Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008 - (Page 10)

AROUND THE WORLD EDITED BY KATHY NARGI-TOTH CHINA EXPANSION PATENTS REEXAMINED HannStar Board Halts Vietnam Investment TAIWAN – Notebook PCB suppli- Tessera Says Market Wrong, Patents Valid SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies claims recent questions over a handful of the er HannStar Board has reportedly suspended its investment plans in Vietnam. Citing inadequacies in the local government infrastructure as the reason for the decision, HannStar Board will now look to China for its expansion, with preference for locations near Shanghai and Nanjing, according to company sources. The company reportedly will increase manufacturing space in its current China plant by over 1 million square feet for PCB manufacturing, and 50,000 square feet for HDI board manufacturing later this year. The company reports that it will also increase production capacity in its Taiwan plants by 100,000 square feet. 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. Compeq Forecasts Slower Sales for 1Q 2008 TAIWAN – Compeq Manufacturing has revised down its expected firstquarter sales, as demand for PCBs has reportedly been weaker than expected. The company forecasts a sequential sales decline of 25%, lower than the originally expected 10-15% drop. According to company sources, handset vendor orders are weak, and any sales rebound will not take place until late April or early May. In addition, sales to Chinese white-box handset customers were also slowed DDI Rebounds ANAHEIM, CA – DDi’s shares rebounded earlier this month, rising about 20% since the start of February, with company market value near $115 million last week. In Q4 2007, company sales rose 4% year-over-year to $45 million, and for full year 2007, DDi posted $688,000 in profits, reversing its $7 million loss in 2006. DDi filed bankruptcy in 2003. It is currently nearing the end of a reorganization that began when Mikel Williams, the company’s former CFO, became CEO after previous company head Bruce McMaster stepped down in 2005. Under Williams, the company ended European operations and sold its assembly business to Veritek Manufacturing Services LLC for $12 million. He also cut jobs, brought in new management, invested in new technology, and changed company direction by offering the manufacture of multilayered PCBs. In 2007, he increased DDi’s sales force. by the snowstorms in late January. While current order volume is stable, orders from Nokia are expected to decrease by 10% in the first quarter. Demand from Motorola is down due to that company’s struggles with cell phone sales. In addition to the weak sales from handset customers, sources point to a drop in rigid-flex PCB orders in the first quarter. Sales for this segment are expected to decline over 40%. The company supplies rigid-flex PCBs for Apple’s iPod. Virtual Success UP Media Group Announces Second Virtual PCB SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group announced today that the second Virtual PCB, the industry’s only virtual trade show and conference for PCB design, fabrication and assembly, will take place on November 18-19, 2008. The decision to hold a second, autumn event was based on the overwhelming positive input from attendees and exhibitors. More than 2,200 PCB designers, fabricators and assemblers registered for the February 12-13 live premiere – almost half from outside the U.S. On average, each attendee stayed in Virtual PCB for 1 hour and 38 minutes per visit. Those numbers are expected to grow, as the archived show will available for the next three months. A fully interactive, Web-based event, Virtual PCB incorporates all the critical features of a live event, while allowing PCB design, fabrication and assembly equipment and materials buyers and sellers to interact online. For more information about Virtual PCB, visit virtual-pcb.com or contact Show Manager Alyson Skarbek at 678-589-8865 or askarbek@upmediagroup.com. 10 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB APRIL 2008 http://virtual-pcb.com

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Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Tip Jar Interconnect Strategies Positive Plating Improving Fabrication Yields by Design Solve Design Problems with Signal Integrity Optimization Laser Direct Imaging Made Easy Troubleshooting the Innerlayer Process SIPS Give More to Moore Off the Shelf Marketplace Ad Index BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - April 2008

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