News
Agilent Technologies Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) and Digi-Key Corp. (Thief River Falls, MN), an electronic component distributor, recently announced that they have signed a distribution agreement. The agreement allows Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group (SPG) to make an array of its products accessible to designers via Digi-Key's distribution channel and real-time online service and support site.
Digi-Key's inventory of Agilent products includes a full range of LEDs and displays, optocouplers, motion control encoders, radio frequency (RF) and microwave devices and infrared and optical transceivers. These products are used in applications that span industrial, office automation, consumer electronics, home appliances, signs and signals, wireless, networking and automotive markets.
"The addition of Digi-Key to our global distribution network will help us reach more engineers in the critical early stages of their designs," said Frank Robertazzi, vice president of worldwide distribution for Agilent's SPG. "Digi-Key's catalog distribution channel provides another avenue for our customers to purchase samples and order literature and early production quantities online at any time."
Kester (Des Plaines, IL) recently announced that chief technology officer Dennis Bernier was honored by IPC—Association Connecting Electronics (Northbrook, IL) with a Distinguished Committee Service Award. The award was presented at the IPC APEX/Expo held in late February in Anaheim, CA.
Bernier was honored as one of 12 members for their leadership and significant contributions in the development of IPC J-STD-004A, Requirement for Soldering Fluxes.
This award is given to IPC committee members who have made an exceptional contribution to a specific standard, guideline, round robin test program or other IPC program.
API Electronics Group, Inc. (Hauppauge, NY) announced recently that it has purchased all of the assets of Islip Transformer & Metal Co. Inc. (Westbury, NY), a private company that supplies critical systems and components to the U.S Department of Defense (DoD). The acquisition will strengthen API's position in the defense sector, bringing additional engineering expertise and complementary product lines to the business.
Under the terms of the all cash deal, API purchased Islip's contracts, workforce, test/production equipment, product rights and trade name. Islip has current contracts totaling $882,955 and projected revenues in excess of US$1.5 million for the 2004 calendar year.
"The acquisition of the business of Islip Transformer & Metal enables API to further augment its in-demand catalogue of components and systems for both government and corporate clients," said Tom Mills, president & COO for API Electronics. "The Islip business will be integrated into our API Electronics Inc. subsidiary, and we expect to have operations moved into our technology and manufacturing center in Hauppauge, NY, by the end of April. Revenues generated from the Islip acquisition through May 31st will be reflected in API's fiscal 2004 financials, and we expect this deal to have a positive impact on our results. We further expect that Islip will bring API increased revenue on a long-term basis."
In business for over 50 years, Islip supplies the U.S. government with a wide range of electronic components and systems. Among its contracts with the DoD, Islip has supplied various types of build-to-print electronic modules, multilayer printed circuit board assemblies, flexible cables, I/O boards, radio frequency (RF) and connection cables with multiple wire strands and RF modules, and chassis assemblies. Islip components have been utilized in a variety of defense systems, including military generators, night scopes and missile systems.
Islip also manufactures and supplies the exciter component that works in conjunction with the Deck Status Light System manufactured by API's subsidiary TM Systems. This system provides helicopter pilots and flight deck crew with information about the status of landing areas.
In addition to manufacturing its own line of electronic components and systems, Islip has worked in all phases of contract manufacturing—from supplier chain control, incoming inspection and production to final assembly and testing. Contract services provided by the company include custom design, material procurement, electronic circuit board assembly, electromechanical assemblies, cable harness assemblies, and electrical and environmental testing.
While consumption of integrated circuits (ICs) in China should be very healthy between 2002-2005, it will be a mixed blessing for equipment manufacturers, according to the report, Mainland China's Semiconductor and Equipment Markets: A Complete Analysis of the Technical, Economic, and Political Issues, recently published by The Information Network (New Tripoli, PA).
China's IC industry is expanding rapidly. In 2003, the country produced 12.4 billion chips, which accounted for just 20% of domestic demand. Most high-end products used in computers and mobile phones had to be imported. Domestic semiconductor companies also had to import designs from overseas companies. Unit production will nearly double to 22 billion units in 2005, but domestic production will grow to meet only 22% of domestic demand.
"The equipment market in China is not what it's cracked out to be," stated Dr. Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network. "IC production is limited to 0.18 microns on 200 mm wafers. Much of the production equipment used in fab expansion are tools transferred from older lines from Japanese and eventually Taiwanese IC manufacturers. Non-Chinese IC manufacturers will buy state-of-the-art 90 nm tools for 300 mm production for their existing facilities and transfer outdated tools to China. In addition, the used equipment market will be huge. Second- and third-tier new equipment vendors will also benefit, as top-tier players have focused on the latest technology."
In 2003, the front-end equipment market saw 18% growth to $1.25 billion on the strength of sales to SMIC, according to the report.
"The Chinese government is investing $10 billion in the semiconductor industry in the next two years to increase production," added Dr. Castellano. "That effort, among others, will encourage additional construction of 300 mm fabs by SMIC and others, resulting in a front-end semiconductor equipment market of $4.2 billion in 2005."
The 340-page report analyzes Mainland China's semiconductor and equipment industries, examining the technical, economic and political issues that are shaping the industry. Markets are forecast from 2001 to 2006.
Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EI, Endicott, NY), a global supplier of organic semiconductor chip packaging, printed circuit boards (PCBs), board/system assembly and electromechanical equipment, has recently named Michael Arp as VP and CFO. The company also announced that Jay Desai has joined the company as VP of sales.
Arp joins the company with 31 years of financial management experience in several industries. Most recently, he served as VP of finance for NFI Interactive, a private transportation and logistics company. Arp has also held senior financial positions in the telecom and aerospace industries. In addition, he was the cofounder and CEO of American Turf Manufacturing Inc, now known as Worldwide Golf Resources. Arp is a graduate of the University of West Florida and Angelo State University.
Desai brings 20 years of experience in the electronic interconnect business. He has held positions in both engineering and sales, supporting PCBs, flex and rigid flex products for a variety of companies. In his most recent position as VP of sales and marketing for ISU Pentasys, Desai built a sales team and strategy that introduced the ISU business model in North America. He has experience in building strategic partnerships and long-term agreements with customers, and he has also managed development programs, certifications, cost reduction and process improvement efforts in his engineering roles. Desai holds a bachelor's of technology in mechanical engineering from MS University in Baroda, India, and an MS in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
TT electronics Prestwick Circuits (Irvine, Scotland), a subsidiary of global electronics manufacturing company TT electronics plc, is celebrating 35 years of manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs) in April 2004.
The company was originally founded in April 1969 with the objective of creating a precision manufacturing facility for high quality PCBs to supply the Scottish electronics industry. Prestwick now exports over 85% of products manufactured, up from just 11% 20 years ago.
Prestwick currently has customers in the automotive, telecommunications, consumer and defence industries. The automotive sector is Prestwick's largest market, with over 80% of PCBs manufactured by the Irvine plant being supplied to Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Compared to a figure of 1% in 1984, this demonstrates the huge growth in automotive technology and how dramatically the demand for electronics has increased as vehicle manufacturers become more advanced.
Derek Mansfield, managing director, TT electronics Prestwick Circuits, said, "Prestwick is one of today's largest manufacturers of printed circuit boards in Europe and, with 35 years' manufacturing experience, Prestwick has proved that it can endure and overcome the cyclical nature of our business and meet customers ever increasing demands. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Prestwick, to thank our valued customer base, loyal staff and suppliers, for their continued support."
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Speedline Technologies Inc. (Franklin, MA) reported that sales during the first quarter of 2004 were up more than 42% over the same period last year. Bookings levels have also increased dramatically with a growth of 55% over the first quarter of 2003.
"We're seeing an upturn in worldwide electronics manufacturing that is driving higher capital equipment purchasing," said Pierre de Villemejane, president, Speedline Technologies. "Europe and the Americas are recovering and Asia continues to grow."
De Villemejane said most traditional sectors of the electronics industry are participating in the recovery, including mobile phones, consumer electronics and computers. "Manufacturers are replacing obsolete equipment as well as expanding their facilities," he said. "However, Speedline is also witnessing a significant surge in special niche applications and new processes."
Speedline experienced rebounding sales across its entire portfolio, including CAMALOT dispensers; ELECTROVERT reflow, wave and cleaning products; and MPM printers.
"These sales increases are coming from our customer base, market share gains and new market penetration," said de Villemejane. "In particular, the trend toward lead-free printed circuit board processing is boosting sales of our wave soldering and reflow oven products."
According to the company, the recent sales growth also is attributable to Speedline's success in defining and developing new challenging applications and processes with a number of key customers. These achievements include new advances in underfill and medical dispensing, fine-feature printing with traditional and lead-free pastes, and efficient manufacturing configurations for lead-free wave soldering and reflow, fuel cell manufacturing and glue printing.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
SMT Resource Group LLC (Wake Forest, NC), a reseller and integrator of new and refurbished electronics assembly equipment, has purchased the manufacturing equipment from 3Com's plant in Ireland. SMT Resource assisted 3Com earlier in the asset disposition when their Singapore and Santa Clara, CA, plants closed and production was outsourced.
The agreement covers 50 surface-mount technology machines plus testers and supporting boxbuild equipment. Warehousing and shipping equipment is also available for sale. SMT Resource expects to sell most equipment by early summer. Earliest sales have been to established customers in Asia and North America, with some interest from Europe, especially for non-surface-mount technology equipment such as forklifts and storage racking.
SMT Resource has over 100 major pieces of equipment in inventory. Additionally, the company has sold 200 machines during the past 12 months. SMT Resource will sell, integrate and provide support and service for both new and refurbished electronics assembly equipment to achieve best in class selection for their customers.
SMT Spares specializes in spare parts not readily available from Panasonic and Fuji, especially for three- to ten-year-old machines. More spares are being added to the inventory weekly.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
National Semiconductor (Santa Clara, CA) has announced that it will offer lead-free packages for its complete line of integrated circuit (IC) products by the end of 2004. The company also will significantly reduce bromine and antimony-based flame-retardants in an effort to make more environmentally neutral electronic components.
Today, approximately 90% of National's portfolio of 15,000 analog and mixed-signal ICs is available in lead-free package types. Lead was formerly used in the plating finish of copper leadframe-based packages. It was also used in the solder balls of array packages such as micro surface mount device (SMD), PBGA and FBGA packages. National will replace the lead in leadframe packages with a matte tin finish and in the solder balls with a tin-silver-copper alloy. Once this aggressive program is fully implemented, National expects to replace approximately five tons of lead used per year.
"Samsung is currently using about one-half dozen different lead-free ICs from National Semiconductor in its flat panel display (FPD) products which are sold worldwide," said Soo Kyung Yoo, vice president Quality Team, Display Device Center, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. "In addition, we have aggressive plans in place to adopt National's lead-free ICs for use in a wide variety of other Samsung products."
Packaging is a critical part of the semiconductor manufacturing process. National's advanced package technologies enable its customers to build cell phones, displays, computers and many other electronic products that are small, thin, lightweight and have long-lasting battery life.
www.national.com/packaging/leadfree/
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
ASAT Holdings Ltd (Hong Kong, China) and ASAT Inc., global providers of semiconductor package design, assembly and test, has announced that it has been recognized with the SigmaTel (Pleasanton, CA) 2003 Assembly and Test Supplier of the Year Award.
ASAT was recognized for providing outstanding performance, on-time delivery, superior quality and continued support of the development of all of SigmaTel's product lines. ASAT has been providing assembly, test and package design services to SigmaTel for more than three years.
"ASAT has had a positive impact on our ability to rapidly ramp our products into high volume and deploy them more efficiently," said Steve Beatty, vice president of operations at SigmaTel, Inc. "ASAT's focus on continuous improvement in all aspects of its business has allowed us to consistently deliver quality products to our customers."
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Nu Visions Manufacturing LLC (Springfield, MA), a provider of electronics manufacturing in the Northeast, has increased production capacity for producing printed circuit boards (PCB). Responding to increased demand for populated PC board products, Nu Visions purchased four additional lines of Juki Automation pick-and-place machines in late 2003. Recently, Nu Visions added another high-speed placement line composed of Juki's KE-2060 and the new FX-1 machines for a total of 19 machines configured in eight lines. Nu Visions is the first manufacturer in the Americas to purchase the new FX-1 model.
Nu Visions specializes in low-volume, medium-to-high mix PCB manufacturing, partnering with customers from product design and concept through volume manufacturing. Purchasing Juki's equipment allowed Nu Visions to retrofit existing lines with updated trolley feeders that increase the speed of feeding parts.
The new KE-2060 is a hybrid machine, combining a high-speed chip shooter that places a wide range of components at 12,500 CPH with a fine-pitch placement machine that places 1,850 fine-pitch components per hour. It is quickly programmable and has a dual component recognition system with both vision and laser technology.
The FX-1 is a high-speed placement machine capable of 25,000 components per hour. The design structure of a dual head on a single x beam design contributes to the overall placement speed of this machine; one head picks components while the other head places them.
Nu Visions aims to provide small company flexibility and responsiveness with large company technical depth and manufacturing capabilities. Its growth during the last four years has been largely due to their ability to provide better service and offer strong surface-mount technology assembly capabilities. Some of these capabilities include: single and double-sided component populated assemblies, selective wave soldering, placing fine-pitch quad flat packs (QFPs) and connectors, plastic, tape, and ceramic ball grid arrays (BGAs), micro BGAs, high pin count interconnects, and high I/O BGAs.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Pro-mation Inc. (Kenosha, WI), a manufacturer of printed circuit board (PCB) handling solutions, has completed a 24-month performance study on 20 select PCB handling products.
Gary Goldberg, president and chief executive officer of Pro-mation, will share this informative information with industry professionals who are interested in PCB handling equipment.
For more information about the study, contact Goldberg: gary_goldberg@pro-mation-inc.com.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
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