Henry Mann, CEO, Manncorp, Inc.

I suspect it's carryover from consumer attitudes, but there is intense pressure on price by today's SMT equipment buyers. Manncorp has responded with reductions that would have been highly improbable just a year ago.

Even during this downturn we've put greatly talented people on board that would never have been available otherwise. New hires include a brand and product manager, a regional sales manager and additions to our service team.

We are experiencing an up-tick of interest in our "turnkey systems" from OEMs contemplating bringing their SMT assembly in-house. On our website we are now showcasing seven new lines, each including pick-and-place machine, stencil printer and reflow oven; others with board-handling capability, such as conveyors, loaders and unloaders for total automation.

Aside from the economic advantages of vertical integration, our turnkeys will appeal to OEMs no longer outsourcing SMT assembly -- due to the complexities of dealing with shorter runs, higher mixes and more challenging components and assemblies.

The need for shorter time to market and better control of the final product also have been major factors in this transformation. Manncorp has thus raised its expectations for the next 12 months at both our locations -- in Willow Grove, PA and San Diego, CA.