The Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA, Minneapolis, MN) recently announced the Best of Conference paper for the Ninth Annual Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium, held in February in Kahuku, Oahu, HI. As rated by the attendees, the award was presented to Charlie Barnhart of Technology Forecasters Inc. (Alameda, CA).

In his paper, "Contract Manufacturing Strategies: Addressing the Changing Global Landscape," Barnhart discusses "today's market preference for China, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) industry's fascination with off-the-shelf product solutions and the impact of these trends on the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturer (ODM) industries, as well as their probable reactions and their likely successes."

While the clear message is electronic manufacturing is expanding in China and shrinking in the Americas, Europe and even other Asian locations, China is not a panacea for manufacturing all types of electronic products.  Issues concerning logistics, management of program, employee skill level, labor conditions, infrastructure, business culture and government practices are adding unexpected costs.

The paper also looks at projected growth rates over the next five years, especially considering that net global capacity may actually decrease during the period.

The 2005 Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium will be held on Kauai, Hawaii, Jan. 25-27, 2005. 

www.smta.org/pan_pac/

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