CircuiTree - August 2008 - (Page 39)

[ Market Outlook ] Flextronics received manufacturing contracts from: • Optical Edge systems for BTI Systems’ Packets; • HP for notebook computers; and • Carmanah Technologies for solar technology products. Flextronics and Solectron applied for relief from Canadian provincial reporting obligations. Foxconn Hon Hai: • Expects to see its proﬁtability fall amid ﬁerce global competition and rising costs; • Moved three plants back to Taiwan from mainland China to curtail rising labor costs; • Was ranked Exporter of the Year in the Czech Republic in 2007; • Increased supply of computers to Dell at Mexico and Yantai, China, plants; • Was named an Apple iPhone 3G supplier; and • Chair Terry Gou donated NTD 300 million for Taipei’s pavilion at World Expo. Hanzas Elektronika appointed Alvis Vagulis managing director. HI-Elektronik declared insolvency. Houstech, a family owned assembly facility in Dallas, Tex., was sold to private investor Mike Dennis. IEC completed its acquisition of Val-U-Tech. Jabil: • Was offered USD 35 million in grants and tax breaks from the local government to keep its headquarters and manufacturing operations in St. Petersburg, Fla.; • Began production of PocketFinder products for Location Based Technologies in Le Mans, France; and • Installed Seratel’s Reel aMounts component counting system globally. Järlåsa Technology (new EMS company started by former chief executive ofﬁcer and founder of ElektronikProdukter in Järlåsa AB) began operations in Sweden. Johnson Medtech expanded medical device manufacturing capabilities with four new cleanrooms. JSC Mikron obtained the ISO 14001:2004 qualiﬁcation for its EMS production. Kitron ASA, Karlskoga, Sweden, renewed a EUR 5 million contract for additional ﬁve years with Gambro BCT, Denver, Colo. KK Electronics opened a new 8000 m2 plant in Ikast, Denmark. LaBarge joined the Russell 3000 Index. Norautron added a Rehm VX 3500 734 Nitro Reﬂow Oven, Cyber Optics KS Flex Ultra HR18 AOI, and a Siemens X2 and X3 to its facility in Horten, Norway. Perlos: • Formed a mobile handset joint venture, LITEONMOBILE, with Lite-On and Silitech; and • Is moving its headquarters from Vanda, Finland, to Beijing, China. PKC Group: • Appointed Marja Sarajärvi chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer after Sami Klemola resigned; and • Laid off 36 workers in Kempele, Finland. Plexus: • Appointed Niclas Detterfelt director European sales; • Chicago facility selected as one of Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association of Business Resources (NABR); and • Signed a lease for an additional 47,668 ft2 in Buffalo Grove, Ill. Sanmina-SCI: • Completed transition of Monterrey, Mexico, operation to Lenovo; and • Entered an engineering and manufacturing contract for fuel cells for Neah Power Systems. Siemens A.G. cut 330 jobs worldwide at its electronics assembly systems unit. Sparton: • Is closing its Albuquerque, N.M., manufacturing facility in September 2008; • Was awarded a manufacturing contract from Awarepoint for complex (active RFID) systems and asset tracking products; and • Implemented FusionOps AMS to automate material procurement and supplier collaboration. Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology plans to add 15 new production lines in China and 14 lines in Taiwan in 2008 to meet growing orders from panel makers. TT electronics achieved ISO 13485:2003 medical manufacturing qualiﬁcation in Suzhou, China. UEC Electronics recently leased a 25,000 ft2 building in North Charleston, doubling its total space. Winland Electronics appointed Warren Mitchell vice president of operations and supply chain. Xentenio, an EMS provider in Offenburg, Germany, is shedding 55 jobs. ■ Walt Custer and Jonathan Custer-Topai’s column is sponsored by Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials. Custer Consulting Group provides market research, business analysis, and forecasts for PCB fabrication and assembly, passive components, semiconductors, and the electronic equipment end markets. You can reach Walt by phone at 707-785-1777, email at walt@ custerconsulting.com, or visit his Web site: www.custerconsulting.com. Education on Demand Click… Play… Learn! Webinars Have some down time or looking to pick up information on your lunch break? Log on to our archived webinar series where you can view a full webinar presentation without leaving your desk. h http://webinar.circuitree.com Improve your industry knowledge without having to leave your desk with CircuiTree podcasts, videos, and webinars. All of our content is free and available to you when YOU have the time. Videos Watch videos of presentations CircuiTree captured during our live conference series. Each video also comes with the PowerPoint slides of the presentation, making it easy for you to follow along. www.circuitree.com/video w Podcasts See why our Technology Tip podcast series is gaining so much popularity with our site visitors. Each podcast contains a brief interview with an industry expert on specific subjects impacting the industry as a whole or the floor of your shop. www.circuitree.com/podcast w CircuiTree — The World’s Best Source of Information for the Printed Circuit Board Industry CT Education-Full.indd 1 4/24/08 9:42:51 AM circuitree.com • August 2008 CT Education-Quarter.indd 1 4/24/08 10:03:03 AM 39 http://www.custerconsulting.com http://webinar.circuitree.com http://www.circuitree.com/video http://www.circuitree.com/podcast http://circuitree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - August 2008

CirciuTree - August 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking Creating Connections Between Electronics Design and Manufacturing Happy Thoughts View From the Middle Market Outlook Fein Lines IPCA Showcase Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index Buyers Guide

CircuiTree - August 2008

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