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Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 02 January 2009

SAN JOSE, CA – Atmel Corp. has completed the sale of its wafer fabrication facility in Heilbronn, Germany to Tejas Silicon Holdings Ltd. (TSH). UK-based TSH will absorb approximately 260 fabrication and support employees. As part of an aggressive transformation plan to increase its competitive position, the sale leaves Atmel with two manufacturing facilities.

“Atmel continues to increase its focus on and investment in its high-growth, high margin proprietary product lines. We have already divested or shut down 14 non-core product lines, while consolidating or streamlining others. In addition, we have divested or closed three wafer fabrication facilities as we implement our fab-light strategy. We look forward to continuing to build on this momentum,” says Steven Laub, CEO.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 02 January 2009

HONG KONG – Wong Kong King Technology Ltd. (WKK) has entered into a license agreement with Nihon Superior to manufacture and sell SN100C, lead-free solder, in China.

WKK will dedicate a plant in Dongguan, China for manufacturing. Production is scheduled to begin in April with local distribution to commence in May.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 30 December 2008

PHILADELPHIA — In a statement Rohm and Haas asserts that the completion of the K-Dow Petrochemicals partnership between Dow Chemical and Petrochemicals Industries Company of Kuwait is not a closing condition for the proposed merger between Rohm and Haas and Dow Chemical.

Rohm and Haas and Dow Chemical entered into a definitive agreement on July 10, 2008 providing for the acquisition of Rohm and Haas by Dow, subject to the terms of that agreement. Rohm and Haas Company shareholders approved this agreement on October 29, 2008. Rohm and Haas continues to work towards the completion of this agreement.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 29 December 2008

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, SEOUL, KOREA and MELVILLE, NY – Across the globe, copper clad laminate (CCL) suppliers are making adjustments to production volumes and product pricing to cope with weakening demand. Park Electrochemical announced last week that sales for the third quarter were down 23% and profit fell by over 60%.

CCL suppliers in Taiwan and Korea are said to be conducting price wars following demand drop and lower copper prices according to industry sources. The average copper price has dropped from $3.67 per pound in August down to the current price of $1.29 per pound, a 65% drop. Some CCL suppliers have taken losses on copper in inventory that was purchased at the higher third quarter prices and not sold when demand dropped throughout the fourth quarter. These materials are being sold at a loss to clear inventory.

Some CCL suppliers in Taiwan and Korea are quoting laminate materials based on current copper prices in an attempt to gain market share and reduce inventory levels. This is a change to the common practice of quoting based on an average cost of copper over the previous two-to-three month period.

At the same time many CCL suppliers are cutting production, closing plants and reducing headcount.

The decline in CCL prices and weakened demand impacts raw material prices and production as well. As an example, glass fabric manufacturer Taiwan Glass Industrial has stopped production at two more furnaces, TT-6 in Taoyuan, Taiwan and TGF-2 in China. The company had already stopped operations at three other furnaces earlier in December.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- Yu Fo Electronic, a PCB motherboard supplier with manufacturing locations in Taiwan and China, reported declining sales and an overall factory utilization rate below 50% for the fourth quarter.

This news follows announcements by Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology of sharp declines in shipments for the fourth quarter. Asustek and Gigabyte estimated fourth-quarter shipments would drop by 10% to 25%.

Yu Fo's November sales were down 48% compared to previous months.

According to sources, Yu Fo has reduced its workforce in Huizhou China by 300 people. This is expected to reduce labor cost by approximately $60,000 monthly. The company has also stopped some production lines in Huizhou, China and Taoyuan, Taiwan to cope with weakened demand.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Altium has named Triacon Scientific as its channel partner for Sweden. Triacon will sell Altium Designer, as well as Desktop NanoBoard and daughterboards. In addition, it will provide training, sales and support to local electronics designers.

By extending its sales force of channel partners, Altium believes it will strengthen future growth. “Sales grew 30% in Europe last quarter and 18% in the last financial year,” said Frank Hoschar, managing director and vice president of sales and support EMEA, Altium. “European organizations are rapidly turning to Altium’s next generation electronics design solutions.”