At Semicon West this year, Palomar featured its line of automatic wire bonders, die bonders (automated component placement systems) and Micro-E (Palomar Microelectronics)contract manufacturing services, together with its new alliance products including GPD Global precision fluid dispensers, Hybond manual bonders and Royce Instrument's bond testers anddie sorters. I ran into an old friend and former colleague, with 30 + years in the business (much of which was spent in the executive suite), state that she believed the tone of the show was "quietly encouraging".
Expectations going into the 2009 Semicon West show were not particularly buoyant, with exhibitors down 40% and traffic expected to be slow. With such meager anticipation going into the show, traffic at the show and the quality of attendees exceeded expectations. Traditional SEMICON exhibitors were noticeably fewer, and both front and back end equipment could be contained in the North and South halls. The West hall was reserved for a new solar exhibit. Traffic was active, although down compared to previous years, reflective of the world’s current economic condition and specifically the semiconductor equipment market. The impact of the down-turn has been felt acutely and has delayed many capital equipment purchasing plans.
Palomar remains in close contact with its customers as they ride out the current slow period. That being said, there are a few bright spots of note, as some market niches are still moving ahead with investment in new technology or capacity. The notable areas include military, medical and specific consumer/office products including both HB LED and RF Wireless. With the addition of the GPD (precision fluid dispensers), Hybond (manual bonders) and Royce Instruments (bond testers and die sorters) lines to its offering, several new opportunities were uncovered. Even when capital is not available to purchase equipment, Palomar offers its unique Micro/Opto-Econtract manufacturing service to enable companies to implement their productdevelopment plans in an expeditious, cost-effective manner, while preserving their intellectual property.