Flextronics extends PIC program -- Opens RF design center
in San Jose to augment growing roster of
product-development facilities
Darrell Dunn
Flextronics International Ltd. continues to expand its Product Introduction
Center (PIC) program, most recently by adding an RF design center in San
Jose.
The CEM began its PIC program in 1997 with the establishment of centers at
its headquarters in San Jose, as well as in Westford, Mass. The following
year, Flextronics added PICs in Niwot, Colo.; Dallas; Althofen, Austria;
Monza, Italy; and Stockholm and Karlskrona, Sweden.
The PICs are intended to help customers in the design stage reduce
product-development cycles and time-to-market.
With the exception of the centers in Colorado and Italy, Flextronics' PICs
provide board-level prototyping production services. The PICs in Colorado
and Italy, which both specialize in mechanical design, provide prototype
production of metal and plastic enclosures.
"What's driving the PIC program is our desire to offer product-development
services," said Nicholas Brathwaite, Flextronics' vice president of advanced
technology and engineering services.
"In the early stages of development, engineers want to be able to drive over
and watch their prototypes being developed and work closely with our design
teams," Brathwaite said.
Most of the existing PICs have employee teams and services dedicated to
certain product needs integral to the geographic location and specific
customers in that locale.
The San Jose center already had significant ongoing efforts in RF-product
manufacturing prior to the opening of the new RF Design Center in February.
That center has dedicated engineers working to design, develop, and
characterize RF and microwave components, circuits, and systems.
By working early in product-development stages, the RF engineers can help
customers reduce total product cost and improve the design for
manufacturability, Brathwaite said.
Yongnan Xuan, director of RF engineering and design for Flextronics, has
been named manager of the RF Design Center.
"We foresee a significant increase in demand for RF products over the next
few years," Brathwaite said. "The past year, we have added a number of
high-profile, high-technology companies who have required RF design and
development expertise, and we plan to continue to expand our RF engineering
services to meet the growing demands of our customers."
The PIC in Karlskrona, Sweden, has extensive RF engineering capabilities
targeted at RF test development products, he added.
Brathwaite said he anticipates that Flextronics will add more PICs this year.
"There are some areas we're looking at, but we haven't made any decisions,"
he said. "I think important locations will be along the Eastern [U.S.] seaboard,
in Southern California, and in the Midwest, as well as in Germany and the
U.K. in Europe."
Copyright ® 1999 CMP Media Inc.
|
