DEK International - News & Events

	Photon does it again at the EM Asia Awards Photon’s recent success in the SMT China Vision Awards has been matched by its performance at the EM Asia Awards, with the advanced screen printing platform picking up one of the prestigious trophies in the category of screen printing systems/equipment. DEK was among the top performing companies recognised at a ceremony in Shanghai for having achieved the highest standards in the innovation of manufacturing-related products. A significant breakthrough for manufacturers in Asia, Photon is a durable, high-performance and future-proof solution for SMT, semiconductor packaging or flexible electronics challenges. Spanning high-speed board transport, dual lane printing and large board sizes, Photon’s diverse application possibilities, combined with high speed and accuracy capabilities, make it one of the year’s most important innovations. And now it’s official!

	DEK triumphs at SMT China Vision Awards DEK is celebrating once again following the announcement that its advanced Photon platform has topped the screen printing category at the SMT China Vision Awards. Recognising products introduced to the Chinese market over the last 12 months, the awards are judged by an independent panel of experts respected in the field of electronics manufacturing technology, along with selected SMT China readers working in diverse industries throughout the region. Photon was judged best in its class in terms of critical factors including innovation, performance, reliability, cost-effectiveness, ease-of-use, flexibility, compatibility, effectiveness, maintainability and service. Offering a breakthrough level of manufacturing flexibility, Photon answers the widest variety of end use electronics product manufacturing applications available today. Having impressed the awards judges with its true versatility, Photon’s comprehensive configuration options continue to prove first choice for DEK customers across Asia.

	DEK increases its Service Excellence Award total at Apex 2009 For a seventh consecutive year, DEK was awarded Circuits Assembly magazine’s Service Excellence Award, an accolade which recognizes companies who excel in the area of customer service. Presented to the mass imaging leader at an award ceremony at the Apex exhibition in Las Vegas, the award is evidence of DEK’s expect more philosophy in action. Customers ranked DEK in five critical areas of support – dependability/timely delivery, manufacturing quality, responsiveness to requests and changes, technology, and value for the price. With DEK emerging as the clear winner in the Screen Printing category, the prestigious Service Excellence accolade is testament to DEK’s authority in this field.

	DEK scoops an IPC Innovative Technology Award Accolade Apex 2009 saw our team collect an impressive IPC Innovative Technology Accolade double. Recognising products that represent emerging technology or innovation, the IPC recognition was awarded to DEK’s breakthrough PVP1200 photovoltaic metallization platform for its ability to deliver high yields and throughput in the metallization process for the manufacture of thick film solar cells. DEK’s DirEKt BGA Rx high throughput BGA repair system was also recognised by IPC for its capacity to process multiple BGAs simultaneously and replace them at high speed and accuracy. Since the Expect More philosophy is all about supporting our customers to achieve more by partnering with us – this means excelling in technology innovation. This double accolade recognises our commitment to delivering this; a commitment we’ll continue to deliver on throughout 2009 and beyond!

	Advanced Packaging award for VectorGuard® Platinum The recently introduced VectorGuard® Platinum collected one of the industry’s top honours at a ceremony held during the US-based Semicon West exhibition. Winning the Wafer-Level Packaging Equipment & Materials category, VectorGuard Platinum was confirmed as a breakthrough technology by the Advanced Packaging Awards. Extending the boundaries of conventional stencil technology, VectorGuard Platinum draws on micro-stencil, electroformed fabrication techniques. Capable of handling advanced packaging applications such as BGAs, direct chip attach and flip chip technologies, VectorGuard Platinum delivers extremely fine geometries and exceptionally high yields – a major advance which was recognised by the distinguished judging panel.

	DEK Wins Three Trophies at NEPCON Shanghai NEPCON Shanghai 2008 saw us celebrate our 40th anniversary in style by collecting three trophies at the prestigious EM Asia Innovation Awards and SMT China Vision Awards. Presented by EM Asia magazine, the Innovation Awards unite the electronics community in celebration of companies that achieved the highest industry standards between March 1 and December 31 over the past year. DEK Platinum topped the Stencil & Screen Printing Systems/Equipment category after an independent panel of industry experts recognized its ability to meet the challenges of ultra fine-pitch printing. In addition to the honor it collected from the EM Asia Innovation Awards, Platinum was also recognized by the 2nd annual SMT China Vision Awards where it collected the newly added Excellence Awards for Creativeness & Innovativeness criteria, established to recognise the products or services that attained the highest score in each individual judging criteria. Currently the only program for the China electronics manufacturing industry, the SMT China Vision Awards recognize the companies and products that serve as benchmarks of excellence within the surface mount industry. Seeking the finest examples of creative advancement in technology, a distinguished panel of independent industry experts and magazine readers evaluated each submission based on its ability to meet a significant industry challenge. DEK’s advanced and intuitive machine user interface Instinctiv™ V9 was also honored by the awards where it won the hotly-contested Software category.

	DEK Wins Big at APEX with Three Industry Awards 2008’s APEX exhibition confirmed DEK’s global technology leadership position, seeing us collect a total of three top industry honours. For a sixth consecutive year, DEK was awarded Circuits Assembly magazine’s Service Excellence Award, an accolade which recognizes companies who excel in the area of customer service. Customers ranked DEK in five critical areas of support – dependability/timely delivery, manufacturing quality, responsiveness to requests and changes, technology, and value for the price – seeing us emerge as the clear winner in the Screen Printing category. This year also saw the introduction of a new awards program, as Circuits Assembly’s NPI Awards were given for the first time at this year’s APEX event. “The NPI Awards were established to recognize leading new electronics assembly products introduced during the past year,” comments Mike Buetow, Circuits Assembly Editor-in-Chief and UP Media Group’s Vice-President of Editorial and Production. “There is certainly no shortage of awards programs, but we believe there is a place for fair and honest recognition of truly unique and ground-breaking technologies. In the opinion of our judging panel, DEK’s Instinctiv™ V9 most definitely fits this criteria.” In addition, our Reel-to-Reel (R2R) printing platform was also selected for IPC’s Innovative Technology Center, an APEX contest that recognizes products that represent emerging technology or innovation. Clearly representative of this measure, the R2R system is a breakthrough technology that solves continuous substrate printing challenges with robust handling and materials deposition for a wide range of substrates.

	DEK wins a 2007 Intel Preferred Quality Supplier Award DEK has been named a recipient of Intel Corporation’s 2007 Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award for outstanding performance in providing products and services deemed essential to Intel’s success. Awarded for our efforts in supplying Intel with printing machines, our team were among 35 PQS award winners honoured at a celebration in Burlingame, California. “Congratulations to DEK for winning the PQS award and being a four year award winner. In 2007, DEK went above and beyond to support Intel factories during ramp and sustaining periods. We anticipate another successful year in 2008,” said Ron Rinfret, director, Assembly Capital Equipment Development, Intel Corporation. The PQS awards are part of Intel’s Supplier Continuous Quality Improvement (SCQI) process that encourages suppliers to strive for excellence and continuous improvement. To qualify for PQS status, suppliers must score 80 percent on a report card that assesses performance and ability to meet cost, quality, availability, delivery, technology and responsiveness goals. Suppliers must also manage and deliver on a challenging improvement plan and a quality systems assessment.

	Cyclone Sweeps Up Two Innovation Awards DEK has received two Innovation Awards in the categories of Assembly Line Tools and Screen Printing Equipment for our Cyclone High-Performance Understencil Cleaning system – part of our Productivity Tools portfolio. The awards were presented by EM Asia Magazine during a ceremony that took place on at 2007’s Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition International Hotel during NEPCON China/EMT China. DEK’s Cyclone understencil cleaning technology enables fast and thorough cleaning of advanced stencils on the printing platform — cutting total cleaning time to around half that required by conventional cleaning systems, while also delivering rapid cassette-based paper changeover in under 20 seconds. Cyclone’s speed and efficiency delivers a cleaning process that maximizes pre-placement yield, uptime and productivity.

	DEK lands Innovation and Service Honours at APEX 2007 For the fourth straight year, DEK was selected to participate in APEX organizer IPC’s Innovative Technology Centre. This year, however, an unprecedented two products – DEK’s 3D-Find-a-Part™ software and Cyclone™ understencil cleaning technology -- were chosen by the judging panel as products that deliver new, functional capability and real and relevant value to the electronics manufacturing supply chain. A unique parts verification and re-ordering system, 3D Find-a-Part enables 24/7 online access of customer-specific machine parts and assemblies. Based on original engineering drawings, the software ensures always up-to-date records and eliminates the need to source outdated and cumbersome printed parts manuals. The second honour was given to DEK’s revolutionary Cyclone understencil cleaning technology. Featuring a 5-stage cleaning head, an innovative oscillating action and a fast, cassette-based paper changeover, Cyclone provides a more thorough clean than traditional systems while cutting cleaning time in half and reducing paper changeover to mere seconds. And it didn’t stop here. For the fifth consecutive year, DEK also won a Service Excellence Award. Sponsored by Circuits Assembly magazine, the Service Excellence Awards program surveys participants’ customers who are asked to provide rankings in five categories: dependability, ease of use, responsiveness, technology and value for the price. For five uninterrupted years, DEK has scored the highest in the screen printing category.

	NEW DEK technologies honoured at the 2007 Global Technology Awards The 2007 Global Technology Awards, held on November 13th at the Productronica exhibition in Munich, saw DEK walk away with two Global Technology Awards for its Cyclone and Reel-to-Reel solutions. Cyclone and Reel-to-Reel topped their respective cleaning equipment and screen printing equipment categories after an independent panel of international experts judged them favourably in relation to criteria including innovation, speed/throughput improvements, quality contribution, cost-benefit and ease-of-use. Officially launched at Productronica, DEK’s new Reel-to-Reel machine won the category of best screen printing equipment after judges recognised its ability to deliver precision printing for continuous substrates such as flexible printed circuits and advanced synthetic materials. Cyclone was the other award winner, recognised for its ability to slash conventional cleaning times in half. European Product Manager Simon Clasper commented: “The Expect More philosophy is all about DEK constantly delivering more to customers in terms of productivity, flexibility, performance and value, and our Reel-to-Reel and Cyclone technologies are fine examples of this. As significant, ‘award-winning’ breakthroughs in the fields of cleaning and screen printing, these technologies will help our customers achieve more in their increasingly competitive local and global markets.”

	DEK receives Intel’s Preferred Quality Supplier Award DEK was named a recipient of Intel Corporation’s Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award for outstanding performance in providing printing machines deemed essential to Intel’s success in 2007. “Congratulations to DEK for winning the PQS award for the 2nd consecutive year and being a 3 year award winner,” said Ron Rinfret, director, Assembly Capital Equipment Development, Intel Corporation. “As Intel continues to raise the bar for supplier requirements, DEK continues to meet and exceed Intel’s expectations. We look forward to another successful year in 2007.” The PQS award is part of Intel’s Supplier Continuous Quality Improvement (SCQI) process that encourages suppliers to strive for excellence and continuous improvement. To qualify for PQS status, suppliers must score 80 percent on a report card that assesses performance and ability to meet cost, quality, availability, delivery, technology and responsiveness goals. Suppliers must also manage and deliver on a challenging improvement plan and a quality systems assessment.

	Semiconductor International Magazine, Editor’s Choice Award DEK’s advanced packaging expertise lands two industry honours at Semicon West Semicon West 2007 was the setting for a double award win for DEK. Semiconductor International Magazine honoured the team with an Editor’s Choice Award. Selected as a product that has significantly contributed to technology excellence, the Galaxy DirEKt Ball Placement system offers semiconductor specialists the ability to deposit solder spheres at substrate- and wafer-level, allowing placement of solder balls as small as 0.2mm in diameter at 03.mm pitch and delivering first pass yields of over 99%. Our Virtual Panel Carrier (VPC) technology was also honoured with an Advanced Packaging Award at a special ceremony held during the show. A unique substrate centring and transport technology that delivers extraordinary parts stability and unmatched ease of use, VPC’s innovative centring technology, eliminates the possibility of even slight misregistration while providing simple, multi-process functionality. “Technical advancement and engineering expertise are cornerstones of DEK’s ‘Expect More’ philosophy and key components of our long-term success,” comments DEK CEO, John Hartner. “It is very gratifying to know that the industry has also recognized our efforts and selected DEK’s Galaxy DirEKt Ball Placement and VPC systems for two such prestigious awards.”

	Cyclone scoops a 2007 SMT China Vision Award Cyclone has picked up an SMT China Vision Award, having topped the Screen Printing category and impressed judges with its ability to deliver ultra high-speed understencil cleaning. The award was collected by DEK’s General Manager for Asia, Peland Koh, during a ceremony at Shanghai’s Everbright Convention centre. “This underscores our commitment to using our knowledge in the development of technologies and processes that improve yields and productivity for our customers,” says Koh. “It also validates why they have the right to Expect More from us; and is just one example of how we can deliver more,” he adds. The Vision Awards are judged by a distinguished panel of independent industry experts and SMT readers. Each submission is appraised on its ability to meet a significant industry challenge. DEK’s Cyclone understencil cleaning technology was recognized as meeting the challenge to clean ever-smaller aperture sizes and higher viscosity lead-free materials without sacrificing cycle time.



	Circuits Assembly 2007 Service Excellence Award DEK’s commitment to providing an outstanding level of customer service was recognized once again as the company added a fifth consecutive Service Excellence Award to its collection. Presented by Circuits Assembly Magazine, the accolade makes DEK the only printing company to have won five SEAs in succession. “This award reinforces that DEK customers really can expect more,” explains Neil MacRaild, Americas General Manager for DEK. “We are committed to supporting our innovative product range with an exceptional level of customer service, driving productivity for customers around the world.”

	VectorGuard® collects Ed Hale Surface Mount Product Award Held over 17th – 19th October in Melbourne, Australia, the Manufacturing Technology Infocus Trade Show saw DEK collect the Ed Hale Surface Mount Product Award for its VectorGuard® stencil system. Nominated by our distributor Hawker Richardson, VectorGuard impressed the judges with its ability to deliver significant advantages over traditional, mesh mounted stencil technologies. Established by the Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association to honour the contribution made by its founding member and former Vice President Ed Hale, the award judged entrants on a range of strict criteria. Spanning innovation, improvement on an existing product or process, use for SMT, uniqueness, usability and potential, the criteria was successfully met by the VectorGuard stencil system. As a unique tensioning system delivering a whole range of process benefits, VectorGuard is available in a variety of different foils for enhanced manufacturing flexibility. The entire range – from the original stainless steel VectorGuard Blue to the electroformed nickel VectorGuard Gold – delivers space-efficient storage, enhanced usability, improved rigidity and safer handling.

	Global Technology Awards honour Instinctiv™ DEK’s advanced Instinctiv™ machine user interface was awarded a Global Technology Award during a ceremony held at Chicago’s ATExpo 2006. Held on September 27th, the awards were designed to recognise the best new product innovations released over the past year. Judged in relation to criteria including innovation, quality contribution, cost-benefit, ease-of-use and maintainability, Instinctiv was voted winner of the software category by a panel of international judges. Having facilitated the advance of the e-printer age, Instinctiv equips DEK customers with the ability to simultaneously maximise machine utilisation, process control and operator efficiency. Built on human factors techniques usually found in virtual reality technologies, Instinctiv is able to display complex machine and process data in an accessible format. In addition, this unique graphical interface also acts as the portal into DEK’s range of online support services to incorporate a high level of on-board help and error recovery. Sponsored by Global SMT & Packaging Magazine, the awards recognised Instinctiv’s status as a breakthrough technology for the next generation.

	DEK enjoys awards double at the Advanced Packaging Awards Held at the high-profile Semicon West exhibition, the 2006 Advanced Packaging Awards saw DEK win an awards double. Judged by a panel of industry experts in relation to product innovation, cost-effectiveness, speed and throughput, quality, ease-of-use, maintainability and environmental responsibility, DEK’s SinguLign and DirEKt Coat technologies each picked up top honours in their respective categories. SinguLign led the category of Specialised Advanced Packaging Equipment and Materials, recognised for its ability to enable high accuracy mass imaging of multiple materials onto singulated substrates. In addition, the DirEKt Coat system received an award for its ultra-thin wafer level-coating process for various materials including die attach, epoxies and protective backside coatings. Commenting on the awards, Neil MacRaild claimed “The efficiencies and flexibility of DEK’s high accuracy mass imaging platforms have clearly established these systems as viable alternatives to high-priced, single-function dedicated semiconductor processing equipment.”

	DEK wins 2006 Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership Following a recent analysis of world screen printers markets, DEK has been singled out as the recipient of the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Leadership. The prestigious accolade acknowledged DEK’s maintenance of its technology leadership position over recent years and its continuing efforts to enhance customer service. Established to recognise companies exhibiting market share leadership by driving innovation and capitalising on opportunities, the annual award is bestowed on a recipient which has displayed excellence in all areas of business processes, including the identification of market challenges, and deploying suitable strategies to overcome them. Commenting on the award, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Lavanya Ram Mohan claimed, “DEK’s diverse product portfolio has helped the company penetrate all segments of the market successfully and cater to customers around the world. Customers, in turn, have accepted the flexibility inherent in the company’s product line as an effective solution to meet the ever-growing requirements of speed and accuracy.”

	ProFlow® DirEKt Imaging technology wins the award for best entry in Dispensing Systems/Equipment category at the Electronics Manufacturing Asia Innovation Awards 2006. Peland Koh, General Manager for DEK Asia Pacific, “These awards recognize and reward excellence in the electronics industry, and are given to the companies that achieve the highest standards in driving the industry forward. As such, we are obviously delighted that our innovative ProFlow® DirEKt Imaging technology has been singled out for this special recognition in Asia.” Since its introduction, ProFlow systems have been installed by DEK customers in all corners of the globe, representing around 80% of all enclosed printheads currently in action worldwide. In migrating from squeegees to enclosed printhead technology through the adoption of ProFlow® DirEKt Imaging technology, users have benefited from enhanced throughput, higher process yields, improved efficiency, and lower material consumption. Not only does DirEKt Imaging dramatically improve the efficiency of the surface mount pre-placement process, it also delivers environmental benefits and exceptional ease-of-use for operators.

	Intel Preferred Quality Supplier Award 2006 “We are proud to be associated with the recipients of the Preferred Quality Supplier award,” said Gidu Shroff, Intel vice president and director of materials. “This year’s recipients have demonstrated commitment through outstanding performance in their respective industries and have contributed to Intel’s success. These suppliers have shown their commitment to continuous improvement and dedication to total quality, which is highly valued by Intel.” “This year’s Preferred Quality Supplier award winners stand out for consistently surpassing Intel’s expectations in technology innovation, quality, affordability, and customer satisfaction,” said Jai Hakhu, Intel vice president and general manager of Technology Manufacturing Engineering. “The suppliers we are recognizing are role models for our industry. Their exemplary commitment to enabling new levels of performance and capabilities is essential to helping Intel deliver products that address future applications for consumers and businesses worldwide.”

	Circuits Assembly 2006 Service Excellence Award Outstanding customer service is also an area for which DEK received top honors and was presented with Circuits Assembly magazine’s Service Excellence Award. This is the fourth consecutive win for DEK – a record that clearly illustrates the company’s philosophy of customer delight and of providing unique and enjoyable customer experiences. “For products to be truly exceptional, they must be fully supported with extraordinary customer service,” concludes Neil MacRaild, Americas General Manager for DEK. “This is precisely what DEK strives to deliver on a daily basis and, by all accounts, is achieving.”

	Hawkeye RTC won the IPC Innovation Showcase 2006 For the third consecutive year, DEK was selected for IPC’s Innovative Technology Showcase, which recognizes products in the electronics manufacturing industry that are truly innovative and deliver new and unique process-enabling technologies to the marketplace. This year, DEK’s HawkEye RTC, a board transport and post-print verification pairing that enable DEK’s market-leading Europa platform to deliver a record-breaking 4-second core cycle time, was chosen for this highly coveted honor. The unique combination of Rapid Transit Conveyor (RTC) board transport technology and HawkEye 100% post-print verification on board the highly-accurate and repeatable Europa Micron-class platform deliver the speed and 100% verification that was previously unachievable. Now, manufacturers do not have to sacrifice speed for complete print verification or vice-versa. DEK’s HawkEye RTC makes this process goal a manufacturing reality.

	Interactiv won the SMT Vision award 2006 Interactiv, a robust system that provides 24/7 web-based support. With Interactiv, users realize unprecedented machine control, the ability to predict and schedule maintenance through remote diagnostics capability, view machine histories and gain access to DEK service control centers. DEK Interactiv’s link to the DEK support staff through the Instinctiv interface allows customers the convenience of “on-site” support without the delay associated with a service visit and enables maximum uptime with a significantly reduced cost of ownership.

	Galaxy wins Advanced Packaging’ AP Award at Semicon West 2005 In a ceremony at the Semicon West 2005 exhibition held in July, in San Francisco, California, DEK’s Galaxy high accuracy mass imaging platform was awarded with Advanced Packaging magazine’s prestigious AP Award. The win again confirms DEK’s next-generation packaging leadership and the high accuracy processing capabilities of the Galaxy platform. DEK’s unique Galaxy system combines several new technologies that enable high accuracy mass imaging for a variety of final manufacturing packaging applications, from wafer-level up to and including encapsulation and solder ball attach. Galaxy addresses the ever present need for resource maximisation, as it can be configured and easily re-deployed to host a number of different packaging processes including wafer bumping, ball placement, singulation, thermal interface material (TIM) deposition and backside wafer coating.

	Circuits Assembly 2005 Service Excellence Award Voted on by DEK customers, the Circuits Assembly Service Excellence Awards program is the only such contest in the industry and winners are determined based soley on customer ratings in 5 critical areas of customer service : dependability, ease of use, reponsiveness, technology and value for the price. This is the 3rd consecutive Service Excellence Award win for DEK.

	SMT Magazine Vision Award 2004 for innovative technology - Printing Category DEK's development of the innovative VectorGuard™ frameless stencil system has been recognised and awarded with SMT's Vision Award in the printing category. The Vision Awards are voted on each year by a panel of industry experts and rate each product entry based on several challengin criteria, including: innovativeness, cost effectiveness, speeed / throughput improvements, quality contribution, ease of use, maintainability / repairability and environmental responsibility. The VectorGuard™ stencil system is a unique frameless stencil system that allows for maximum ease of use, improved operator safety, manufacturing cost-efficiency and environmental friendliness.

	Assembly Solution of the Year 2004 Best board assembly equipment or material that has made the most positive contribution to the manufacturing process The Galaxy Galaxy is a high-accuracy mass imaging platform. Its speed and high volume capacity not only means reduced operator training but minimal machine downtime as well. Encoders incorporated into the design eliminate positional errors brought on by belt and pulley drives in previous machines.

	Circuits Assembly 2004 Service Excellence Award 2004 Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Providers and Electronics Assembly Equipment, Materials and Software Suppliers. Circuits Assembly magazine recognized the companies that received the highest customer service ratings, as judged by their own customers. DEK International Electronics assembly equipment award winner DEK (Flemington, NJ) for screen printing.

	Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Line Strategy in the World SMT Soldering Equipment & Materials Market 2003 DEK is one of the most imminent, able and innovative organizations in the SMT Screen Printer equipment market. It was determined that DEK excelled in the following criteria: - · Introduction of new products, strategically positioned to balance the product line. · Ability to accommodate different market segments, or different markets within an industry by repurposing technology · Enhancement of product offerings through optimisation of packaging, service, delivery financing and/or other value-added services. · Strategic technology or marketing acquisitions or alliances. Quote from Frost & Sullivan: "DEK is recognized as market leader in the World Screen Printer Equipment Market," says Mandeep Singh Oberoi, Frost & Sullivan industry analyst. "DEK International is recognized as the most imminent, able, and innovative organization. It is projected that DEK International will continue to retain its position as market leader as well as a customer oriented organization during the forecast period of the study." "DEK International is renowned for providing highest level of customer support and service by going out of the way to satisfy their customers. DEK has been continuously maintaining its highest position in the SMT screen printer market. It is projected that due to a wide product development and customer satisfaction programs, coupled with high level of product and technologies to its credit, DEK will continue to be the market leader in the SMT screen printer market."

	Intel Preferred Quality Supplier Award 2002 DEK was awarded for its efforts in supplying Intel with printing machines. "PQS recognition has been a significant objective for DEK and it is extremely rewarding to have reached this milestone in our relationship with Intel", said Richard Heimsch, President, DEK International. "DEK has role modelled flexible infrastructure with innovative technology and support to deliver seamless solutions to Intel", Fred Rezaei, Intel Assembly Capital Equipment Development Manager. "Despite tough business conditions, DEK continued to support our new capability assessment programs, and led the way in meeting our cost reduction targets. DEK has consistently demonstrated overall qualities that we look for in a strategic supplier. Congratulations to DEK for winning Intel's Preferred Quality Supplier award". -o- "Intel instituted the Preferred Quality Supplier awards to distinguish those suppliers that differentiate themselves through consistent outstanding performance," said Gidu K. Shroff, Intel vice president and director, Materials. "These suppliers have embraced continuous improvement and are leaders in their respective industries. As a result of our association with these suppliers, Intel has seen its component quality improve and our supply chain business practices advance. I am thrilled about this year's recipients and proud to be associated with such outstanding companies." "Our Preferred Quality Supplier award winners stand out for their significant commitment to innovation, cost management and customer satisfaction," said Jai K Hakhu, Intel vice president, Technology and Manufacturing Group, and general manager, Technology Manufacturing Engineering. "The suppliers we are recognizing today have consistently surpassed our expectations and are well positioned to meet future challenges as we move toward 65-nanometer process technology and smaller."

	SMT Magazine Vision Award for innovative technology DEK won the Vision Award for innovative technology, sponsored by SMT magazine, for DirEKt Ball Placement™, which provides significant performance and cost advantages for semiconductor packaging. DirEKt Ball Placement™ uses DEK's patented ProFlow® DirEKt Imaging technology to place solder balls as small as 0.3 mm in diameter onto substrates or wafers, with fine-pitch accuracy and first-pass yields consistently better than 99%. The DirEKt Ball Placement System was evaluated against other entries on a 10-point scale for its innovation, cost-effectiveness, speed, quality, ease of use, maintainability and environmental responsibility.

	W.L. Gore & DEK win Excellence in Electronic Packaging and Production Award DirEKt Ball Placement™ also serves as the enabling installation technology for snapSHOT™, a new board-level EMI shielding solution from Gore, which won an Excellence in Electronic Packaging and Production Award, sponsored by EP&P magazine. Gore's lightweight, easily removable snapSHOT™ shield provides wireless communications devices with excellent EMI protection and overcomes the limitations of metal cans. DEK and Gore combined their expertise to develop a snapSHOT™ installation process compatible with high-speed, high-volume SMT assembly. The process uses DirEKt Ball Placement™ technology to place solder spheres in precise patterns on a PCB. Gore's patented snap-attach mechanism then secures the snapSHOT™ shield over the solder spheres which, when reflowed, provide both electrical and mechanical connection. If needed, the shield can be removed and replaced with a new one, without de-soldering or re-soldering.