Electronics in Motion and Conversion July 2012 - Bodo's Power

MARKET
ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY DIGEST
By Aubrey Dunford, Europartners
GENERAL
More than 12 million
parts have
been involved in
counterfeit incidents
during the
period spanning
the start of 2007
through April 2012,
so IHS. Reported
incidents of counterfeited
parts
amounted to 1,363 in 2011. However, each
incident can include thousands of separate
parts, adding up to 12 million over the past
five-and-one-quarter years. This equates to
slightly more than 1 counterfeit part every 15
seconds. Companies in two countries
accounted for two-thirds of counterfeit incident
reports in 2011: China was actually No.
2, while the United States was No. 1. The
two countries were neck and neck, with
China at 32 percent and the U.S. at 33 percent.
For many companies, particularly those
in the defence and aerospace industries,
much of the counterfeit risk lies in obsolete
parts.
SEMICONDUCTORS
The top 20 semiconductor suppliers showed
a 4 percent decline in Q112 sales as compared
to Q111, at $ 52.28 billion. This growth
rate is 10 points less than IC Insights’ fullyear
2012/2011 worldwide semiconductor
market growth forecast of 6 percent.
Sitelesc, the French semiconductor association,
reports Q112 semiconductor sales in
France were up 13.7 percent on a euro
basis compared to Q411, and down 2.7 percent
compared to Q111. Particularly, sales to
the OEMs were sequentially up 11.5 percent
in integrated circuits and down 9.1 percent in
discretes, optoelectronics and sensors.
Intersil announced a restructuring plan that
includes a reduction of approximately 11 percent
of Intersil’s worldwide workforce and a
reduction of approximately $ 40 M in annual
operating expenses. Intersil’s net revenue for
the first quarter of 2012 was $ 156.0 M, a
21.6 percent decrease from the first quarter
of 2011, and a 5.9 percent decrease from
the fourth quarter of 2011.
Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden (ZMDI), a
semiconductor company focused on energy
efficiency, is establishing an R&D design
centre in Limerick, Ireland. The company will
create 35 engineering positions for graduates
and technicians over 5 years, with the
support of government, through IDA Ireland.
The R&D centre will focus on the development
of products for the smart power management
sector. Headquartered in Dresden,
Germany, ZMDI has 280 employees worldwide.
Based on imec technology, the start-up Epi-
GaN has opened its new production site in
Belgium for the volume production of their
gallium nitride epitaxial material.
Gallium Nitride on Silicon (GaN-on-Si) is a
key technology enabler for clean energy
generation and more efficient power conversion.
EpiGaN focuses on providing III-nitride
epitaxial material solutions for key market
segments such as power supplies for consumables,
hybrid electric vehicles, solar
inverters, RF power for base stations, smart
grid... EpiGaN has been incorporated in
2010 and is currently offering GaN epitaxial
layers deposited either on Si up to 150 mm
or, for specific applications, on SiC. Wafer
diameters of 200mm are under development.
OPTOELECTRONICS
Large-area (9”+) TFT LCD shipments fell by
3 percent Q/Q in Q112 to 170.2 million,
reflecting adjustments in supply chain inventories,
so NPD DisplaySearch. However, the
report forecasts that shipments are expected
to make a strong recovery in Q212 to 189.6
million, up 11 percent Q/Q and 4 percent
Y/Y.
PASSIVE COMPONENTS
February sales for Germany’s PCB industry
was flat month-on-month, so the ZVEI. However,
sales were down 6 percent compared
with the same month last year. Incoming
orders for the month, meanwhile, were 7
percent lower year-on-year. Book-to-bill ratio
is at 0.95. In terms of workforce, the number
of employees fell by 3.4 percent, attributed
to weaker demand in some specialized
areas.
OTHER COMPONENTS
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton and
electrical equipment supplier Cooper Industries
have entered into a definitive agreement
under which Eaton will acquire Cooper
in a total transaction equity value of approximately
$ 11.8 billion.
DISTRIBUTION
EBV Elektronik, an Avnet company, was
awarded “European Distributor of the Year
2011” by Atmel for highest growth in demand
creation and revenue.
Easby Electronics has added ultracapacitors
to its product portfolio, with its appointment
as franchised distributor for the UK and Ireland
by the Canadian company, Nesscap
Energy, a manufacturer of ultracapacitors.
Digi-Key announced the launch of its new
website for Israel. The Israel website can be
viewed in both Hebrew and English. Customers
placing orders using the Israel website
may do so in the local currency, the
Israeli Shekel (ILS). Digi-Key also
announced the signing of a global distribution
agreement and will now distribute
Maxwell ultracapacitor products worldwide.
Dig-Key has also signed a global distribution
agreement with T-Global Technology, a supplier
of advanced thermal management solutions.
The distributor was also named TDK-
EPC’s Top Distributor for Fiscal Year 2012.
This is the comprehensive power related
extract from the « Electronics Industry Digest
», the successor of The Lennox Report. For
a full subscription of the report contact:
eid@europartners.eu.com
or by fax 44/1494 563503.
www.europartners.eu.com
22 Bodo´s Power Systems ® July 2012 www.bodospower.com