Haapajärvi, Finland -- Flextronics has decided to close its printed circuit assembly plant in Haapajärvi, Finland, according to European news source Evertiq. Reportedly the plant’s 120 employees will be fired.
The closure is said to be due to high labour costs, so production is expected to transfer to a low-cost location. As Evertiq notes, the decision is surprising since the plant hired new staff last week. However, the company did lay off half of its Hungarian workforce (950 employees) in February.
SAN JOSE -- Electronic design automation (EDA) industry revenue for the fourth quarter was $1,253 million, up 5% over Q4 2004. For 2005, revenue totaled a record $4,575 million, or 3% more than 2004’s $4,437 million. The figures come from the EDA Consortium’s Market Statistics Service.
"The EDA industry continued to strengthen in the fourth quarter," said Walden C. Rhines, chairman of the EDA Consortium and chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics. "Revenues were up in all regions and most product lines."
The largest tool category, computer-aided engineering (CAE), generated revenue of $542 million, 4% more than the same quarter last year. CAE revenue for the year stayed at $1,925 million.
LAFOX, IL -- Arthur Buckland has resigned as president, COO and board member of Richardson Electronics, effective immediately. According to the company, he is leaving to pursue personal interests. Edward Richardson will take his place until a permanent replacement is found.
The company also discovered errors in financial accounting at one of its Italian subsidiaries, according to a release on PR Newswire. The company has not yet determined the impact of these errors for any specific period, but it estimates that the errors will reduce stockholders' equity by approximately $3 million to $4 million.
While the company continues to evaluate the magnitude and impact of these errors, its financial statements for the previous three years and their interim periods should not be relied upon, according to the report. The company is evaluating the adequacy of its accounting for income taxes in certain foreign jurisdictions for prior periods and is in continuing discussions with the present and former auditors concerning these matters.
As a result of ongoing evaluation of these accounting errors, Richardson does not expect to file its Form 10-Q for its fiscal quarter ended March 4, 2006 by the filing deadline.
Taipei -- Hon Hai Precision is expected to retain its position as Taiwan's largest electronic manufacturer in terms of sales in the first quarter of this year, according to Chinese news source CENS. Following Hon Hai are Quanta Computer, Asustek Computer Inc., Compal Electronics Corp. and BenQ Corp. Hon Hai expects $6.15 billion in sales in Q1, up 40% year-on-year. Quanta estimated it would see first-quarter sales grow 30% to reach $3.07 billion. Asustek projects 20% growth to $2.76 billion, and Compal said sales would rise 10% to $1.72 billion. Thanks to its merger with the handset unit of Siemens AG, BenQ is expected to snatch 80% annual growth in sales, hitting $1.47 billion.
Moorpark, CA -- Tier two EMS company CTS Corp. is establishing manufacturing operations in Matamoros, Mexico. Production is expected to start in mid-2006 and will focus on electro-mechanical and system integration. The Matamoros facility marks the fourth EMS manufacturing site in North America, in addition to Moorpark and Santa Clara, CA, and Londonderry, NH. CTS has manufactured components and sensors in Matamoros for nearly 40 years.