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News

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) has announced the technical sessions for its annual conference, SMTA International, co-located with the Assembly Tech Expo show in Rosemont, IL, Sept.25-29.

The 1.5-hour technical sessions each present three technical papers under the direction of a chairman. They are arranged according to tracks on Manufacturing and Assembly, Advanced Packaging, Substrates, RoHS and Process Control, covering topics such as lead-free soldering and rework, HDI, RFID, microdevices, BGA reliability, CSP and flip-chip technologies, selective soldering, lead-free process control, leadless packaging, surface finishes, RoHS compliance, harsh environments and AOI.

The RFID mini-conference has three paper sessions on Production Lines, Tag Materials and Processing, and Applications in the Electronics Manufacturing Industry. Two new sessions will cover RoHS compliance. Technical papers on lead-free will address reflow and wave soldering, rework, key issues in lead-free/RoHS manufacturing, lead-free CSP reliability, HASL surface finishes, effects on PCBs, surface finishes, process control, and

RoHS test methods and compliance, customer and industry requirements, and due diligence approach to WEEE/RoHS compliance.

Organized by Dr. Paul T. Vianco of Sandia National Labs, the Lead-Free Soldering Symposium will consist of technical sessions organized by the Joint Council on Aging Aircraft / Joint Group on Pollution Prevention Lead-free Solder Consortia Project, as well as sessions on Process for Lead-free Implementation and Lead-free Reliability.

The Contract Manufacturing Symposium, organized by Mike Buetow, UP Media Group/Circuits Assembly, will feature paper sessions on Mid-Tier

EMS Strategy and Models and Markets.

Led by Dr. Reza Ghaffarian, Jet Propulsion Labs, the Emerging Technologies Summit will feature papers on Roadmaps, Turning Lead Into Gold and Advanced Power Technology.

For more info: smta.org/smtai

VANCOUVER— BRIO Technology Ltd., a Beijing-based electronics assembler, has set up a branch office here as part of a push into the North American EMS market.

Canada BRIO is positioned to provide customer management, BOM sourcing and technical communications, the company said.

“China today has evolved to become a global manufacturing base”, says Yang Tongxing, president and cofounder. “North America’s small- to mid-tier CMs/OEMs/ODMs have not been able to access Chinese EMS production opportunities enjoyed by larger competitors."

Founded in 1999, BRIO is one of China’s EMS pioneers. Its customer list includes GE, Motorola, Philips, JVC and Pioneer.

The company operates manufacturing facilities in Beijing and Shanghai, with a total of 16 SMT lines (Panasonic, Samsung and Juki).

The company performs NPI to volume production.

NORWOOD, MA - Electrical and electronic product manufacturers seeking third-party certification in Canada and the U.S. now have a single point-of-service: U.S.-based testing laboratory FM Approvals. The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) has accredited the company as a testing and certification organization.

The lab meets the SCC's administrative and technical criteria for (1) hazardous-location electrical equipment covering all protection methods recognized in Canada; (2) electrical and electronic products; and (3) fire-alarm-and-signaling equipment.

FM Approvals is already a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory in the U.S. The company approves and certifies products and services that meet its property loss prevention standards.

MILPITAS, CA -- Solectron Corp., has acquired a U.K.-based broker of electronics components for an undisclosed amount.

Solectron will merge the firm, ServiceSource Europe Ltd., with its electronics after-market services. SSE also provides component repair and service.

Carlsbad, CA – Alec J. Babiarz, senior vice president and founder of Asymtek, is one of four committee members elected to the IPC SMEMA (Surface-Mount Equipment Manufacturers Assoc.) Council Steering Committee. Other members elected for three-year terms include: Robert Muller, general manager commercial products at Teradyne ATD; Marc Peo, president of Heller Industries; and Jay Stepleton, general manager and VP for Agilent Technologies’ Manufacturing Test Business.

The Committee sets the agenda for the SMEMA Council, and creates new initiatives to improve supply chain efficiencies in the electronics manufacturing industry. One of its priorities is the organization of the Council’s Apex show.

Babiarz is co-developer in 31 patents worldwide for fluid dispensing equipment and has written numerous papers on fluid dispensing and jetting. He currently manages international sales and marketing at Asymtek, and serves as president of Nordson-Asymtek K.K., a division of the corporation in Japan.

NEW YORK -- The electronics industry appears to be gearing up for heavy air freight shipments this month, a major freight forwarder said today.

The activity comes, Trans World Logistics said, during a time when most of the Asia-Pacific region has returned to off-peak market conditions.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Working drafts of a pair of standards covering materials declaration are being circulated as the authoring organizations hope to help companies comply with the environmental reporting mandates set by RoHS and WEEE.

IPC, iNEMI and RosettaNet on June 10 jointly issued IPC-1751 and IPC-1752, describing company information, electronic data formats and standardized forms for information sharing.

The draft standards will be available for industry review and comment for 60 days and are available at www.ipc.org/IPC-175X.

SARATOGA, CA – Advanced Forecasting Inc., a research firm that claims to have correctly forecast 90% of the turning points in IC sales since 1987, said it would not modify its November forecast for IC revenues despite the strong first quarter performance.

The remarks ran counter to the SIA's recent decision to up its 2005 forecast. Last week, the trade group raised its forecast to a 6% gain.

IC revenues worldwide fell 1.5% sequentially in April and are projected to oscillate throughout the rest of 2005, resulting in an annual growth rate near zero, the firm said in a statement. IC unit sales rose 0.85% sequentially in April and are expected to continue the increase into the third quarter, AFI said.

“Sales of IC units were robust in March, surpassing its March 2004 level of 8.5 billion units, following a seasonal minimum point in February,” said Dr. Moshe Handelsman, president. “Therefore, extrapolation of this event that leads to modifications in forecasts is unwarranted. April’s increase dampened the celebration since sales ended at 8.7 billion, 1.5% below April 2004.”

AFI's forecast that IC units would peak in mid-2004, decline in Q1 2005, and increase in Q2, said Rosa Luis, director of marketing and sales. "Actual shipments in both units and dollars are behaving exactly in line with what our models predicted.”

SARATOGA, CA – Recent statements by top foundries TSMC and UMC predicting utilization rates would increase in the second half are consistent with a leading research firm's forecast of a better second half.

TSMC said its capacity utilization would rise to 90% from 80% while UMC forecasts a 20 point hike, to 80%, respectively. The jumps are due to increases in orders.

LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES -- A pair of Asia-based EMS firms with numerous facilities in the Philippines and China plan to merge in a deal worth SGD201 million (US$120.5 million).

Under the proposed terms, Integrated Microelectronics Inc. will acquire all 376.2 million outstanding shares of Speedy-Tech Electronics Ltd.

The deal is expected to close in the December quarter.

TORONTO - Adeptron Technologies, an EMS provider traded on the Toronto stock exchange, announced today the selection of an investment banking firm to help raise up to C$4 million in gross proceeds for the company.

Madison Grant Fund of Toronto and First Associates Investments Inc. will act as as selling agents to raise capital for the proposed financing, through the sale of certain Madison Grant fund units.

Adeptron intends to use the proceeds of the financing to redeem or refinance outstanding notes payable and for working capital purposes to pursue ongoing strategic growth opportunities.

CHICAGO -- Newark InOne, a small-quantity distributor of electronic components and test equipment in North America, offers a downloadable RoHS Legislation and Technical Manual on its RoHS Express Website:newarkinone.com/rohs. RoHS Express was launched in May to provide design engineer and component buyers with a continuously updated, in-depth source of information and news relating to the upcoming EU directive.

The 22-page manual contains an introduction to RoHS, a step by step guide to compliance, detailed information about the substances affected, a chapter on soldering and a closing environmental section.

The site also offers visitors the opportunity to receive free monthly RoHS email updates.

The manual, first published by Newark InOne's sister distributor, Farnell InOne, in the UK, can also be accessed at rohs.info.

Newark InOne, newarkinone.com