CircuiTree articles from January 2002

CircuiTree archives from January 2002

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2002... PCB Makers: Practice What You Preach! Are you familiar with, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"? PCB manufacturing buyers' purchasing habits are virtually identical to that of the GEMs and OEMs. Most PCB purchasing...

Without Research, There is No Development. (The Way We See It).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Congratulations to Agilent, who has joined forces with ITRI to build a fiberoptic product test center. The center is expected to speed the development of international standards for products that contain fiberoptic components. It's wonderful to...

Back-to-Back Trade Shows Reveal Market Conditions: With supplier viability a growing concern, the TPCA Show and Productronica gave exhibitors a chance to demonstrate both their innovation and their staying power.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Two shows in two weeks--first the TPCA Show in Taipei, then Productronica in Munich. Clearly, both shows had lower and more local attendance, yet the general mood among exhibitors and attendees was that the industry will certainly rebound in...

Comdex: A Very Different Show from Five Years Ago. (Fein-Lines).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... If you haven't been to Comdex in the past five years, you would not recognize it. Once a far larger show, with marquee exhibitors such as IBM, Microsoft, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and Kodak ruling the show floor, this year's show revealed the...

People.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... European Institute for Printed Circuits (EIPC) Maastricth, The Netherlands--During Productronica in November, the EIPC elected a new Board of Directors and unveiled an extensive program of activities. Although the Board wished him to...

Hakuto America, ABBA Rubber International Form Exclusive Agreement.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mountain View, CA--Jun Takagi, the division manager of Hakuto America, and Robert McDonald, CEO and Chairman of ABBA Rubber International Inc., signed an exclusive agreement in which ABBA will be the recommended roller supplier for all Hakuto's...

IPC unveils new 'Long Range Plan'. (News from Northbrook).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... I thought that we would start off our 2002 column series with a look at IPC's new Long Range Plan. Every good business needs to take the time to evaluate where it has been and where it should go in the future. IPC is no different and we've...

When it comes to EMC, don't do the math. (Plane Talk).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... While hiking in the Berkshires last summer, I bumped into two old college chums of mine, Jack and Jill. As I rounded a bend on a particularly steep trail, I came up with a start, for there they were, sitting on a rock, each rummaging in a...

DuPont forms new business unit.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Wilmington, DE--DuPont (NYSE:DD) formed a new business unit within DuPont Electronic Technologies. The new unit is called DuPont Integrated Circuit Packaging & Interconnects. The move is part of a strategy to expand into the interconnection of...

Segmenting the 2001 PWB Market: Despite this year's PWB sales sinking to a new low, the surviving fabricators have a chance to acquire the marketshare of those companies that no longer exist.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... With so many PWB facilities going under the knife in 2001, what will be left of the proverbial "market pie" as we begin 2002? We witnessed a mass exodus of PWB orders to Asia, a weak U.S. demand for products, terrorist attacks, and a global...

The Double-Edged Sword of Globalization. (Asian Aspects).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In the last 30 years, Japanese electronics companies became the leading manufacturers in the world consumer market. Many electronics manufacturers, such as Sony and Panasonic, developed new consumer products that were reliable, relatively...

Camtek moves into New Headquarters. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Migdal Haemek, Israel--Camtek Ltd. announced that it has obtained new headquarters in Israel. The company moved into a new building in Migdal Haemek. Camtek can be contacted at P.O. Box 544, Ha'arig Street, Migdal Haemek 23150, Israel.

Phibro-Tech expands Copper Carbonate Production. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fort Lee, NJ--Phibro-Tech Inc., a subsidiary of Philip Brothers Chemicals Inc., expanded its copper carbonate production. Phibro-Tech manufactures EPA-registered copper carbonate, catalyst grade copper carbonate, and light and dense material...

MacDermid's Waterbury Facility transfers Production. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Waterbury, CT--MacDermid Inc. announced the transfer of virtually all production from Waterbury, Conn., to other U.S. manufacturing sites, primarily Ferndale, Michigan. The transfer of production will take place over the next six months....

Cimnet Systems, ManiaBarco announce Cooperative Agreement. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Downers Grove, IL--Cimnet Systems Inc. announced a cooperative agreement with ManiaBarco. Both parties will cooperate to provide a link between their products that will enhance data integration among disparate systems. "Cimnet Systems is...

DGC Enterprises, Circuit Solutions Group Form Alliance. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tustin, CA--Circuit Solutions Group and DGC Enterprises (Glen Rock, NJ) formed a business alliance to serve the PWB industry. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will work together to offer marketing and technical services,...

Lloyd Doyle releases New Optical Test System, sells Excalibur System. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Walton-on-Thames, UK--Lloyd Doyle released an ultra-high resolution optical test system for PCBs. This development is available on all Excalibur reflective light and phasor laser-based automatic optical test systems, and will bring sub-30...

LPKF celebrates 25 Years of Rapid Prototyping. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Wilsonville, OR--LPKF Laser & Electronics celebrated 25 years of designing and manufacturing prototyping systems. Reaching a landmark 9,600 installations worldwide, LPKF is confident it will be serving engineers for many more years to come....

Rogers Corp. announces Grand Opening of Taiwan Facility. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Rogers, CT--Rogers Corp. announced the grand opening of the manufacturing facility for its newest 50/50 joint venture, Rogers Chang Chun Technologies Co. Ltd (RCCT), located in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. The joint venture partnership formed in July 2000...

ESI Ships Laser Systems to Infineon Technologies. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Portland, OR--Electro Scientific Industries Inc. announced purchase orders from Infineon Technologies for multiple Model 9820 laser semiconductor processing systems. The 300 mm systems are to be installed at Infineon Technologies (Dresden,...

Cemco-FSL sells Quicksilver Machine at Productronica. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Waterlooville UK--Cemco-FSL announced that MWL Leiterplattentechnik GmbH (Mittweida, Germany) purchased the Quicksilver Hot Air Solder Leveler displayed at Productronica 2001. This is the second Quicksilver purchased by MWL, with the decision...

Innoveda launches Strategic Partner Program. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Marlboro, MA--Innoveda Inc. unveiled a partner program with more than 60 high-tech companies already participating. Partner companies gain early access to the full spectrum of Innoveda's design automation tools. The program is designed to...

PCI to Represent Hakuto in the Northeast. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Salem, NH--Effective immediately, PCI Sales & Marketing, Inc. has been appointed by Hakuto America (Schaumburg, IL) to represent its entire equipment line of automatic cut sheet laminators, vertical and horizontal exposure systems, automatic...

H.A.M. Technology acquires Tudor Materials. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Anaheim, CA--H.A.M. Technology USA, a cutting tool supplier to the PCB industry, acquired its Northern California agent Tudor Electronic Materials (Santa Clara, CA). This merger will enhance H.A.M. Tech's presence in the San Francisco Bay Area....

Isola Laminate Systems to Close La Crosse Facility; Realign Production. (Suppliers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... La Crosse, WI-Isola Laminate Systems will permanently close its La Crosse, Wis., manufacturing facility by March 31, 2002, and will shut down its Hoosick Falls, NY facility for an indefinite time period. Production of Isola's specialty...

Understanding Fundamental Optics: (Part III). (Seeing the Light).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... This month I will discuss the optics that are I used to image or focus the beam on target. I will also discuss their practical application, especially in microvia drillers. The two most common types of lens configurations are focusing and...

Fine lines in high yield (Part LXXVI): Drying Board Surfaces after Wet Processing Steps. (Tech Talk).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Many wet processing steps in PWB fabrication are followed by a drying step. For example, preceding photoresist application to a board surface there is typically a wet process cleaning sequence that terminates in rinsing and drying steps. More...

Rogers introduces Zyvex. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Rogers, CT--Rogers Corp. introduced the first of its new Zyvex (TM) liquid crystalline polymer circuit materials at Productronica 2001. Although the initial product configuration is designed for flexible circuit applications, additional...

Camtek launches Lynx at Productronica. (Products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany--Camtek revealed its latest AOI system at Productronica. Lynx is Camtek's largest panel AOI system. With scanning tables ranging from 36"x50" to 36"x70", the Lynx is ideal for backplanes (large format panels). Lynx is based on a...

GIL Technologies Showcases High Frequency Laminates, Roll-to-Roll Circuitry Materials. (Products).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Memphis, TN--GIL Technologies Inc. introduced its new GML 2000 Series of high frequency laminate materials, delivering the low loss characteristics of PTFE substrates at lower overall cost. Also announced was GIL's new developmental product,...

OPTEK introduces New Equipment at Asian Trade Shows. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Taipei, Taiwan--Operations Technology Inc. introduced two new pieces of equipment at two consecutive trade shows in Asia. The CIPC show (Shenzhen, China) saw the debut of the VideoMic 712J at the WKK (Wongs Kong King) booth. This semi-automatic...

Lloyd Doyle releases New AOT Option. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany--Lloyd Doyle announced the release of a new option for their range of AOT equipment. Specifically designed for the inspection of microvia holes, it is available as an add-on for all Excalibur 5000[X.sup.2] and phasor systems....

Camgreen Technologies offers X-Out Replacement Service. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... South Plainfield, NJ--Camgreen Technologies offers X-out board replacement service to PCB fabricators. When purchasing multi-up array PCBs, assemblers oftentimes have a no X-out policy or only accept a percentage of X-outs, causing fabricators...

Cimnet Systems launches Engenix[TM] at Productronica. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Downers Grove, IL--Cimnet Systems Inc. launched Engenix, its new intelligent engineering execution solution, at Productronica 2001. Engenix, a standalone, rules-based software solution, integrates engineering, shop floor, and business systems...

Everett Charles announces MagicSuite(TM) Software Upgrade. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Pomona, CA--Everett Charles Technologies introduced new features in its MagicSuite 5.3 software release. Upgrade additions such as improved support for combination grid and prober test, the addition of automatic and/or manual control of test...

Covercrete Targets PCB Fabricators. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Canada--Covercrete Ltd. initiated a marketing plan to raise PCB industry awareness of the uses of polyurethane flooring in circuit fabrication facilities. Despite these layered materials being already well-proven in the harsh manufacturing...

FASTechnologies installs Shop-Wide-Web at Multek. (Products).
January 1, 2002... Elk River, MN--FASTechnologies Inc. and Multek announced the installation of the Shop-Wide-Web, web-based drill and rout job information server at Multek's Irvine, Calif., facility. The Shop-Wide-Web is an intranet server which provides...

Schmoll introduces MX6 Drilling Machine. (Products).
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany--Schmoll Maschinen introduced a new generation of PCB drilling machines at Productronica under the registered trademark, Multi-X (R) Technology. The company unveiled the MX6, a 6-spindle-machine with Multi-X Technology Each...

Phoenix/X-Ray Breaks Sub-Micron Barrier with Nanofocus X-Ray Tube. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Camarillo, CA--phoenix/x-ray Systems + Services Inc. introduced the first true nanofocus x-ray tube capable of obtaining images down to 0.5 micrometers (500 nanometers), small enough to sharply and clearly image microvias. Called the xslseries...

Electrochemicals granted another Shadow[R] Patent. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Maple Plain, MN--Electrochemicals announced it has been granted another patent pertaining to Shadow[R] Direct Metalization Technology. Patent number 6,303,181 describes the use of a cationic conditioner and a binder used in combination to...

Zuken creates CadStar Express; introduces EM Checker. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Westford, MA--Zuken announced that CadStar Express, a free version of its PCB design solution, CadStar 5.0, is now available. Targeted at universities and start-up companies, CadStar Express is a version of CadStar 5.0 limited to 20 library...

NanoVia announces Reel-to-Reel Microvia Drilling System. (Products).
January 1, 2002... Londonderry, NH--NanoVia, LP offers the NV1O1O series CSP prototyping system. The NV1010 has a reel-to-reel TAB handling system, that allows package developers the ability to drill small lots of packages for testing or customer evaluation. The...

DuPont introduces New Laminate for Flex Circuitry. (Products).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Wilmington, DE--DuPont iTechnologies introduced a new Pyralux (R) laminate for use in flexible circuits requiring fine line traces. The new all-polyimide adhesiveless-clad, called Pyralux (R) TM can be used in displays, high-density disk drives...

Mania's Nova 200 Opens New Possibilities for Electrical Test. (Products).
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany--During Productronica 2001, Mania Technologie AG presented the first electrical test system worldwide that works without touching the interconnect carrier to be tested: the Nova 200. Using the technology of "controlled electron...

Print Process reveals Layup 1. (Products).
January 1, 2002... Zug, Switzerland--Print Process AG introduced the Layup 1 to its line of multilayer process equipment. The Layup 1 is a fully automatic pin-less layup line for multilayer core packages. Computer controlled dispensers will deliver the proper...

The Way Ahead. (PCIF Perspective).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Even before the tragic events of September 11th, the industry was showing signs of severe hemorrhaging. Fortunately, there are now indicators of the green shoots of survival. October 2001 shows book-to-bill ratios for North America and...

New Insights on X-ray Inspection for Multilayer Testing: What type of X-ray system is right for your needs?(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For years, electrical testing such as in-circuit and bare board testers and visual inspection have been the mainstay for quality control of PCB manufacturing. Today, the increased inspection requirements of more complex multilayer boards with...

HDI's Improvement of Signal Integrity. (Happy Thoughts).
January 1, 2002... In these troubling times, most companies have redoubled their efforts at new product creation. Design services and quick-turn facilities report that they are filling up. This is good news! Now is the time to look into using microvias and HDI...

Elcoteq Network to Add New Chinese Facility. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Helsinki, Finland-- Elcoteq Network announced it will add a new facility in China's Xingwang (International) Industrial Park to supply Nokia's cell phone venture in the region. The facility, scheduled for operation by 2003, will employ 1,200...

Jabil establishes Three New Design Centers. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... St. Petersburg, FL--Jabil Circuit Inc. announced that it has set up three new design centers, located in Bergamo, Italy; Penang, Malaysia; and Raleigh, North Carolina. The new sites will offer electrical and mechanical design services, global...

EFTC expands, relocates Northeast Facility. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Lawrence, MA--EFTC Corp. announced the expansion and relocation of its Northeast operations to a new 75,000 sf facility in Lawrence, Mass. The manufacturing plant was previously located in Wilmington, Mass. EFTC's Northeast operations provides...

SMTEK buys Century Electronics Assets. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fort Lauderdale, FL--SMTEK International Inc. bought assets of Century Electronics for approximately $3.1 million. The move enables the CEM to operate plants in New England, Silicon Valley and Thailand, while also expanding its presence in...

Viasystems reports Earnings, Restructures Facilities. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... St. Louis, MO--Viasystems Group Inc. announced that the company's earnings, adjusted for goodwill amortization, from ongoing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2001, were a loss of $27 million, or $0.19 per fully diluted share....

Manufacturers' Services Ltd. closes Utah Facility. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Salt Lake City, UT--Manufacturers' Services Ltd. announced that it decided to close its Salt Lake City, Utah plant, effective the first quarter of 2002. Production from the Utah site will be transferred to other manufacturing facilities.

Solectron, NEC enter Agreement. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tokyo, Japan--Solectron Corp. and NEC Corp. announced a plan to enter an agreement under which NEC would transfer the manufacturing business of its Ibaraki, Japan facility (NEC Ibaraki, Ltd.) to Solectron, and Solectron would provide...

Flextronics Opens Japanese Subsidiary, Fires 10,000 Workers. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tokyo, Japan--Flextronics International Ltd. announced it established a Japanese subsidiary "Flextronics Japan KK." Its purpose is to cultivate the EMS market in Japan and strengthen ties with the Japanese parts manufacturers with which it has...

Global Electronics manufacturing Alliance Launched. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany-ems-Alliance was launched at the Productronica Fair in Munich, Germany. The alliance consists of six companies in six different countries: Brazil, China, India, Italy, Sweden and the U.S. Together they form a worldwide EMS...

IEC Electronics, AMIRIX become Partners. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Newark, NY-IEC Electronics Corp. and AMIRIX Systems Inc. (Halifax, Nova Scotia) entered into a strategic alliance. The partnership will offer customers a total end-to-end solution from conceptual design and PCB layout to supply chain...

Siix establishes Three New Assembly Operations. (EMS Report).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Osaka, Japan-Siix Corp. announced that it established three new PCB assembly plants in Asia (Thailand; Dongguan and Shanghai, China), as well as one in Europe's Slovak Republic. The facility in Thailand is 10,000 sin, and boasts 14...

Everything you ever wanted to know about Laminates for Frequency Dependent Applications...But were afraid to ask.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The basics of RF/microwave signals, and how those basics impact the laminate materials choices made in frequency dependent circuitry. In the earliest generations of printed wiring boards, the etched circuits were little more than neatly...

Flexible Circuits meet the Press ... A Brief Review of Coverlayer Lamination Materials and Methods. (Flexible Thinking).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... While it may seem rather mundane, lamination of machined adhesive-backed coverlayer is one of the more important process steps to be mastered in flex circuit manufacture. There are a number of different steps in the process, and a variety of...

Lightning Circuits earns QS 9000 Certification. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario--Lightning Circuits announced it has successfully completed its QS 9000 certification. A maker of single-sided PCBs, Lightning is now prepared to handle all automotive PCB requirements.

Aspocomp to Cut Jobs at Evreux Plant. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Helsinki, Finland--Aspocomp is in negotiations with employees to cut approximately 210 jobs at the PCB maker's French facility (Evreux, France) by December. The facility employed 545 people in September 2001.

DDi Opens 'Fast-Track' Assembly Plant in San Jose. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Anaheim, CA--DDi Corp. announced the opening of its new fast-track assembly facility located in San Jose, Calif. The new campus specializes in high mix, low- to mid-volume, high complexity interconnect assembly and systems integration services....

Circuit World anticipates Lower Revenues. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Toronto, Canada--Circuit World Corp. announced that revenues for the third quarter will be substantially lower than for the second quarter at approximately $4.5 million with a net loss of approximately $.17 cents per share or $1.3 million.

Denso announces New Kind of Multilayer PCB. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tokyo, Japan--Denso Corp., parent company of Southfield, Mich.-based Denso International America Inc., developed a new multilayered printed circuit board: the PALUP (Patterned Prepreg Lay Up Process) board, that can be formed at low-cost by...

M~Wave sells Texas PCB Facility. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Bensenville, IL--M ~ Wave Inc. announced that it has sold its facility located in Frisco, Texas. The PCB company operated the facility until 1999 when the business was sold to Performance Interconnect. At that time, the company entered into a...

Chin-Poon Industrial Upbeat on Future. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Taipei, Taiwan--Chin-Poon Industrial Co. announced that it expects its after-tax earnings per share (EPS) will surpass NT$3 in 2001, executives of the firm said. Based on the financial statement for the first three quarters, Chin-Poon...

Innovex to Repurchase One Million Shares. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Maple Plain, MN--Innovex Inc. announced that its Board of Directors approved the repurchase of up to 1,000,000 shares of the company's outstanding common stock. As of September 30, 2001, the company had 15 million shares outstanding. The...

Melko Electronics, QuadRep announce Relationship. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Los Altos, CA--Meiko Electronics Co., Ltd. entered into a manufacturers representative agreement with QuadRep, Inc., a multinational professional sales organization. Under the terms of this agreement, QuadRep, Inc. will become the exclusive...

Teradyne receives Cisco Award. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... San Jose, CA -- Teradyne Inc.'s Connection Systems Division (TCS) announced it is the recipient of this year's "Transformation Supplier of the Year Award" from Cisco Systems Inc. Teradyne was selected for demonstrating the ability to contribute...

Signum Circuits goes into Receivership. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Selkirk, UK--It was announced that Signum Circuits went into receivership, which could force half of the PCB maker's 125 employees to lose their jobs. Receivers KPMG said that they are still hopeful of finding a buyer for the printed circuits...

AT&S posts High Profits. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Leoben, Vienna--Despite the gloomy news in the telecom sector, AT&S, a European PCB supplier to the beleaguered market, offered some good news. In the first six months of the financial year, AT&S generated a total turnover of 135 million Euros....

Microcraft Opens European Office. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Munich, Germany--Japanese bare board test manufacturer Microcraft used Productronica as a launching pad for its new European subsidiary, Microcraft GmbH. This European office begins a new chapter in Microcraft's swift rise in the competitive...

OMG Microbond introduces High Performance Solder Pastes. (Fabrication).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As a developer and manufacturer of solder pastes, OMG recognized the unique demands of printing and multi-dot dispensing applications, formulating product technologies to optimize these application techniques. The company's restrictive flow...

So ... How long will this last? (Market Outlook).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... This recession has been around too long. Many of us have lived through multiple "downs" in the business cycle, but this one is awful. The North American PCB industry has been hit especially hard due to the global recession coupled with many...

The Impact of Copper Thickness on Quality: (Part 1). (Between the Conductors).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The materials, equipment, and processes used in the fabrication of printed circuits determine the quality of the boards manufactured, and impact the performance and reliability of the finished product. Given an acceptable selection of materials...

Alcatel to buy control of Shanghai Bell. (OEMs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Shanghai, China--Alcatel recently announced it plans to purchase control of Chinese telecoms network gear supplier Shanghai Bell and consolidate its China operations under it. Alcatel said once it controls Shanghai Bell, it will fold its own...

Sweden's Telia signs deal with Flextronics. (OEMs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Stockholm, Sweden--Flextronics will pay approximately $100 million to acquire 91 percent of The Orbiant Group from Telia, Sweden's largest telecommunications equipment and network provider. The Orbiant Group will be integrated with Flextronics...

Triplex reveals World's First Silver PCB Graphic Card at Comdex. (OEMs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Las Vegas, NV--Triplex, a company specializing in 3D accelerator and sound cards, announced it has produced the world's first silver PCB graphic card. Dubbed Triplex Millennium Silver, the company claims that the card boasts a good cooling...

Motorola sees Bright Future in China. (OEMs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Nanning, China--Citing the burgeoning Chinese telecom market, Motorola said it will increase investments and technical transfers in China, localize management and supporting products, and establish more joint ventures. The company also aims to...

DaimlerChrysler announces Telematics Partnerships. (OEMs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Auburn Hills, MI--DaimlerChrysler has signed agreements with Intel, IBM, AT&T Wireless, Johnson Controls, and Gentex to provide key elements in its telematics drive. DaimlerChrysler chose AT&T as its wireless communications provider; Johnson...

One Logical Place to Store Information: Pre-Production Engineering at the Crossroads. (Zen And The Art of Information Technology).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... I ran into an old friend, an engineering manager, at a local diner. I asked him how things are going. "Well, frankly, I feel battered and bruised," he said. "The job is getting me down. I spend so much time running around just finding and...