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MUMBAI – L&T Capital Co. Ltd. has paid a reported 1 billion rupees for a stake in Indian EMS provider Rangsons Electronics Pvt. Ltd.

According to published reports, L&T Capital took a 40% stake in Rangsons, one of India's largest native EMS companies.

L&T Capital is owned by engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Rangsons is part of the NR Group and is based in Mysore, India.

In a statement, L&T president R.N. Mukhija said, "Looking at the market situation and its growth opportunities, we believe this investment will bear fruit for both partners. Rangsons is well positioned to create significant value for its stakeholders. We see a great opportunity for Rangsons to be a global end-to-end solutions provider in EMS."

(US$1: 0.02441 rupees)

TUSCON, AZ — A University of Arizona professor has been awarded a $1.25 million, two-year grant to develop a sustainable process for electronics manufacturing.

Science Foundation Arizona issued associate professor of chemical engineering Anthony Muscat a $625,000 grant to to find ways to cut water and other materials from electronics manufacturing.

Matching funds will bring the total to more than $1.2 million in cash and other resources, according to reports.

Muscat's idea centers on the use of biological molecules to additively develop common lithography patterns traditionally conducted by subtractive processing.

He will work with Intel, Sematech, SEZ America, Semiconductor Research Corp. and ASM on the approach.

BADEN, SWITZERLAND – EMS firm Enics will purchase certain assets of ZTS Elektronika, the companies said Tuesday.

PALO ALTO, CA – The aerospace and defense industry, although exempt from RoHS, now faces the challenge of electronic device obsolescence, according to Frost & Sullivan. Some assemblers are accustomed to procuring devices that contain lead that meet military specifications. However, some of the new commercial off-the-shelf products will not meet this requirement, thus forcing participants in the military market to go back to the drawing board, the firm states.

The RoHS directive has forced companies to change their methods of designing and manufacturing products. Lead-free legislation resulted in the development of new production strategies and the modification of existing machinery so that products perform to the expected level with the support of the revised production materials and processes, continues the research firm.

“Even though the suppliers of these components insist on manufacturing leaded parts for military purposes, they will have to get fine-tuned to the rapidly changing technology and to the rise in prices of these parts, as they cater to a significantly small market,” notes Frost research analyst Ashwin T. Ananthakrishnan.

The trend of lead-free conversion is expected to become steady in the long term, the company notes. With the rising demand from various end-user industries, the increasing preference of Mexico as a manufacturing hub, adoption of lead-free substances and adherence to environmental regulations, the electronic manufacturing scenario looks promising in the North American region, the firm says.

SAN JOSE — Tessera Technologies promoted Michael Bereziuk to chief operating officer, responsible for the company's packaging, interconnect, and consumer optics businesses, including R&D, marketing and sales. He had been Tessera's executive vice president, product division since joining the company in February 2006.

Bereziuk spent the majority of his career at National Semiconductor, where he held numerous senior operations, sales and marketing roles. In his most recent position at National, he was senior vice president and general manager of the worldwide sales and marketing organization.

LOUISVILLE — Sypris Solutions Inc. controller and principal accounting officer Jeffrey T. Reibel resigned as of last Friday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

He has been replaced by Glen French, a former senior vice president of finance and treasurer for SHPS Inc. and director, financial planning and accounting for LG&E Energy Corp.