MARLBOROUGH, MA – In January, EKRA shipped its 700th screen printer into the Americas, the company says.
EKRA America also announced a successful 2008, which matched 2007, its best year to date.
Headquartered in Marlborough, MA, EKRA America provides screen printing solutions for the SMT, hybrid and semiconductor packaging markets in the Americas.
TORONTO -- Celestica became the latest EMS firm to announce a debt reduction plan, announcing last night plans to purchase up to $150 million worth of its 7.875% senior subordinated notes due in 2011. Under the modified Dutch tender offer, Celestica will purchase notes in a range $960 to $1,010 per every $1,000 in principal, with the offer expiring in a month.
Like many of its competitors, Celestica has large amounts of cash on hand and is using some to lower its debt and perhaps boost its earnings. At the end of December, the company had $1.2 billion in cash on its balance sheet, and was in a net cash position of $468 million.
"We believe Celestica is looking for a way to return value to shareholders through repurchasing its near-term debt," Deustche Bank analyst Sherri Scribner wrote in a research note. She estimates Celestica's buyback will reduce debt levels and lower its interest expense by roughly $10.5 million a year.
SACRAMENTO, CA -- The state of California sent a stern message to semiconductor chip manufacturers yesterday by enacting mandatory rules controlling greenhouse gases.
SMYRNA, GA -- More than 2,000 PCB
designers, fabricators and assemblers registered for Virtual PCB (www.virtual-pcb.com), the industry's only
virtual trade show and conference, which took place this week.
The live
event was held Feb. 24-25, and the show will remain open in an archive
mode for two months.
Exhibitors include several leading suppliers of
placement, soldering and test equipment, materials, software, and bare boards.
The technical conference includes Webinars on design, simulation, soldering,
lead-free assembly, and environmental issues from well-known industry experts.
New this year were technical chats featuring experts on subjects ranging
from CAD and MCAD software to laminates, and from assembly process defect
solutions to the potential of alternative energy platforms for SMT
manufacturers.
“We found the technical conference to be a huge draw, with
some Webinars attracting several hundred attendees, which simple logistics would
prevent at the industry’s ‘live’ events,” said Mike Buetow, editor in chief of
Circuits Assembly, which cosponsored Virtual PCB.
A fully
interactive, Web-based event, Virtual PCB incorporates all the critical features
of a live event while allowing PCB design, fabrication and assembly equipment
and materials buyers and sellers to interact online.
BANNOCKBURN, IL – January PWB shipments fell 17% year-over-year, and bookings decreased 29.3%. The combined industry book-to-bill fell to 0.89, says IPC.
For the month, rigid shipments dropped 18.9%, and bookings dipped 30.7% compared to the same month last year. The book-to-bill slipped further to 0.88.
Flex shipments rose 16.6%, while bookings slid 1.8% year-over-year. The book-to-bill declined to 0.98.
“Sales and orders of rigid PCBs declined sharply in January compared to January 2008, but flexible circuit sales were surprisingly strong,” said IPC. “The industry has not hit the bottom yet, but we will continue to watch the leading indicators, such as our book-to-bill ratio, for signs of an upturn.”
Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90% of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC. In January, 90% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced.
For the month, flex circuit manufacturers indicated bare circuits accounted for about 71% of their shipment value.