boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2005.

Made2Manage Systems provides ERP solutions for manufacturers across multiple manufacturing industries in the U.S., Canada and UK.

NEENAH, WI -- Plexus Corp. reported fourth-quarter sales rose 18% to $322.2 million and net income of $10.5 million, reversing a net loss of $37 million last year.

For the fiscal year ended Oct. 1, the EMS firm showed a net loss of $12.4 million on revenues of $1.23 billion. Last year, Plexus reported and a net loss of $31.6 million on revenues of $1.04 billion.

SAN JOSE -- Sanmina-SCI Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit grew to $15.1 million, despite a revenue slide of 16% to $2.77 billion over last year.

The company took $18.3 million in one-time charges for the quarter.

GREENVILLE, SC -- James P. McClintock resigned as head of business units and new business development of passives components maker Kemet Corp., effective Nov. 1.

The company did not disclose a reason in a press release issued Oct. 31.

On Oct. 26, Kemet reported a narrower quarterly loss.

McClintock is a former president and chief operating officer of the company. McClintock will receive separation pay of $320,000, a car allowance worth $6000, and health, life and disability insurance benefits for six months subject to certain terms and final agreement.

HAUPPAUGE, NY -- RVSI Inspection, a maker of semiconductor and package inspection gear, named Kevin Maddy president.

Maddy has spent 25 years in manufacturing, the past 14 in management. He has worked for Ford, Unisys, United Technologies, Howmet and SPX Corp., and played an active role in the turnaround and restructuring of Pratt and Whitney. During the past eight years, Maddy has focused on managing the turnaround of independent manufacturing facilities with sales under $200 million.

In a press statement, Maddy. said, “I am looking forward to utilizing my leadership and proven track record to help develop superior relationships with RVSI’s customers by delivering a quality product on time.”