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In brief

01 July, 2003

• International Rectifier and Sanyo Semiconductor have formed a joint venture to design, develop and market, motor drive power modules for energy-efficient appliances and light industrial applications. The JV, called IR-SA Integrated Technologies, will pair IR motion control product expertise with Sanyo`s packaging integration technologies.

• Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba have revealed that their new factory systems joint venture will probably be called Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation. They have scaled back their 2006 sales target from ₯160bn to ₯147bn.

• A joint venture set up by GE Fanuc Automation and Cisco Systems in 2000 to tap the market for industrial Ethernet, appears to have scaled back its activities. Visitors to the GE Cisco Industrial Networks` Web site are being diverted to another GE site.

• Following Timken`s acquisition of Torrington, the Japanese bearing-maker NSK has exercised its right to acquire Torrington`s 49.02% stake in their joint venture, NSK Torrington. NSK now owns 98.06% of the business, which it is renaming NSK Needle Bearings.

• The INA Schaeffler Group has invested €24m in a new seven-storey research and development centre at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. More than 500 engineers and support staff will work on bearings and other technologies in the 7,500m² centre.

• The Swiss miniature bearings specialist myonic (formerly RMB), has sold its micro-systems activities to the German-US Faulhaber Group. The headquarters of the newly formed MPS Micro Precision Systems, will remain in Biel, as will its 130 employees.