News
GUADALAJARA -- Solectron
Corp. today announced
an expansion of its Guadalajara facility, the company's
largest plant in the Americas. The new
capabilities include enclosures services and design
and engineering.
WOBURN, MA — Masstech EMS today announced a family of service offerings
designed to help customers comply with changing environmental
regulations. The firm's Lead Free
Conversion Program helps OEMs prepare for and
comply with the EU RoHS directive.
PALO ALTO, CA -- Agilent Technologies today announced that Tessolve Inc., an independent semiconductor-test
engineering service provider in Bangalore, India, has purchased the
first Agilent 93000 Pin Scale system sold in that country.
Tessolve is using the system to test digital and mixed-signal devices for its major integrated device manufacturers and fabless customers as well as for emerging local customers in India.
The system was chosen for its ability to test ICs, SOCs and SIPs within bandwidths of 200 Mbps to 3.6 Gbps.
India has already become a world leader in software services, and is poised to do the same in the semiconductor industry. According to Bryan Wang, an analyst at In-Stat, India will have the world's fastest-growing electronics industry over the next several years, outpacing even China. The Indian electronics market, worth $11.5 billion in 2004, will hit a compound annual growth rate of 23% to reach $40 billion by 2010, said Wang.
Many top semiconductor companies including Intel, Texas Instruments, IBM, Samsung, Freescale, Toshiba and Infineon, have design and manufacturing centers in India, which presents a clear opportunity for Tessolve.
"We opened our 50,000 sq. ft. chip testing center in Bangalore to put an end to India's testing limitations for SOC designs coming out of India," said Raja Manickam, chief executive of Tessolve. "Now, with our purchase of the Agilent 93000, Tessolve is positioned to become India's leading independent semiconductor test house. Eighty percent of India's semiconductor design houses are already based in Bangalore, and the Agilent Pin Scale test system allows us to offer them a low-cost, scalable platform that can be employed from characterization to high-volume manufacturing."
Tessolve is using the system to test digital and mixed-signal devices for its major integrated device manufacturers and fabless customers as well as for emerging local customers in India.
The system was chosen for its ability to test ICs, SOCs and SIPs within bandwidths of 200 Mbps to 3.6 Gbps.
India has already become a world leader in software services, and is poised to do the same in the semiconductor industry. According to Bryan Wang, an analyst at In-Stat, India will have the world's fastest-growing electronics industry over the next several years, outpacing even China. The Indian electronics market, worth $11.5 billion in 2004, will hit a compound annual growth rate of 23% to reach $40 billion by 2010, said Wang.
Many top semiconductor companies including Intel, Texas Instruments, IBM, Samsung, Freescale, Toshiba and Infineon, have design and manufacturing centers in India, which presents a clear opportunity for Tessolve.
"We opened our 50,000 sq. ft. chip testing center in Bangalore to put an end to India's testing limitations for SOC designs coming out of India," said Raja Manickam, chief executive of Tessolve. "Now, with our purchase of the Agilent 93000, Tessolve is positioned to become India's leading independent semiconductor test house. Eighty percent of India's semiconductor design houses are already based in Bangalore, and the Agilent Pin Scale test system allows us to offer them a low-cost, scalable platform that can be employed from characterization to high-volume manufacturing."
WESTFORD, MA. & WAKEFIELD, MA – PLM provider MatrixOne and RuleStream Corp., provider of rules-driven product management (RPM) solutions, have integrated the companies' flagship products as part of an ongoing implementation at The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W).
B&W, a subsidiary of McDermott International, provides products and services to the power generation industry. The integration of RPM, PLM and MCAD systems allows B&W to use existing knowledge to create and manage raw material items, and provides thousands of possible part/spec combinations.
"Leading manufacturers are already shortening engineering time through process improvement supported by new rules-driven software," said Marc Halpern, research director at industry analyst firm Gartner. "In the future, the integration between PDM and the rules engine will allow innovative new products to be designed with CAD models using PDM-controlled parts and items that are based on specifications and the context of use. This will streamline the generation of project proposals, make estimates of project costs more accurate and maximize part reuse."
Engineers will be able to review their custom engineering designs, incorporate engineering changes--even those with complicated design dependencies--and ensure up-to-date product information from their MatrixOne PLM system and SolidWorks MCAD models.
B&W, a subsidiary of McDermott International, provides products and services to the power generation industry. The integration of RPM, PLM and MCAD systems allows B&W to use existing knowledge to create and manage raw material items, and provides thousands of possible part/spec combinations.
"Leading manufacturers are already shortening engineering time through process improvement supported by new rules-driven software," said Marc Halpern, research director at industry analyst firm Gartner. "In the future, the integration between PDM and the rules engine will allow innovative new products to be designed with CAD models using PDM-controlled parts and items that are based on specifications and the context of use. This will streamline the generation of project proposals, make estimates of project costs more accurate and maximize part reuse."
Engineers will be able to review their custom engineering designs, incorporate engineering changes--even those with complicated design dependencies--and ensure up-to-date product information from their MatrixOne PLM system and SolidWorks MCAD models.
ATLANTA, GA—UP Media Group (UPMG) proclaimed 2006 the Year of the Designer during the 10th
anniversary of PCB Design Conference East, held Oct. 10-14 in
Manchester, NH. UPMG will launch a new Website in December to
celebrate, along with the designer tagline: “Off Grid and Proud of It.”
“Everyone likes to feel that they are appreciated or that what they do is important,” said UPMG president Pete Waddell. “For over 20 years, a large part of our focus has been on PCB designers. Many people think that designers are under-appreciated and under-recognized. Whether that is true or not, we recognize that design is the foundation on which all electronics products are built. We also believe that PCB designers of the world should receive the credit they deserve.”
The Website (yearofthedesigner.com) will include:
· Interviews with designers in as many geographical areas as possible
· Spotlights on current designs
· Guest editorials by designers
· “Deep Thoughts” on what designers like about designing boards and more
· A Favorite Design Tool section
· “Where Are You?” for designers looking for designers they’ve lost contact with
· “The Rant” on issues plaguing designers at the moment
· Articles about designs and design experiences from Hades
· A designer blog
· “This Old Design” where experts provide answers to difficult questions
· “What I’m Reading Now” to prove life exists outside of design
· Calendar of design-oriented events and educational opportunities
· Fun stuff like timelines, trivia and more.
UPMG also plans to celebrate the Year of the Designer with a free Webinar, date TBA, and at special events held during the company’s 2006 conferences. These include: PCB Design Conference West in March in Santa Clara, and PCB Design Conference East in September in Durham, NC.
Interested in sponsoring Year of the Designer events? Contact Kamden Robb, krobb@upmediagroup.com.
“Everyone likes to feel that they are appreciated or that what they do is important,” said UPMG president Pete Waddell. “For over 20 years, a large part of our focus has been on PCB designers. Many people think that designers are under-appreciated and under-recognized. Whether that is true or not, we recognize that design is the foundation on which all electronics products are built. We also believe that PCB designers of the world should receive the credit they deserve.”
The Website (yearofthedesigner.com) will include:
· Interviews with designers in as many geographical areas as possible
· Spotlights on current designs
· Guest editorials by designers
· “Deep Thoughts” on what designers like about designing boards and more
· A Favorite Design Tool section
· “Where Are You?” for designers looking for designers they’ve lost contact with
· “The Rant” on issues plaguing designers at the moment
· Articles about designs and design experiences from Hades
· A designer blog
· “This Old Design” where experts provide answers to difficult questions
· “What I’m Reading Now” to prove life exists outside of design
· Calendar of design-oriented events and educational opportunities
· Fun stuff like timelines, trivia and more.
UPMG also plans to celebrate the Year of the Designer with a free Webinar, date TBA, and at special events held during the company’s 2006 conferences. These include: PCB Design Conference West in March in Santa Clara, and PCB Design Conference East in September in Durham, NC.
Interested in sponsoring Year of the Designer events? Contact Kamden Robb, krobb@upmediagroup.com.
KAUPPALEHTI, FINLAND -- PKC Group, a Finnish ODM and EMS firm, reported operating profits were up 20% to 5.4 million euros on an 8% hike in net sales, to 43.6 million euros, for the September quarter. By business unit, sales of wiring harness rose 11.4% to 33.8 million euros, while electronics fell 2% to 9.9 million euros. The company just finished expanding in Russia and will build a factory in China next year.
ATLANTA, GA—UP Media Group’s 10th anniversary PCB Design Conference East, held earlier this month in Manchester, NH, was a great success. The conference, sponsored by EMA Design Automation, Sierra Proto Express and Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture and Circuits Assembly, provided a variety of well-attended networking and product demonstration opportunities, and a five-day PCB design conference program.
The event featured a keynote address by IPC director of technology transfer Dieter Bergman, a variety of networking and informational events and a two-day exhibition.
In addition to delivering the keynote on “The Designer: Preparing for the Next Decade,” Bergman helped four others roast Gary Ferrari at the Welcome Luncheon Industry Icon Roast. Ferrari, a speaker at the show and a well-known industry figure who once served as executive director of IPC Designers Council, had been told that Bergman would be roasted. Though surprised by the misdirect, Ferrari graciously laughed and listened through stories and comments tossed out by Bergman, UPMG president Pete Waddell and PCB East speakers Rick Hartley, Andy Kowalewski and Susy Webb.
The show floor was almost a sellout, with 42 exhibiting companies. Conference attendees created their own individualized educational programs by selecting from over 40 courses taught by a distinguished list of 20 PCB industry experts. Numerous conference classes reached classroom capacity. Technical Conference proceedings are for sale at pcbeast.com.
One day during the exhibition, Waddell wore the costume selected in a “What Will Pete Wear?” pre-show poll that garnered over 12,000 votes by Website visitors. For his impersonation of “007” (AKA James Bond), Waddell wore a tuxedo, had a “Bond girl” on his arm and carried a toy gun. To view a photo of Waddell and other show photos, visit pcbeast.com.
Waddell said, “While our conferences are serious educational, networking and technological events, I’m also thrilled that we were able to entertain everyone at the show with fun events such as the Industry Icon Roast, Trivia Night, the 10th Anniversary Opening Night Reception, Pub Night at Jillian’s and an old-fashioned Ice Cream Social.”
Plans are underway for PCB East 2006, which will be held in a new location—the Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle Park area in North Carolina.
TOKYO -- Japanese equipment makers posted a 90-day moving average of 119.7 billion yen ($1.04 billion) in
orders in September, up 1.8% over revised August levels but down 6.1% from last year.
SAN JOSE -- Flextronics on Tuesday reported a second-quarter GAAP net loss of $2.4
million on net sales of $3.9
billion, down 4.9% from a year ago quarter.
The company reported net income of $92.6 million last year.
For the period ended Sept. 30, the world's largest EMS company took after-tax charges of $103.8 million. Excluding items, net income rose 3% to $101.3 million.
For the period ended Sept. 30, the world's largest EMS company took after-tax charges of $103.8 million. Excluding items, net income rose 3% to $101.3 million.
BANNOCKBURN, IL – The September 90-day moving average shipments of all types of circuit boards rose 5.3% year-on-year, and bookings rose 36.7%, according to the latest poll of North American PCB fabricators.
A large percentage of the production includes boards built offshore and distributed by North American vendors. According to IPC, 29% of the shipments reported were produced offshore.
The domestic book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.18. The ratio is based on data collected by IPC from rigid and flex producers and is calculated by dividing three months worth of orders by sales. A ratio over 1.0 is considered an indicator of rising demand.
The ratio for rigid PCBs was rose to 1.07, while that of flexible circuits rose to 1.52.
“PCB sales were up in September, following the typical seasonal pattern,” said IPC in a statement. “Compared to last year, rigid PCB sales are staying flat and flexible circuits are continuing their strong growth trend. September bookings numbers are way up in both segments of the industry, which is an encouraging sign for fourth-quarter business.”
Rigid board shipments, estimated by IPC to make up more than 75% of all domestic PCBs, were down 0.5% in September vs. a year ago. Bookings rose 20.2% during the month.
Flex sales rose 28% and bookings jumped 81.4%. Value-added services made up 83% of the shipment value of flex circuits.
Year-to-date, rigid shipments are down 4.7% and bookings are off 1.2%. Flex bookings are up 28.7% and shipments are up 27.4%. Shipments of all boards are up 1.2% and bookings are up 5.9%.
Sequentially, combined shipments were up 9.4% over June, while bookings were up 32.4%. Rigid shipments were up 11.1% and bookings were up 14.9%. Flex shipments fell 4.3% and bookings were up 84.5% over June.
Seventy-one percent of PCB shipments reported was domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 84% of rigid PCB and 33% of flexible circuit shipments in July, IPC said.
In a statement, IPC cautioned that month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects.
FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Worldwide shipments of cellphones rose 19.1% year-on-year to 203.8 million units, led by Nokia and Motorola, research firm IDC said.
New products, portfolio refreshes and new form factors contributed to growth. The top 5 vendors reported all-time-high shipment levels.
New products, portfolio refreshes and new form factors contributed to growth. The top 5 vendors reported all-time-high shipment levels.
TOKYO -- METI, Japan's government body for market data, said August PWB
production in Japan was up 3.5% year-on-year, reaching 69,375 million yen. It was the first positive
growth this year.
Sales were down just 0.2% from July. According to Dominique Numakura, an PCB analyst, the trend breaks with historical norms. August is typically the slowest month of the year for Japanese PWB makers as production declines more than 10% sequentially due to summer vacations.
Rigid board shipments grew 7.3% to 43,679 million yen from a year ago. Single sided boards declined, while double-sided and build-up boards rose -- the latter more than 20% growth yoy.
Flex circuits totaled 10,767 million yen, down 3.5% decline from July and 17.6% from last year. Single-sided flex fell 9.6% from a year ago but grew 7.9% over July. Double-sided flex fell 11.2% from July and 23% decline from 2004.
"It may be too early to confirm the recovery trend of the PWB business in Japan; however, there are several positive numbers in the METI data, and several signs of recovery in the market," Numakura wrote in his weekly newsletter. "I have been communicating with several major PWB companies in Japan, and they agree that manufacturing companies are getting more orders, and shipments will have remarkable growth from October."
Sales were down just 0.2% from July. According to Dominique Numakura, an PCB analyst, the trend breaks with historical norms. August is typically the slowest month of the year for Japanese PWB makers as production declines more than 10% sequentially due to summer vacations.
Rigid board shipments grew 7.3% to 43,679 million yen from a year ago. Single sided boards declined, while double-sided and build-up boards rose -- the latter more than 20% growth yoy.
Flex circuits totaled 10,767 million yen, down 3.5% decline from July and 17.6% from last year. Single-sided flex fell 9.6% from a year ago but grew 7.9% over July. Double-sided flex fell 11.2% from July and 23% decline from 2004.
"It may be too early to confirm the recovery trend of the PWB business in Japan; however, there are several positive numbers in the METI data, and several signs of recovery in the market," Numakura wrote in his weekly newsletter. "I have been communicating with several major PWB companies in Japan, and they agree that manufacturing companies are getting more orders, and shipments will have remarkable growth from October."
Press Releases
- Indium Corporation Technical Expert to Present at SiP Conference China
- Flex Announces Kevin Krumm as Chief Financial Officer
- Green Circuits Enhances Inspection Capabilities with New DAGE Quadra 5 Pro X-ray System
- Western Digital CEO David Goeckeler Elected Chair of Semiconductor Industry Association