Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Fab News

Fab News

LYNCHBURG, VA – Waytec Electronics Corp. has named James Pierce as operations manager; he has over 25 years of experience in the industry. Prior to his appointment, Pierce worked for such companies as Benchmark Technologies, Parlex and Global Innovations.

"We are excited to bring someone of Jim's expertise on board," explains Wayne Booth, owner of Waytec. "He adds experience and credibility as we continue to grow our management team in 2009."

GHENT, BELGIUM – Ucamco has signed an agreement naming WKK its distributor in China. WKK will handle Ucamco’s plotter and software products, including the Integr8tor PCB sales solution, the SilverWriter and calibr8tor series of laser photoplotters, SmartPlate and the UCAM family of front-end software.

WKK believes the relationship will benefit its existing product range and provide the company the opportunity to offer a complete hardware and software solution for the bare-board printed circuit board (PCB) industry. Ucamco feels that China is its major growth market, despite the unstable economy, and WKK represents the dynamic, established and well-respected partner the company has been looking for.

LISLE, IL – A further decline in market demand has forced Molex to revise its fourth-quarter outlook and implement cost reductions. Revised figures predict December revenue between $650 million and $670 million, a significant decline over the prior outlook of $750 million to $800 million.

Cost-saving measures include a planned reduction in the company’s workforce. An exact number and date have not been issued.

ROGERS, CT and RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA – Rogers Corp. has initiated a patent infringement complaint against Arlon Electronic Material Group of Rancho Cucamonga. The complaint is in regard to US Patent No. 5,552,210, “Ceramic Filled Composite Polymeric Electrical Substrate Material Exhibiting High Dielectric Constant and Low Thermal Coefficient of Dielectric Constant.”

Read more: Rogers Issues Patent Infringement Claim Against Arlon

MELVILLE and NEWBURGH, NY – Park Electrochemical Corp. announced that its electronics materials business unit, New England Laminates Co., Inc. will close in January. The company says the closure is a result of the poor electronic materials market in North America.

Existing customers of New England Laminates will be supplied and supported from Park’s facilities in Fullerton, CA and Tempe, AZ. A one-time, pre-tax charge of nearly $1.3 million in the fourth quarter is predicted.

ENDICOTT, NY – Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. (EI) has been awarded a research and development contract by the US Department of Defense. The $12 million contract supports the continued development of advanced high-speed electronic packaging technologies, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), system development and substrate design.

EI has expanded and modified its existing facilities and purchased equipment to support the scheduled work. The company also plans to hire additional employees. “The work for the DoD needs to be performed within the boundaries of the United States, so we are actively recruiting engineers across multiple disciplines to develop the next generation of scientists and engineering support personnel,” explains Rajinder Rai, vice president of R&D and general manager of Integrated Circuit Assembly Services at EI.