Kyocera concludes agreement to acquire 100% of shares in NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions
(Business Wire) Kyocera Corp. has concluded a share transfer agreement with Toppan Printing Co. Ltd. and NEC Corporation to acquire all shares of the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing company NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions, Inc. to further strengthen and expand the Kyocera Group’s organic substrate business. The market for PCBs is forecast to continue expanding steadily based on growing demand for telecommunications infrastructure equipment and digital consumer electronics, centered on smartphones and tablets. The Kyocera Group has been expanding its business in the PCB market, focusing on organic packages sold by its wholly owned subsidiary, Kyocera SLC Technologies, which boasts one of the highest shares in the industry for FC-BGAs used in high-end ASIC applications. KST also plans to expand its business territory through the recent full-fledged launch of smaller, lower profile FC-CSPs for the high-growth smartphone and tablet sectors.
PPG wins GL certification for Suzhou science and technology laboratory
PPG Industries’ fiber glass business has received certification from Germanischer Lloyd (GL), a leading international certification body in the wind energy industry, for technical competence in the field of mechanical and analytical testing at the PPG Fiber Glass Science and Technology Center in Suzhou, China. Established in 2007, the center offers equipment for fabricating fiber-reinforced plastic products and testing composites for static and dynamic mechanical properties using International Organization for Standardization standards, American Society of Testing and Materials standards, and Chinese national Guobiao (GB) standards. The center provides domestic and global customers with consulting, technical support, and material evaluation that help them enhance their composite products and business.
MesoCoat to expand, offer high-value coating services
Abakan Inc. (Miami, Fla.) has launched a new subsidiary to provide thermal spray coating services using its nanocomposite PComP coating materials to customers in the oil and gas, mining, aerospace, chemicals, metal processing, and metal finishing industries. MesoCoat Coating Services Inc. already has a facility with one thermal spray coating cell in Euclid, Ohio, and plans to expand operations with the addition of two more cells and other surface preparation and finishing equipment capable of handling 40-foot components. MesoCoat is also expanding production capacity of its PComP materials, which combine very fine, near-nanoscale ceramic particles with metal binders, six fold to 30 tons per year. Citing six months’ worth of back orders and increasing demand from oilfield equipment suppliers, the company said it expects to increase production again in early 2014 to 160 tons per year. MesoCoat also plans to expand operations into Houston, Tex., and other key North American and international locations.
Ceramic proppant use pays off for Halcón
Engineered ceramic proppants may cost more than sand when used in hydraulic fracturing, but the added cost is proving to be worth it for at least one petroleum producer. Halcón Resources Corp. is finding success completing wells using ceramic proppants in the Williston Basin oil shale of the Dakotas. Use of ceramic proppant in its Fort Berthold, N.D., area wells resulted in production increases that more than offset the added cost of engineered ceramic proppants, the company said in a June operational update. Halcón reports drilling and completing a ceramic-fracked well in Fort Berthold that produced 90 percent oil at an initial rate of 3,060 barrels of oil equivalent per day—the highest initial production rate of any well owned by the company in the area.
Advanced functional materials market report available
Advanced Functional Material Market For Low Carbon Applications By Categories (Ceramics, Composites, Energy Materials, Conductive Polymers & Nanomaterials), Applications (Chemicals, Electronics, Healthcare & Transportation) & Geography—Global Trends & Forecasts To 2018 is the title of a new market report from MarketsandMarkets, Dallas, Tex. The 621-page document says advanced functional ceramics, including monolithic materials, ceramic matrix composites, and ceramic coating systems, are the largest category of AFMs and are growing at a compound annual rate of 5 percent. Nanomaterials are the fast-growing segment of the AFM market, with CAGR of 23.6 percent over the study period. Major industries using AFMs include automotive, paints, chemicals, aerospace, energy, and building & construction.