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Five Companies Join NEMI
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HERNDON, Va. - July 31, 2002 -- Five organizations have recently joined the ranks of the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), an industry-led consortium focused on strengthening the North American supply chain. The new members are FCI, Heraeus Inc., Jabil Circuit Inc., kSARIA Corp. and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation.
"We are very pleased to welcome these companies to our membership and look forward to the contributions they will make to NEMI's efforts," said Jim McElroy, executive director and CEO of NEMI. "Many of these new members were drawn to NEMI by recently launched projects, and I view their interest in these new projects as confirmation that NEMI continues to deal with issues that are critical to the electronics manufacturing industry."
While member companies are free to join as many new projects as they wish, FCI and Heraeus will start their involvement with NEMI's latest lead-free project, the Lead-Free Hybrid Assembly and Rework Project. Sumitomo and kSARIA are participating in some or the consortium's new optoelectronics initiatives.
"We joined NEMI because of our past association with the consortium's initial lead-free project," said Brian Bauer, business manager, surface mount materials for the Circuit Materials Division of Heraeus. "The degree of cooperation and intellectual participation among the member companies went a long way in advancing the technology in our industry. We look forward to working on many more projects in the future."
"kSARIA has joined NEMI to work with companies in the optoelectronic industry for the purpose of bringing higher levels of standardization into the photonics manufacturing environment," said Bill Emkey, vice president and CTO for kSARIA. "We see NEMI's optoelectronic projects, such as the current fiber carrier and fusion splicing working groups, as key steps toward advancing manufacturing automation solutions, improving product quality and reducing component costs."
About FCI
Created in 1989, FCI - an Areva Group company - rapidly secured its place among the world's top three manufacturers of connectors and interconnect systems. With a turnover of 1.8 billion dollars in 2001, FCI currently operates in 29 countries where it covers the following markets: communications, data, consumer, industrial, military, aerospace, automotive and electrical power interconnect. The company employs 16,000 staff worldwide. For more information: www.fciconnect.com.
About Heraeus
Heraeus, the precious metals and technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company in the business of precious metals, dental health, quartz glass, sensors, materials for circuit assembly and specialty lighting products. The Group's objective is to be among the world's leaders in every one of these sectors. With revenues of € 6.9 billion (preliminary 2001 figures) and more than 9,100 employees worldwide in over 100 subsidiaries and associated companies, Heraeus has stood out over more than 150 years as one of the leading companies involved in precious metals and materials technology. Visit the company's web site at www.heraeus.com.
About Jabil Circuit
Jabil Circuit, Inc. is an electronic manufacturing services provider for international electronics companies in the automotive, computing and storage, consumer, instrumentation and medical, networking, peripheral and telecommunications markets. Jabil offers circuit design, board design from schematic, prototype assembly, volume board assembly, system assembly, repair and warranty services from facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Further information about Jabil can be found on the World Wide Web at www.jabil.com.
About kSARIA
Based in Wilmington, Mass., kSARIA is the only manufacturer of standardized, fully automated in-line systems designed specifically for fiber-optic components assembly processes. A well-funded, venture-backed Massachusetts company, kSARIA is designing and manufacturing a series of modular, fiber optic assembly systems which will fully automate the processes of pigtail fabrication, fusion splicing, fiber attach, and inspection. kSARIA's automation platforms each are designed with a modular core architecture, which can be configured with different tools for different tasks and easily customized for specific applications without the expense and time associated with custom engineering. For additional information, visit www.ksaria.com.
About Sumitomo Electric Lightwave
Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, established in 1984 in Research Triangle Park, NC, is the North American operation within the global network of Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI). The company is a leader in the technology and manufacturing of ribbon fiber, optic cable, interconnect, air-blown fiber , and fusion products and solutions serving the communication networks, OEM, and enterprise markets. As the first to introduce the mass fusion splicer, splice protection heat shrink sleeve, and jacket remover to the U.S., Sumitomo is the recognized leader in the innovation of fusion splicing equipment and accessories. Its ON-TIME Technical Center is noted as the best service facility in the industry, where customers receive unprecedented high-quality and fast service for their splicing equipment. For more information, please visit www.sumitomoelectric.com.
About NEMI
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative's mission is to facilitate leadership of the North American electronics manufacturing supply chain. Based in Herndon, Va., the industry-led consortium is made up of more than 60 electronics manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities. NEMI roadmaps the needs of the North American electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives. For additional information about NEMI, visit www.nemi.org.
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For further information:
Press Contact: Cynthia Williams
cwilliams@nemi.org
phone: 207-871-1260