Circuits Assembly - April 2008 - (Page 8)

NEWS In Brief EMS provider EMS Components Assembly Inc. (emscai.com) inaugurated its third manufacturing plant in Laguna on Feb. 22. The company, formed in 2004, has sales of $110 million and employs 1,400. Electrolube (electrolube.com) opened a corporate office in California and an operations center in Chicago to support US customers. The new offices will provide a base to build distribution channels, increase sales and marketing activities and enhance customer and technical support over the coming months. EMS provider Hunter Technology Corp. (hunterpcb.com) and its new subsidiary CADParts & Consulting now offer PCB design and engineering services nationally through four design service centers: Santa Clara, CA; Denver; Crossville, TN; and Marlboro, NJ. Additional centers will be added during the next year, beginning this month in San Diego. AIM (aimsolder.com) named Prime Commercial Co. as a distributor for its line of electronics assembly materials in Korea. Prime is available at primecm@unitel.co.kr. The US Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov) has assigned a patent to SonoTek Corp. (sono-tek.com) covering the creation of thin organic films on complicated substrates using ultrasonic nozzles in combination with a vacuum system. The patent covers a process for coating 3-D substrates with thin organic films and products. Applications include coating of implantable medical devices such as drug-coated cardiac stents, diabetes monitors, and other geometries. MES software provider Optimal Electronics Corp. (optelco.com) has partnered with Test_ing, Tecnologia, Control y Automatizacion Industrial (test-ing.com. mx) for sales and support in Mexico. Indium Corp.’s (indium.com) Chicago Materials Division has received ISO-9001:2000 certification. Industry Edited by Mike Buetow Foxconn Constructing Plant Near St. Petersburg ST. PETERSBURG – Foxconn Technology Group (fih-foxconn.com) is making headway toward building an assembly plant near St. Petersburg. The firm reportedly has begun construction on a 12 hectare-site near Kolpino. The company plans to invest about $50 million on the project and will eventually employ some 5,000 staff at the site, according to reports. Production is planned for launch at the beginning of 2009. A shortage of personnel in St. Petersburg is said to be a serious issue and is unlikely to be resolved soon. Foxconn said it could introduce social incentives in an attempt to “improve the company’s compatibility in the market,” say published reports. Hewlett-Packard (hp.com) reportedly has a stake in the project, and its PCs and laptops initially will be assembled at the plant. H-P’s share in the business is under discussion. Initially 20,000 PCs and laptops will be produced in Kolpino, with future plans to expand production up to 100,000. – Chelsey Drysdale Flextronics Buying Elcoteq’s Russia Ops HELSINKI – Elcoteq (elcoteq.se) in February said it would sell its Russian subsidiary ZAO Elcoteq to Flextronics (flextronics.com). The deal includes Elcoteq’s St. Petersburg plant, and is expected to close by April. Financial terms were not specifically noted, although Elcoteq said it would book a one-time gain of about $4.5 million in its second quarter. Under terms of the deal, Flextronics will get the plant site – reportedly 48,000 sq. ft. – and staff. Elcoteq will retain the customer accounts. As of January, the plant employed 550 workers. Elcoteq had previously announced it would seek a buyer for the unit, as the company has consistently lost money on its Russian operations. The EMS firm is trying to reduce its annual costs by $104 million to $119 million as it seeks to rebound from the loss of certain Nokia business. “The divestment of the Russian subsidiary plays a central role in improving Elcoteq’s profitability and balance sheet in 2008,” said Jouni Hartikainen, president and CEO of Elcoteq SE, in a statement. – Mike Buetow Report: IMI ‘Eyeing’ Vietnam MANILA – EMS provider Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (imiphil.com) has plans to set up operations in Vietnam, a top executive said in an interview. “It is always an open opportunity. Hopefully, this year,” IMI senior managing director for manufacturing and custom business operations Emmanuel Barcelon reportedly said. Barcelon said Vietnam needs to improve its English language fluency and government responsiveness. In the Philippines, IMI subcontracts certain assembly services to EMS Components Assembly Inc. (emscai.com). “We are looking to replicate this ‘captive’ model in China and Vietnam,” Barcelon said, according to the report. The company currently has operations in the Philippines, US, China and Singapore. – Mike Buetow Flextronics Gobbling Up Hungary Workers SAN JOSE – Flextronics (flextronics.com) will add production and up to 1,000 new employees in Hungary this spring, according to published reports. The Napi Gazdaság, quoting a Flextronics executive, reported the EMS company will add operations in Sárvár and Zalaegerszeg. “Flextronics will launch a new, large-volume production program in Hungary this year,” said Péter Papp, HR director of Flextronics International, the paper reported. Production is scheduled to begin in May. Flextronics will add some 1,000 workers to the 10,000 it already employs at five production bases in Hungary. Flextronics will also expand its regional services center in Zalaegerszeg, the report said. – Mike Buetow circuitsassembly.com 8 Circuits Assembly APRIL 2008 http://fih-foxconn.com http://emscai.com http://electrolube.com http://hp.com http://elcoteq.se http://hunterpcb.com http://flextronics.com http://aimsolder.com http://imiphil.com http://uspto.gov http://sono-tek.com http://emscai.com http://flextronics.com http://optelco.com http://test-ing.com.mx http://test-ing.com.mx http://indium.com http://circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - April 2008

Circuits Assembly - April 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Design and Modeling of High-Speed, High-Density 3-D CSPs and Memory Modules The ‘Big Brush Off’ Revisited Impact of Soldering Atmosphere on Solder Joint Formation Beyond Moore’s Law ESD Control For Class 0 ESDS Devices Growing Your Brand This Year’s Model Tech Tips Reflow Soldering Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned Getting Lean Equipment Advances Apex Product Preview Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - April 2008

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