SMYRNA, GA – CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazine today announced AsteelFlash Group as its annual EMS Company of the Year.

ELKHART, IN -- Top 40 EMS company CTS Corp. is expanding its operations in Matamoros, Mexico due to growing demand for low cost North American assembly.

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA -- Qualcon, a contract manufacturer based in the Atlanta suburbs, is closing and will be auctioned.

EL SEGUNDO – Global consumer electronics equipment manufacturing revenue in 2010 is set for a rebound from the downturn of 2009, setting the stage for a sustained rise during the next four years, says iSuppli Corp.

Overall OEM revenue for consumer electronics in 2010 is projected to reach $340.4 billion, up 6.2% year-over-year, reversing the 4.4% decline in 2009.

The market will continue to climb steadily during the next four years, adding revenue ranging from $3 billion to $18 billion yearly, ending with more than $385 billion by 2014.

Consumer confidence levels this year are higher globally than they were in 2009, suggesting buyers will be more inclined to acquire new devices or upgrade old electronics equipment, says the firm.

Nonetheless, potential trouble could lie ahead, especially if the fragile economic recovery unspools and consumers decide to withhold spending dollars, iSuppli warns. Furthermore, inventories of consumer goods are beginning to accumulate, especially in LCD panels and televisions, where oversupply is starting to appear. And although overall unit shipments for electronic devices will keep growing in the years ahead, the continual price erosion that is a hallmark of the consumer market will lead to virtually flat revenue after 2012.

The strongest performers in the consumer electronics space this year compared to last are LCD-TVs and Blu-ray players.

LCD-TVs will ship more than 178 million units in 2010 – up slightly from earlier projections of 177 million units – bringing in revenue worth almost $95 billion, iSuppli says. Even in 2009, LCD­TV shipments rose by almost 40%.

Blu-ray player shipments will reach 16.4 million units this year, up 82.2% compared to 2009. Blu-ray player shipments will continue to rise at rates exceeding 50% for the next two years, after which expansion will moderate and level off. By 2014, Blu-ray shipments will amount to 68.9 million – nearly eight times their 2009 level.
The long-term picture for Blu-ray, however, may not be quite as optimistic as figures seem to indicate, iSuppli believes. Because other consumer systems such as video game consoles, digital media adaptors and televisions are increasingly able to stream movies and other video content, the need for a physical disc player might diminish over time. iSuppli believes Blu-ray players will not enjoy the same longevity as the DVD player did.

The portable media player market in 2010 now is expected to fall short of earlier forecasts, iSuppli research shows. Facing greater competition from other electronic systems like cellphones with multimedia capability, PMPs will suffer declining shipments after what appears to be the market peak for the segment in 2009.

GUARULHOS, BRAZIL -- Visteon is making a multimillion dollar investment to expand its interiors and electronics production capacity in Brazil.

ZEELAND, MI -- Gentex will purchase an existing, 108,000 sq. ft. electronics manufacturing facility in Holland, MI, to help cope with greater demand for the company's automotive electronics.

VANCOUVER, BC -- Northstar Electronics reported a three-month net loss of $366,859, down from a net loss of $288,009 a year ago.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The printed circuit board recovery has reached a “plateau” based on the book-to-bill ratio trends, IPC says.

The ratio fell in October for the fifth straight month, as order growth has slowed, the trade group said.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA reported third-quarter net income fell 40.5% year-over-year to $1.2 million despite a huge jump in sales.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC is encouraging the US Securities and Exchange Commission to go easy on businesses preparing for tracking so-called “conflict minerals” through their supply chains.

The association says while it supports the underlying goal of a recently enacted law that places mandatory reporting on several types of metals to ensure they do not originate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the SEC should allow maximum time and flexibility for industry to implement the new rules and develop supply-chain-based due diligence.

The metals in question include gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. Congo is home to an estimated 20% of the world's tantalum supply, and also mines the other minerals. Per Section 1502 of the financial reform bill signed by President Obama in July, the SEC is charged with enforcing the rules on American businesses that use or trade those metals.

In written comments to the SEC, IPC outlined complexities for electronics manufacturers that include tracing conflict metals from finished products back through complicated supply chains to the smelter; tracing mineral ores from the smelter to the mines of origin; and identifying which mines are conflict mines (mines whose output is controlled by or taxed by warring factions).

IPC encouraged the SEC to develop appropriate exemptions for recycled materials and materials already in the manufacturing supply chain at the time the regulations are implemented. The association also said the SEC should conduct a thorough economic analysis of the regulation before issuing a final rule.

ALBUQUERQUE – A New York federal bankruptcy court ordered Mark IV Industries to remove contaminated groundwater at its former PCB manufacturing site here, say published reports.

Mark IV formerly operated Gulton Industries and sold the property to Chant Corp. in 1978.

In 1995, the firm agreed to perform site remediation, removing contaminated soil by injecting a hydrogen releasing compound into groundwater. However, in April 2009, Mark IV ceased the work when it filed for bankruptcy.

The Environment Department filed a motion to maintain Mark IV’s cleanup obligations, and the court ruled the cleanup is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

SAN JOSE – North American manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.59 billion in October orders, up 110.7% year-over-year and down 3.5% sequentially.

The book-to-bill ratio fell below the benchmark 1.0 level, however, suggesting softness ahead.

October billings were $1.62 billion, up 133.7% year-over-year and up 0.7% sequentially.

The book-to-bill ratio was 0.98, says SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.98 means $98 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

“The October book-to-bill ratio dipped below parity for the first time since June 2009, as continued billings strength was accompanied by a hesitation in new orders,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The market for new equipment reflects seasonal softening and near-term respite in capital spending in some segments of the industry. However, bookings remain at more than double the figure reported one year ago and above the average figure reported during the 2006-2007 cycle.”