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Viasystems Announces Immersion Silver PCB Surface Finish

3 September 1999

Viasystems Announces Immersion Silver PCB Surface Finish Now Available in North America

    RICHMOND, Va.--Sept. 2, 1999--Viasystems announced today they are capable of providing Immersion Silver surface finish for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. Viasystems is the only high-volume PCB supplier in North America to offer this leading-edge, surface finish technology.
    Ideal for use with fine pitch components, Immersion Silver is a low-cost, noble metal PCB finish, providing solderability protection on next-generation printed circuit boards. Customers benefit from improved assembly yields due to the surface flatness compared to hot air leveled solder (HASL) finish without the need for assembly process changes. When used as a replacement for HASL, Immersion Silver provides the additional environmental benefit of reducing lead content in the manufacturing process. Viasystems currently provides Immersion Silver for switching, transmission, networking, computing and automotive applications.
    "Adding Immersion Silver to our production mix is indicative of Viasystems' continued focus on state-of-the-art technology," said Barry L. Brigman, president, Viasystems-Americas. "It also demonstrates our commitment to customer satisfaction." Viasystems now has Immersion Silver surface finish in their facilities in North American and Europe, with plans to add this capability to their Asia manufacturing facilities by the end of this year.
    Based in St. Louis, Mo., Viasystems Group, Inc. is one of the world's largest independent manufacturers of printed circuit boards and value-added backplane assemblies and services. The company operates manufacturing facilities worldwide, supplying customers in a variety of markets that include the telecommunications, computer, automotive, military, consumer electronics, industrial, medical, and instrumentation industries.