Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

BRUSSELS – The European Union has set forth the maximum concentration values for materials restricted under the pending RoHS directive.

SAN JOSE – Revenues of electronics manufacturing services providers will grow 13% this year, down from 20% last year, according to a report by research firm Technology Forecasters Inc. The burst of the housing “bubble” coupled with astronomical energy prices could wreck the current recovery, the firm said.

TFI economic analyst Matt Chanoff said, “Two macroeconomic phenomena could have significant negative impact on overall worldwide GDP over the next five years: extended very high energy costs and the collapse of the housing bubble, either of which could lead to a drastic reduction in consumer spending and ultimately, recession.”

Rosemont, IL – Members of the SMTA Great Lakes chapter and Chicago Public Schools - Education to Careers reaffirmed their commitment to a program that has brought hands-on knowledge of electronics manufacturing into the classrooms of local students eager for real-world experience and education.

At a press conference at Assembly Technology Expo last week, SMTA and CPS-ETC leaders spoke of the ongoing success of a program well into its third year that prepares students for their lives beyond the classroom, by combining a rigorous academic program with career and technical education, hands-on training, and exposure to the career world.

“This … is about the revitalization of manufacturing and jobs,” said Ross Clark, president of SMTA’s Great Lakes chapter. “It’s about young adults making our local high-tech manufacturing sector stronger, more competitive and better prepared to meet the challenges of the future.”

The Great Lakes chapter has worked for the past 2 1/2 years with the CPS-ETC program and local high-tech manufacturers to align ETC’s electronics manufacturing curriculum with industry standards. Program leaders engaged IPC, and made a substantial financial contribution that allowed ETC electronics instructors to become IPC-certified last August.

“This will bring the CPS-ETC Electronic Manufacturing Program up to current industry standards,” Clark said. “As part of this program, the Great Lakes chapter will also cover the cost for students to obtain their own IPC certifications upon graduation and the successful completion of IPC’s examination.

Working in conjunction with Chicago schools, and with Richard Wierzbicki, a teacher at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago, the original curriculum architect, the Great Lakes chapter developed the Electronic Manufacturing Education Model program. “This model program has the potential to expand into other industries within Illinois,” said Ray Prendergast, program manager, Office of Education to Careers. “Through SMTA, we have a national conduit to expand into other regions throughout the U.S. This program is unique at the high school level, and is a shining example of the collaboration that can make our schools and business communities more successful. This potential expansion also is aligned with the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance initiative. The Illinois Manufacturers Association, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, the Chicago Workforce Board, the Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago City Colleges and the Tooling and Manufacturing Association support this initiative.”

In a statement, David Raby, president of SMTA, said, “We encourage SMTA’s local chapters across the country and around the world to act on their own initiative and develop innovative and helpful programs with their communities, of which this initiative is a stellar example.

For more information visit etcchicago.com, or contact Ray Prendergast at 773-553-2471; rprendergast@cps.k12.il.us.

MINNEAPOLIS -- SMTA is seeking papers for its annual Medical Electronics Symposium next spring.

Papers should focus on the leading-edge, the trade group says.

Abstracts of 200-300 words are due Nov. 4 to conference coordinator Melissa Serres at melissa@smta.org.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A just-released poll of chief information officers predicts IT budgets will grow 9% over the next 12 months, up 2 points over August. Storage beat security software as the top spending priority.

Nearly half -- 48.4% -- of the respondents plan to increase spending on computer hardware, up from 42.3% in August. Positive sentiment at companies under 100 employees is at record levels.

STOCKHOLM – Mydata Automation will unveil next month what it is calling the first stencil-free printer. Seven years in the making, the MY500 jet printer will debut at Productronica in Munich next month.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Several blue chip OEMs, including Dell, IBM, Intel , Lucent and Cisco, have launched a technical committee to standardize processes for making power supplies, air movement equipment (fans), cables, connectors, heatsinks and components.

The OEM Critical Components Committee has identified several key components that impact their business.es but lack globally accepted quality and manufacturing process standards. The committee was formed under the auspices of IPC, the trade group.

The committee will work first on air movement devices. A draft has been proposed and is expected to be released early next year.

SAN JOSE – Worldwide sales of semiconductors increased sharply in August to $18.6 billion, up 3.2% from July and 1.7% over last year, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.

Year-to-date semiconductor sales are up 5.8%, SIA reported, and on a record pace.

TEMPE, AZ — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in September for the 28th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 47th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest poll taken by ISM.

Beginning October 2, Circuits Assembly is seeking participants for its 14th annual Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers and Electronics Assembly Equipment, Material and Software suppliers.

The SEAs honor companies in electronics manufacturing for excelling in the critical area of customer service. The program also allows participants to benchmark themselves against peers in terms of customer satisfaction.

“We are proud of the decade-long recognition we’ve received from Circuits Assembly magazine and its Service Excellence Awards program,” said Karen Vincent, Director of Sales & Program Management, at previous winner MassTech EMS. “The awards both validate and raise awareness of our commitment to delivering outstanding services in engineering and creative supply chain solutions that help customers reach their larger business goals. What means most to us is that the awards reflect our clients’ perspective on our services. We look forward to participating in this program year after year.”

Customers are surveyed to determine a participating company's level of customer satisfaction in various categories, including: dependability/timely delivery; ease of use; manufacturing quality; responsiveness to requests and changes; technology; and value for the price. All customer responses and ratings are tabulated by a third party and provided in a confidential report to the participating company.

This year, Circuits Assembly will recognize three categories of EMS providers based on revenues (under $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; $500 million and over) and the following categories of suppliers: dispensing; pick-and-place; repair and rework; screen printing; test and inspection; materials (solder paste); and manufacturing or supply chain management software.

Circuits Assembly will honor winners during Apex 2006 in Anaheim, CA. Proceeds from the program help fund the SMTA's Charles Hutchins Educational Grant.

For more information, contact Circuits Assembly associate editor Robin Norvell at rnorvell@upmediagroup.com or visit circuitsassembly.com/cms/sea.

DES PLAINES, IL — Kester has opened a facility in Suzhou, China, just outside of Shanghai. The manufacturing and technical center will enable the company to meet the demands of China’s rapidly growing electronics assembly sector.

The new facility was created to enhance Kester’s ability to deliver globally. Its global distribution and manufacturing operations now allow customers to receive Kester’s full line of soldering and solder-related products 24/7 throughout the world.

LOS ALTOS, CA -- Rising oil prices are dampening the world economy, with Europe and Japan feeling the brunt worse than the U.S. and China. The result: A significant economic slowdown next year.