Finance

An MPEG decoder and PCB x-ray system were two of the UK developed technologies winning Queen’s Award for Enterprise this week. Winners in the innovation category included Dage Precision Industries for its PCB x-ray system and e2v technologies, which was recognised its magnetron design which is used in the treatment of cancer. Chelmsford-based e2v also helped design a CCD sensor ...

Semiconductor capital equipment spending is expected to rise 53 per cent to $44bn, according to IC Insights. Samsung is budgeting to spend the largest amount – over $4bn, with Intel in second place on $3.8bn. STMicroelectronics, which announced this week that it was increasing its spend to $2.2bn, intends to be the third largest spender. Next come the Taiwan and ...

Top prize at the Annual Celebration of Engineering Awards this year went to an electronics project which also won the Duke of York’s Award for the most creative use of electronics technology. Alexander Warren, age 18, (on the right in the picture) from John Hampden Grammar School, High Wycombe was named as Young Engineer for Britain 2004 for his firefighter ...

Strong business demand has prompted PCB firm One Way Circuits to expand its business by acquiring fellow UK manufacturer Circast. Norwich-based One Way has been looking to increase its production capacity to support new business from customers not choosing to move offshore. “After years of Far Eastern market domination, Europe is fighting back as demand moves from high volume to ...

The Government has announced plans to give women better job opportunities in traditionally male-dominated industries such as engineering and manufacturing. “There are many women who want to get into science or manufacturing jobs, but are put off by the macho, male-dominated image and the misconception that a woman simply couldn’t do the job,” said Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary. ...

Hewlett-Packard (HP) will remain the world’s largest semiconductor purchaser in 2004 and 2005, according to the latest survey from analyst firm iSuppli. iSuppli predicts HP will account for 8.7 per cent of all semiconductor purchases among the world’s top 160 OEM buyers in 2004, spending $14.5bn on semiconductors, up 31.4 per cent from $11bn in 2003. The company’s semiconductor purchasing ...

The computer market remains the leading user of ICs and is expected to hold a full half of the IC market in 2004. That’s according the October update to the McClean Report from analyst firm IC Insights, which notes that the computer IC market is forecast to be twice the size of the communications IC market and almost four times ...

Well the first week of the calendar Q3 earnings season is behind us, and while there were few surprises in the wake of an autumn marked by a slew of negative preannouncements, there are a few interesting observations to be gleaned. First off, the industry definitely seems to be inclined to react faster to market conditions this time around. Many ...

After six months of “hot and strong” performance, the market for lithography equipment is starting to weaken slightly, according to Dutch supplier ASML, which last week released its results for the third quarter. Despite increasing gross margins from 35.5 per cent to more than 38 per cent from Q2 to Q3, and increasing its order backlog, ASML said a number ...

Suppliers are starting to take note of the automotive segment, market analyst Databeans noted in a recent report. The segment of the semiconductor market over the last few years has been stable, evidenced by the industry downturn in 2001, when the worldwide semiconductor market dropped by 32 per cent, while this segment fell only one per cent. As a result, semiconductors ...