36 The PCB Design Magazine • January 2015
PCB007
News Highlights
the integration of power semiconductors into
PCBs and to tap the chip embedding market for
high-power automotive and industrial applica-
tions.
Cicor Wins DeviceMed Award
The DeviceMed Awards were presented at the
Compamed in Düsseldorf, the leading interna-
tional trade fair for medical technology industry
suppliers. Cicor came out on top in the Outsourc-
ing Partner category.
South Korean FPCB Firms See
Sharp Fall in Sales
In 2014, price decline continued to deteriorate,
which led to a sharp fall in revenue of South Kore-
an vendors. The implications of high-speed capac-
ity expansion are high fixed costs, which would
thus result in a plunge in profit margin.
Saturn Electronics Now UL Certified
for Aismalibar IMS
The certification allows Saturn to UL stamp their
products using the entire line of Cobritherm mate-
rials which includes ALCUP-G 1.3w, ALCUP 1.8w,
HTC 2.2w, and HTC 3.2w. The company can now
offer a high-quality European alternative the small
group of IMS materials currently available in the
North American market.
Candor Invests in Equipment from
atg, Olec, Pluritec
Canadian high-technology PCB manufacturer
Candor Industries announces it has improved
overall production, speed, and capability through
recent capital investments from atg, Olec, and Plu-
ritec.
Aspocomp to Cease Operations
at Teuva Plant
It was decided that a total of 34 personnel, con-
sisting of 28 non-salaried and six salaried employ-
ees, will be made redundant and production at
the Teuva plant will be closed down.
TTM, Viasystems Receive Second
Request from FTC
TTM Technologies, Inc. and Viasystems Group Inc.
announced they have each received a second re-
quest from the United States Federal Trade Com-
mission for additional information associated with
TTM's proposed acquisition of Viasystems.
Dragon Circuits Battles Industrial
"Planned Obsolescence"
The company is announcing an ongoing effort to
combat planned obsolescence. Vice President Ra-
jan Babaria says, "I recently discovered complaints
about an Asian-made cable (for a gimbal) that
was designed to break easily, ensuring customers
would have to repurchase after a just a few uses.
Our team discussed it and had it redesigned and
built with better, more durable material."
All Flex Invests in Capital Equipment
All Flex has improved its component inspection
capability with the purchase of an inline cleaner
and an automated optical inspection (AOI) system
to handle flexible circuits with high volume com-
ponents. The AOI has the latest optics technology
that rapidly scans for placement accuracy and the
inline cleaner has an advanced system that helps
deliver defect free parts.
N.A. PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio
Recovers in October
"Unusually strong growth in North American PCB
orders in October is good news for an industry
that has experienced declining sales for more than
three years," said Sharon Starr, IPC's director of
market research. "The impact can be seen in the
book-to-bill ratio, which made a strong comeback
this month, indicating that sales may begin to re-
bound by the end of the year."
Infineon Acquires 9.4% Stake in
Schweizer Electronic
By investing into Schweizer, Infineon emphasizes
its intention to jointly develop technologies for
36 The PCB Design Magazine • January 2015
