While consumption of integrated circuits (ICs) in China should be very healthy between 2002-2005, it will be a mixed blessing for equipment manufacturers, according to the report, Mainland China's Semiconductor and Equipment Markets: A Complete Analysis of the Technical, Economic, and Political Issues, recently published by The Information Network (New Tripoli, PA).

China's IC industry is expanding rapidly. In 2003, the country produced 12.4 billion chips, which accounted for just 20% of domestic demand. Most high-end products used in computers and mobile phones had to be imported. Domestic semiconductor companies also had to import designs from overseas companies. Unit production will nearly double to 22 billion units in 2005, but domestic production will grow to meet only 22% of domestic demand.

"The equipment market in China is not what it's cracked out to be," stated Dr. Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network. "IC production is limited to 0.18 microns on 200 mm wafers. Much of the production equipment used in fab expansion are tools transferred from older lines from Japanese and eventually Taiwanese IC manufacturers. Non-Chinese IC manufacturers will buy state-of-the-art 90 nm tools for 300 mm production for their existing facilities and transfer outdated tools to China. In addition, the used equipment market will be huge. Second- and third-tier new equipment vendors will also benefit, as top-tier players have focused on the latest technology."

In 2003, the front-end equipment market saw 18% growth to $1.25 billion on the strength of sales to SMIC, according to the report.

"The Chinese government is investing $10 billion in the semiconductor industry in the next two years to increase production," added Dr. Castellano. "That effort, among others, will encourage additional construction of 300 mm fabs by SMIC and others, resulting in a front-end semiconductor equipment market of $4.2 billion in 2005."

The 340-page report analyzes Mainland China's semiconductor and equipment industries, examining the technical, economic and political issues that are shaping the industry. Markets are forecast from 2001 to 2006.

www.theinformationnet.com

Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EI, Endicott, NY), a global supplier of organic semiconductor chip packaging, printed circuit boards (PCBs), board/system assembly and electromechanical equipment, has recently named Michael Arp as VP and CFO. The company also announced that Jay Desai has joined the company as VP of sales.

Arp joins the company with 31 years of financial management experience in several industries. Most recently, he served as VP of finance for NFI Interactive, a private transportation and logistics company. Arp has also held senior financial positions in the telecom and aerospace industries. In addition, he was the cofounder and CEO of American Turf Manufacturing Inc, now known as Worldwide Golf Resources. Arp is a graduate of the University of West Florida and Angelo State University.

Desai brings 20 years of experience in the electronic interconnect business. He has held positions in both engineering and sales, supporting PCBs, flex and rigid flex products for a variety of companies. In his most recent position as VP of sales and marketing for ISU Pentasys, Desai built a sales team and strategy that introduced the ISU business model in North America. He has experience in building strategic partnerships and long-term agreements with customers, and he has also managed development programs, certifications, cost reduction and process improvement efforts in his engineering roles. Desai holds a bachelor's of technology in mechanical engineering from MS University in Baroda, India, and an MS in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

www.endicottinterconnect.com

TT electronics Prestwick Circuits (Irvine, Scotland), a subsidiary of global electronics manufacturing company TT electronics plc, is celebrating 35 years of manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs) in April 2004.

The company was originally founded in April 1969 with the objective of creating a precision manufacturing facility for high quality PCBs to supply the Scottish electronics industry. Prestwick now exports over 85% of products manufactured, up from just 11% 20 years ago.

Prestwick currently has customers in the automotive, telecommunications, consumer and defence industries. The automotive sector is Prestwick's largest market, with over 80% of PCBs manufactured by the Irvine plant being supplied to Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Compared to a figure of 1% in 1984, this demonstrates the huge growth in automotive technology and how dramatically the demand for electronics has increased as vehicle manufacturers become more advanced.

Derek Mansfield, managing director, TT electronics Prestwick Circuits, said, "Prestwick is one of today's largest manufacturers of printed circuit boards in Europe and, with 35 years' manufacturing experience, Prestwick has proved that it can endure and overcome the cyclical nature of our business and meet customers ever increasing demands. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Prestwick, to thank our valued customer base, loyal staff and suppliers, for their continued support."

www.prestwick.co.uk

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.

Speedline Technologies Inc. (Franklin, MA) reported that sales during the first quarter of 2004 were up more than 42% over the same period last year. Bookings levels have also increased dramatically with a growth of 55% over the first quarter of 2003.

"We're seeing an upturn in worldwide electronics manufacturing that is driving higher capital equipment purchasing," said Pierre de Villemejane, president, Speedline Technologies. "Europe and the Americas are recovering and Asia continues to grow."

De Villemejane said most traditional sectors of the electronics industry are participating in the recovery, including mobile phones, consumer electronics and computers. "Manufacturers are replacing obsolete equipment as well as expanding their facilities," he said. "However, Speedline is also witnessing a significant surge in special niche applications and new processes."

Speedline experienced rebounding sales across its entire portfolio, including CAMALOT dispensers; ELECTROVERT reflow, wave and cleaning products; and MPM printers.

"These sales increases are coming from our customer base, market share gains and new market penetration," said de Villemejane. "In particular, the trend toward lead-free printed circuit board processing is boosting sales of our wave soldering and reflow oven products."

According to the company, the recent sales growth also is attributable to Speedline's success in defining and developing new challenging applications and processes with a number of key customers. These achievements include new advances in underfill and medical dispensing, fine-feature printing with traditional and lead-free pastes, and efficient manufacturing configurations for lead-free wave soldering and reflow, fuel cell manufacturing and glue printing.

www.speedlinetech.com

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.