Assembleon Announces Partnership with Autron

Assembleon NV, a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics (Eindhoven, Netherlands), has announced a partnership with Autron Corporation Ltd. (Singapore) with the aim of growing its Asia-Pacific business. Under the agreement, Autron will take over Assembleon's sales and service operations in Asia, selling the company's products under the Assembleon brand. As a result, a majority of Assembleon employees will transfer to Autron, but Assembleon will keep an office in Asia.

The two companies will also set up a joint research and development center in Singapore. Autron will enhance its manufacturing facilities to better meet the global demand for various components and parts of the Assembleon product. Autron will become a fully integrated solutions provider with sales, support and services, and access to Assembleon's manufacturing and research and development facilities.

�Our continued focus on Asia-Pacific recognizes the fact that by 2006, more than half the world's electronic production will revolve around the region,� said Cor Scholten, Assembleon's chief executive officer. �Autron's network and knowledge, and its fast-moving, diversified customer base in Asia, provide Assembleon with a good avenue for growth in this region.�

�This new direction for Autron will put the company in a unique position to ride the upswell in the Asian electronics industry which is expected to kick in by the second half of 2002,� said Tan Cheng Leong, Autron's group managing director. �The R&D will focus on innovations in vision for significantly higher speed and greater precision in pick-and-place technology. This technology would eventually be incorporated into Assembleon's products. The R&D hub will result in technology transfer to Autron, and foreign direct investment for Singapore.�