Fab News

TAIPEI – First-tier notebook maker, Compal Electronics reported notebook shipments for June rose 8% sequentially to 2.7 million units.
 
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OULU, FINLAND – Aspocomp Oulu Oy has purchased two Schmid wet processing lines, a pre-treatment line for solder mask and a solder mask developer.
 
The modules feature fine line spray technology and a quad-staggered system; both lines will be able to transport multilayer boards 0.14 mm to 6 mm in thickness, with an aspect ratio up to 28 high. The systems are scheduled for installation in October.
TAOYUAN, TAIWAN – After five year of planning and construction, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) announced the completion of its headquarters.
 
Nearly 150 guests, including Simon Chen, chairman of TPCA, and Yun-Chen Wong, vice chief of the Economic Development Department of Taoyuan County, attended the July 9 ceremony.

TPCA is a non-profit organization that acts as a communication platform, supporting and promoting an open exchange of information throughout the global PCB industry.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – The third quarter is looking promising for Tripod Technology and Global Brands Manufacture (GBM). Sales are forecast to see double-digit increases sequentially, says DigiTimes. 
 
Tripod reported second-quarter unaudited consolidated sales climbed 21% from last month to NT$7.76 billion (US$234.59 million). June revenue increased 3% to NT$2.65 billion (US$8.25 million).
 
Monthly capacity at its Taiwan and China plants is 500,000 square feet and 5.8 million square feet, respectively, with an average utilization rate around 80%.
 
For the quarter, the company expects a surge in notebook PCB demand from the launch of ultra-thin notebooks, smartphones and GPS products. Monthly HDI capacity is currently 800,000 to 900,000 square feet, according to Tripod.
 
GBM reported second-quarter sales rose 26% sequentially to NT$7.55 billion (US$228.45 million). June revenue climbed 10% to NT$2.58 billion (US$8.25 million).
FRANKLIN PARK, IL – American Standard Circuits (ASC) has received its second patent from the US PTO.
 
U.S. Patent 7,540,081 covers Thermasil Film, used to bond high- or low-frequency PCBs to metal heat sinks with thermally conducting, electrically insulating, silicone-based film.
 
The film can be made in thickness measuring 3 mil to 25 mil, with thermal conductivity from 1.5 W/mK to 4.5 W/mK.
 
ASC plans to license the technology.
SHANGHAI – The AT&S facility in Shanghai has been named the largest HDI site in China by a China Printed Circuit Association (CPCA) industry statistical report for 2008. 
 
The report measures both PCB output and sales revenue. The plant produced more than 550,000 square meters of HDI PCB last year.

In 2008, the overall HDI area output in China fell by 1.21% year-over-year, and revenues dropped 2.33%. AT&S gained market share by increasing output by more than 15% and raising revenues.  
 
The Shanghai operation is focused on high volume, laser-drilled HDI PCBs for mobile devices such as cell phones and digital cameras. Recently, HDI demand has also grown in the automotive sector, increasing the market size for these products.

With a total investment of about $500 million in the Shanghai facilities, AT&S is the largest Austrian-based, industrial investor in China. The Shanghai plant has a total of 100,000 square meters of manufacturing space and is the largest AT&S production site. 
 
The CPCA ranked AT&S second in 2007 and fourth in 2006.

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