EL SEGUNDO, CA – Total worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter amounted to 76.2 million units, up 11.7% sequentially and up 14.2% compared to the same quarter in 2006.
 
The quarter was strong for top-tier U.S. PC brands, with Hewlett-Packard padding its dominance in the global market, Dell showing signs of a resurgence and Apple coming on strong, according to iSuppli Corp.
 
In the fourth quarter, H-P’s global PC shipments rose to 14.6 million units, up 25.5% year-over-year, says the research firm. It marked the sixth straight quarter H-P led the worldwide PC shipments rankings.
 
“Hewlett-Packard has capitalized on its strong channel presence and its strength in the fast-growing notebook PC segment, allowing it to attain and maintain market leadership,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for iSuppli.
 
Dell saw its fortunes improve considerably in the quarter, with shipments of 11.3 million units, up 17.4% year-over-year. This compares to 1.5% growth during the third quarter. Dell’s shipments were up 14.1% sequentially, the largest percentage increase among the top six brands, says iSuppli.
 
Apple ranked No. 6, a position the company has held since the third quarter of 2007. The company’s total fourth-quarter PC shipments grew 39.3% year-over-year, with equally strong growth for its desktop and notebook businesses.
 
As a result of its acquisition of Gateway in the fourth quarter, Acer achieved the No. 3 ranking, moving ahead of Lenovo. Incorporating shipments from Gateway, Acer shipped 7.2 million PCs in the fourth quarter, representing year-over-year growth of 25% on a combined basis. Lenovo shipped 5.8 million units, and in the process achieved a year-over-year growth rate of 21.3%, according to iSuppli.
 
Toshiba maintained its position as the fifth-largest PC OEM on a worldwide basis, shipping 3.1 million units, up 25.3% year-over-year.
 
H-P achieved the No. 1 shipment ranking for 2007, knocking rival Dell from the top spot. H-P shipped 49.6 million PCs in 2007, a 29.7% increase, more than double the growth rate achieved by the whole PC market, says the firm.
 
Dell achieved 2007 PC shipments of 39.7 million, up 1.7%. H-P and Dell achieved market shares of 18.5% and 14.8% respectively for the year.
 
Apple’s unit shipments grew 33.6% in 2007, giving the company a 2.8% share of the global market.
 
On the Gateway acquisition, Acer overtook Lenovo for third with a market share of 9.1%.
 
Lenovo achieved 7.5% market share, up from 7% in 2006. Rounding out the top five was Toshiba, which also had impressive growth of 22.5% year-over-year, giving the company a market share of 4.2%.
 
Further shuffling could be in store if Acer’s planned acquisition of Packard Bell is approved by European regulatory bodies.
 

SAN MARCOS, CA – Amistar Corp. has entered into an agreement to sell the assets of its automation machine division to newly formed Amistar Automation Inc., based in San Marcos, CA. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
Joseph Pultinevicius becomes president and chief operating officer and Richard Geisz vice president of operations for Amistar Automation.
 
The new company takes over a series of process equipment lines for assembly and product identification. The company will also continue to distribute the i-Pulse line of SMT and automated optical/laser/x-ray inspection equipment.
 
Amistar Corp. will provide service, warranty and support to existing customers.

MINNEAPOLIS – Nortech Systems reported net sales of $29.3 million for the fourth quarter, up 6% year-over-year. Operating income was $1.1 million, up 47% compared to 2006. Net income totaled $504,112, up 13.8% year-over-year.
 
For 2007, the company reported record net sales of $118.1 million, up 12% year-over-year. Operating income increased 38%, to $3.6 million. Net income was $1.6 million, up 20% compared to 2006.
 
“Last year’s accomplishments were highlighted by a successful acquisition and the launch of our Lean manufacturing initiative,” said Mike Degen, Nortech’s president and CEO.
 
“Our backlog position ended the year strong across our company, positioning us well for the first quarter,” he said.
 
The acquisition of Suntron’s assembly operations in Garner, IA, last February added capabilities and customers in new markets, including agriculture and oil and gas.
 
Nortech’s Lean manufacturing initiative was deployed at its aerospace systems operation last year. Rollouts are planned at other Nortech locations during 2008. 

SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies claims recent questions over a handful of the chip-packaging firm’s patents mischaracterized the process and the patents’ validity.
 
“Nothing issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in these reexaminations has overturned our patents. We believe the market may have misunderstood the PTO’s terminology, and we are taking this opportunity to clarify the process,” said Scot Griffin, senior vice president and general counsel, in a statement. “Claims of a patent cannot be invalidated in reexamination until the process is fully complete, including all appeals.”
 
The PTO recently issued office actions regarding claims in five Tessera patents, and the company anticipates action on a sixth shortly. However, asserts Tessera, the PTO reexamination process does not suggest a final determination against the company. Moreover, after a determination, Tessera could appeal and the patents would remain in force throughout all appeals.
 
Tessera is familiar with prior art to the patents under reexamination because of previous lawsuits; the company says those lawsuits were resolved in its favor.
 
On March 4, Tessera petitioned the U.S. International Trade Commission to review the recent decision to stay its wireless ITC action. ITC staff also filed its own petition arguing against the stay. The commission is expected to decide within the next 25 days whether it will review the stay decision.