Elcoteq sponsors Techology Forecasters` quarterly forum

Comm Tech EMS company focuses exclusively on Communications Technology products and customers. Technology Forecasters, Inc. (TFI) announced that Elecoteq Network Corporation (Helsinki exchange) is a corporate sponsor of the September 20, 2003 Quarterly Forum for Electronics Manufacturers Outsourcing and Supply Chain program. TFI‚s Quarterly Forum is a membership organization that takes issues affecting the electronics manufacturing industry and assesses and discusses them in quarterly meetings and on the Internet. With more than 65 member companies from the electronics manufacturing community including OEMs, EMS companies, their suppliers, as well as the financial services community, the Quarterly Forum has become the premier medium for the exchange of ideas and assessment of factors affecting the electronics manufacturing industry. "While Elcoteq is a widely recognized company in European communications circles, and the sixth largest global EMS provider, we are not well known in the US," said Bill Coker, Elcoteq Americas‚ VP of Sales and Marketing. "Elcoteq is committed to expanding its presence in the US by adding regionally located NPI centers to assist customers in new product introduction and help them make a seamless transition to low cost production facilities like the Elcoteq plants in Monterrey Mexico and China. Our recent acquisition of NPRC in Dallas supports that strategy." "Promoting and differentiating the capabilities of our company in the highly competitive US market is a challenge," continued Mr. Coker. "The Quarterly Forum provides Elcoteq with excellent communication channels to OEM members, media, industry, and financial analysts who closely follow the players in this industry. By sponsoring the Quarterly Forum, we hope to get industry focused exposure and leverage the relationships and excellent research work done by TFI." Elcoteq‚s President of the America‚s Doug Brenner attended TFI‚s March 6, 2003 Quarterly Forum in Phoenix, AZ. Mr. Brenner addressed the group with his thoughts about the benefits of being a corporate sponsor and discussed Elcoteq‚s unique ODM like capability that bridges the value propositions of traditional EMS and ODM companies. Technology Forecasters plans to hold, the third 2003 Quarter Forum in September at Elcoteq‚s world-class manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. This high-volume low-cost facility produces mobile phones and other related communications infrastructure and networking equipment. Last year the plant won the company‚s Six Sigma quality award. About the choice of locations for the September Quarterly Forum event - the first outside the U.S., TFI Chief Operating Officer Dr. Eric Miscoll says, "We chose Elcoteq‚s Monterrey, Mexico, plant to demonstrate to our members a truly international manufacturing and design strategy: EMS and ODM services provided by a European-based company with low-cost facilities in Mexico, Eastern Europe, and China." According to Miscoll, the agenda for the Monterrey Quarterly Forum will feature the results of TFI‚s study of outsourcing options in Europe, a case study of industrial electronics outsourcing in North America, and a talk by Mexican Government officials about low-cost manufacturing and engineering options.Past Quarterly Forum topics have included forecast growth by segment of the electronics manufacturing industry through 2006, trends in segment-specific electronics outsourcing, financial benchmarking of EMS companies, and the growth of future technologies and their effect on manufacturing. The presentations are open only to Quarterly Forum members, who dictate the topics researched and discussed. In addition to Elcoteq, other corporate sponsors are Agile, Arima, Parametric Technology Corp., SMT Ltd., and Teradyne. For membership and program information, please contact TFI's President Pamela Gordon at 1-510-601-9107, or by e-mail at pgordon@techforecasters.com.Source: PCBnewsline