Newsroom
NEMI’s Roadmap 2000 Effort Now Underway
Thermal Management, MEMS and Virtual Manufacturing
among New Technologies and Trends to be Discussed
Press Contacts at bottom of page
APEX CONFERENCE · LONG BEACH, Calif. · March 17, 2000 · The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) kicked off Roadmap 2000 today with a day-long working session in Long Beach, Calif. An estimated 140 individuals representing more than 60 OEMs, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers, equipment vendors, suppliers, universities and government agencies participated in this meeting to launch NEMI’s year-long activities to map the future technology needs of the North American electronics industry. The event, hosted by IPC, immediately followed APEXSM, IPC SMEMA Council’s Electronics Assembly Process Exhibition and Conference.
Every two years, NEMI enlists a broad cross-section of industry to identify the key technology and infrastructure developments required to ensure the competitiveness of North American electronics manufacturing companies over the next decade. Roadmap 2000 is the fourth roadmap the organization has produced since its founding in 1994. NEMI coordinates with other roadmapping organizations through the National Electronics Roadmapping Coordinating Committee to synchronize timelines, assure consistency in how far into the future each roadmap projects, agree on and refine product sector definitions, identify common elements, facilitate cross-functional groups and coordinate roadmapping schedules.
Work on the NEMI roadmap is organized into five product sector groups and 18 Technology Working Groups (TWGs). The product sector groups define future product attributes plus key cost and density drivers, and the TWGs use this information to help forecast trends for their respective technology areas.
Several emerging technologies and market trends will be integrated into Roadmap 2000 to reflect significant changes occurring in industry. Among these is a new TWG to address thermal management. Higher frequencies and smaller form factors are making it increasingly essential to model the thermal load and heat sinking of an entire system. The new Thermal Management TWG, chaired by Richard Chu of IBM and co-chaired by Alex Vukovic of Nortel Networks, will look at the new technology requirements for thermal management. Additional topics to be considered in terms of their potential impact on electronics manufacturing technology include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, lead-free electronics manufacturing, integrated optics/fiber optics cable, wireless Internet appliances, virtual manufacturing and enterprise information technology.
"Technologies and market trends are changing at a very rapid pace in the electronics industry, and remaining competitive in this environment means successfully anticipating where the market will go," said Jim McElroy, NEMI’s executive director and CEO. "The NEMI roadmap helps electronics manufacturers keep their fingers on the pulse of the latest innovations and helps them plan for future manufacturing investments."
The NEMI roadmap maintains links with other roadmaps and other organizations, including SIA (semiconductors), IPC (interconnection substrates), the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA; optoelectronics and optical storage), the National Storage Industry Consortium (NSIC; magnetic and optical storage), the US Display Consortium (USDC; displays), the Supply Chain Council (SCC; supply chain management), and International Microelectronics Packaging Society (IMAPS; ceramic substrates).
After this initial meeting, the TWGs will meet regularly by teleconference to develop their roadmaps. One more face-to-face meeting is held in June; and roadmap chapters are submitted in October. The roadmap is assembled, edited and published by the end of December.
Anyone interested in participating in one of the Technology Working Groups should contact the NEMI Secretariat at 703-834-0330 or info@nemi.org.
About NEMI
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative was formed in November 1994 to facilitate long-term North American leadership in electronics. The industry-led consortium is made up of more than 50 electronics equipment manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities. NEMI’s members represent a combined total of more than $200 billion in 1998 revenues and employ more than 1.25 million people.
NEMI roadmaps the needs of the North American electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps, and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.
For further information, contact:
Cynthia Williams
207-871-1260
cwilliams@nemi.org
Ron Gedney
NEMI
703-834-2084
rgedney@nemi.org