HELSINKI — Incap Electronics Estonia was named The Foreign Investor of The Year at the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EAS) and the Confederation of Estonian Employers Annual Entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony. An Entrepreneurship Award is the highest national recognition for businesses in Estonia.

Greg Grace, Managing Director of Incap Electronics Estonia, stated that the company appreciates the acknowledgment. “We are honoured to be recognised with the award and thank the judging panel. Despite a challenging global business environment and supply chain challenges, we have performed well and are upgrading our production facilities to respond to the growing market demand. I would like to thank our partners and the amazing team at Incap Estonia. We wouldn’t have succeeded without you,” he added.

Chairman of the jury and head of the joint institution of EAS and KredEx, Lauri Lugna, commented that one of the reasons why Incap won the foreign investor category was that the company is a leader and advocate of the entire sector. "Incap has made considerable investments in Estonia over the years and also continuously invested in young talents, in the development of the region and in innovation, green and digital revolution," said Lugna.

Kristi Tiivas, Chairman of The Supervisory Board at EAS added: “This company is clearly looking into the future, but soon also to the Moon. Their priority is to contribute to green technology, for example they have a role in the production of light electric vehicles and solar cars. Besides all this, they contribute significantly to the local community as well as to the generation of young capable professionals.”

Organised by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency and the Confederation of Estonian Employers, the entrepreneurship competition with the longest history in Estonia took place for the 27th time this year. The competition recognised Estonian companies that, despite challenges, have achieved success through ingenuity and consistent work. The Foreign Investors category specifically recognises enterprises that have shares held by international investors, are active in Estonia, and have made an important investment in the last three years.

The Entrepreneurship Award followed a two-phase application process. In the first phase, candidates submitted their financial data and arguments for winning their selected category. After the first phase, a TOP 10 ranking was drawn up and visitations were arranged with the selected enterprises to specify their accomplishments according to the statute. On this basis, three nominees in each category were shortlisted and submitted to the Entrepreneurship Awards 2022 jury to select the winner of each category.

For more information about the Entrepreneurship Award, please visit https://eas.ee/ettevotluseauhind/en/

Photos of Greg Grace, Managing Director of Incap Estonia: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7h6P3vkjzpxdXZtu8

Photos of Incap Estonia factory: https://photos.app.goo.gl/As4ywa69uGUydux68

INCAP CORPORATION

For additional information, please contact:

Greg Grace, Managing Director of Incap Electronics Estonia, tel. +372 516364

Mr Otto Pukk, President and CEO of Incap Corporation, tel. +372 508 0798

INCAP IN BRIEF

Incap Corporation is a trusted partner and full-service provider in Electronics Manufacturing Services. As a global EMS company, Incap supports customers ranging from large multinationals and mid-sized companies to small start-ups in their complete manufacturing value chain. Incap offers state-of-the-art technology backed up by an entrepreneurial culture and highly qualified personnel. The company has operations in Finland, Estonia, India, Slovakia, the UK, and Hong Kong and employs approximately 2,500 people. Incap’s share has been listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd stock exchange since 1997.

ROSEVILLE, CA — For a second consecutive year, PRIDE Industries has been named one of the nation’s Best of the Best Top Veteran-Friendly Companies by U.S. Veterans Magazine (USVM). The distinction publicly recognizes those entities that go above and beyond in their support of our nation’s former military personnel.

“Veterans are entrepreneurial. They’re resilient. And they’ve earned high levels of trust,” said Mona Lisa Faris, President and Publisher at U.S. Veterans Magazine. “This magazine was created to support our troops, and we at USVM are proud to recognize other businesses that are also making veterans a priority.”

As part of its “Best of the Best” evaluation process, USVM polled hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies on their veteran hiring and career support practices. Using this data as a guide, the magazine selected an elite group of companies that exemplify the magazine’s goal of increasing veteran employment.

“U.S. Veterans Magazine’s recognition of PRIDE Industries once again demonstrates our commitment to seeking and supporting veterans’ employment opportunities,” said Major General (Retired) Casey Blake, Chief Operating Officer at PRIDE Industries. “This is yet another strong validation of our steadfast commitment to gainfully employ veterans who have so faithfully served our nation with distinction and honor.”

PRIDE Industries recognizes that the experience veterans gain serving our country makes them valuable employees.  The nonprofit social enterprise, founded in 1966, currently employs hundreds of veterans in all areas of the company and has provided support and services to thousands more in the form of job readiness instruction, career coaching, and job placement assistance.

Resources for veterans include PRIDE Industries’ one-of-a-kind I AM ABLE employment helpline [(844) 426-2253], a dedicated Veterans Liaison, and a Military Skills Translator tool that helps veterans match their skills and talent to a civilian career. PRIDE Industries can also help veterans access paid internships, as well as mentoring and training programs.

“We appreciate all the men and women who have bravely served our country,” said Frank Goehringer, Veterans Liaison at PRIDE Industries. “It is our honor to provide our veteran heroes, military spouses, guard and reserve soldiers, and their families with employment opportunities. Thank you to U.S. Veterans Magazine and to all of our veteran referral partners.”

Founded in 2011, USVM fosters employment and business opportunities within the federal government and corporate America for veterans, transitioning service members, disabled veterans, spouses, and veteran business owners. Every year, the magazine carefully evaluates the nation’s employers, initiatives, government agencies, and educational institutions. The information USVM gathers serves as a valuable resource for job seekers, business owners, students, consumers, senior management, business associations, employment agencies, and consumer groups.

About U.S. Veterans Magazine (USVM)

The mission of the U.S. Veterans Magazine (USVM) is simple: open up immediate, lucrative employment, business and supplier opportunities for veterans, transitioning service members, disabled veterans, and veteran business owners within the federal government, as well as corporate America. In turn, we link companies and government entities to qualified career and business candidates from the ranks of the nation’s veterans. We provide the latest, most important veteran news, covering virtually every industry, business and profession. This includes up-to-date statistics on workforce diversity, as well as business-to-business trends. We offer both recruitment and business opportunities, along with accurate, timely conferences and event calendars. And, just as importantly, we spotlight inspiring role models and notable mentors. USVM is a WBENC and DOBE-certified company. Learn more at https://usveteransmagazine.com

About PRIDE Industries

PRIDE Industries delivers business excellence with a positive social impact. A social enterprise, we provide facilities operations and maintenance services, custodial services, contract manufacturing, supply chain management, packaging and fulfillment services, and staffing and recruitment services to private and public organizations nationwide. Founded in 1966, PRIDE Industries’ mission is to create employment for people with disabilities. Through personalized employment services, we help individuals realize their true potential and lead more independent lives. PRIDE Industries proves the value of its inclusive workforce model through operational success across multiple industries every day. Learn more at https://PRIDEIndustries.com.

CLINTON, NY — Indium Corporation’s Strategic Advisor Dr. Dongkai Shangguan will deliver a keynote presentation on interconnect reliability at the IEEE Symposium on Reliability for Electronics and Photonics Packaging (IEEE REPP) in a hybrid event on Nov. 9-10, Santa Clara, Calif., US., and online.

Interconnect reliability is critical to the reliability of semiconductor packaging and electronic systems. As newer forms of interconnects emerge to meet the demand for high density and high performance, interconnect reliability is becoming more complex and more critical.

The growing adoption of heterogeneous integration leads to increased diversity of interconnects (with different geometries, materials, and interfaces) in the same package, with complex (and often interactive) reliability failure modes and mechanisms. Finer pitch interconnects in advanced packaging are more susceptible to failures due to electromigration, interfacial reactions, etc. Cu direct bonding, without solder, presents new considerations in interconnect reliability.

At the same time, as electronic products become more pervasive in application, interconnect reliability must be considered holistically with regard to environmental conditions, from mechanical and thermomechanical to electrical and electrochemical. These considerations will impact reliability engineering for semiconductor devices, from design for reliability to accelerated testing and analysis. Yet another important dimension for interconnect reliability involves sustainability of electronic products, which demands environmentally friendly materials and processes, such as no-clean soldering, lead-free soldering, low-temperature soldering, etc.

Understanding of the failure mechanisms for different interconnect materials is of great importance to interconnect reliability and, ultimately, reliability of semiconductor devices and electronic systems.

Dr. Shangguan is a strategic advisor to Indium Corporation. In this role, he works on specific trends related to the advanced semiconductor packaging and SMT industries, and applies his significant industry experience to supporting customers. Dr. Shangguan is an IEEE Fellow and IMAPS Fellow, and has served on the boards of directors for several professional organizations and industry associations, including IPC, IEEE EPS, and iNEMI. He also serves as a Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE EPS. He has been honored with some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including IPC’s President’s Award, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ (SME) Total Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing Award, the Outstanding Sustained Technical Contribution Award from IEEE EPS, and the William D. Ashman Achievement Award from IMAPS, among others.

Dr. Shangguan received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University, China, an MBA from San Jose State University, Calif., and a Ph.D. in materials from the University of Oxford, U.K. He has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Cambridge, U.K., and the University of Alabama, and has served as a guest professor at several universities. Dr. Shangguan has published two books and more than 200 scientific papers and technical articles, and has given numerous presentations to share knowledge and expertise with the industry. He is the inventor/co-inventor of 28 U.S. patents and several foreign patents.

About Indium Corporation

Indium Corporation is a premier materials refiner, smelter, manufacturer, and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil®. Founded in 1934, the company has global technical support and factories located in China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com or email jhuang@indium.com. You can also follow our experts, From One Engineer To Another® (#FOETA), at www.linkedin.com/company/indium-corporation/ or @IndiumCorp.

About IEEE REPP

This major Silicon Valley symposium will focus on quantified reliability, accelerated testing and probabilistic assessments of the useful lifetime of electronic, photonic, MEMS and MOEMS materials, assemblies, packages and systems in electronics and photonics packaging. This includes failure modes, mechanisms, testing schemes, accelerated testing, stress levels, and environmental stresses.

ONEONTA, N.Y. — Custom Electronics, Inc. (CEI), a premier manufacturer of high-quality products for the military, industrial and commercial markets, announces a value-added distribution partnership with Vasantha Advanced Systems (VAS). A leading electronic manufacturing company, VAS provides innovative and customized solutions to fulfill prototyping requirements around the world. As distributor of VAS products, CEI adds to its capabilities and product offerings, while also growing its presence throughout India as well as expanding its commercial reach.

VAS will provide CEI with efficient and reliable electronic manufacturing services. VAS specializes in microcontroller-based products including coils, wiring harnesses and PCB design. With experience in coil indigenization, the company offers a variety of different types of coils such as solenoid, current transformers, miniature coils, ferrite transformers and drum cores. VAS also has the in-house capability to process different types of wiring harnesses, allowing for the design of jigs and fixtures to test harnesses, as well as the supply of harnesses to various industries with high reliability.

A wider range of consumers can now benefit from CEI's offerings, as the brand's partnership with Vasantha is an entry to the India market and additional commercial markets, expanding the capabilities of existing business and broadening both companies reach. By supplying VAS products in the U.S., new and existing CEI customers will also benefit from more advanced PCB assembly, cost reduction and systems design upgrades. Vasantha customers can also benefit from having access to CEI's specialized mica paper capacitors and tailored high-voltage assemblies.

Discussions leading to the partnership between CEI and Vasantha were additionally facilitated through the U.S. Commercial Service's (USCS) 2021 New York State Virtual Trade Mission (VTM) to India, in which CEI was a participant. While CEI and VAS had connected prior to the VTM, participation in the program provided CEI with extensive market intelligence and counseling from an experienced team of U.S government industry specialists across India, coordinated by USCS Senior International Trade Specialist Michael Grossman.

Vasantha products and services are available in the U.S. through Celektronix, a one-stop shop of electronic manufacturing solutions founded by CEI. In addition to the partnership with VAS, Celektronix also offers design, development, batch production, final assembly and testing services.