Can Germany’s Auto Industry Keep Pace?


Germany's strength for the past half-century has been its automotive industry. The big question now is whether that also will become its biggest vulnerability. Challenged on all fronts by fundamental shifts in automotive technology, the German auto industry is struggling to transform itself from precision metal bending to advanced electronics, and so far its future in the face of competitors... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


China's DRAM efforts Two memory vendors from China, Tsinghua Unigroup and ChangXin Memory Technology, have disclosed more details about their respective efforts to enter the DRAM arena. As reported, Tsinghua Unigroup wants to enter the DRAM business. Now, the China-based firm has secured land to build a new DRAM fab. The firm recently signed an agreement with the Chongqing government to e... » read more

Siemens To Buy Mentor For $4.5B


By Ed Sperling & Jeff Dorsch Siemens announced today that it has reached a deal to buy Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion in cash. The move, if approved by regulators, would greatly expand Siemens' capabilities in multi-physics design and embedded software for everything from semiconductors to automotive wiring harnesses. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017. Sie... » read more