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Fab News

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 06 October 2008

PELHAM, NH– PhotoMachining, Inc. has hired Dr. Francis Burns as its applications scientist. Working with customers, he will help to develop laser-based manufacturing processes. Prior to joining PhotoMachining, Burns worked for such companies as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and ESI. He has dedicated many years to the development of laser-based manufacturing technology for high volume applications, and he holds numerous patents.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 03 October 2008

YAVNE, ISRAEL– Orbotech Ltd. announced that it has finalized its acquisition of Photon Dynamics Inc. for nearly $290 million. As part of the agreement, Orbotech will pay $15.60 per share for all issued and outstanding shares of Photon’s common stock. A combination of external-source financing and internally generated funds financed the acquisition, and Orbotech is expecting additional flat panel display (FPD) revenues of $45 to $50 million for the remainder of the year. Operational synergies are predicted at $15 to $20 million for 2009. Existing Photon business will comprise part of the company’s FPD Division, and Orbotech plans to expand the range of AOL, test and repair solutions for FPD manufacturers.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 03 October 2008

ENDICOTT, NY– Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. (EI) has promoted Jennifer de Souza to vice president of supply chain management. Her responsibilities will include developing and executing direct and indirect materials procurement strategies using lean principles such as JIT and Consignment. She will also lead the way in streamlining the company’s supply chain by implementing the SAP toolset. de Souza has 10 years of experience in global materials management and strategic sources. Prior to joining EI in 2007, she was the global materials manager for Welch Allyn.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 02 October 2008

JAPAN and TAIWAN– Capacity increases by Union Tool of Japan and Topoint of Taiwan have lead market watchers to predict continued competition of shares in the PCB drill bit market for 2009. Union Tool plans to increase its monthly output to 35 million units by the end of 2008. This will be an increase of 4 million against 2007 figures. Topoint expects monthly figures over 17 million by the end of the year, up 30% from 2007. The company also predicts its global market share to reach 17% to 18% by the end of 2008.

TAIPEI – Taiwan Union Technology Corp. this week responded to a competitor’s allegations of patent infringement with a stern denial.

SHANGHAI, CHINA– Trace Laboratories, Inc. has opened a laboratory for complete testing solutions for OEMs and their suppliers. The lab supports material analysis, functionality, design validation, dimensional measurements and process validation testing. Trace sees the new facility as an “important step in assisting customers with their product validation in a timely fashion.” The lab is in a high-growth market, with production geared for the global marketplace. Trace believes this will save its customers time and money by removing the need to ship products prior to qualification.