COLLEGE PARK, MD – CALCE and IPC will sponsor a technical seminar May 24 and 25 here: JISSO Forum on Reliability of Electronics.

This seminar is intended to provide an interactive forum to discuss the latest concerns, trends and technologies in electronics that impact product reliability.

CALCE, IPC and members of the JISSO International Council will speak on embedded technologies, batteries, environmental regulations, counterfeit avoidance, test and simulation methods, and the emerging field of prognostics.

Attendees will get a snapshot of integrated electronics development and manufacturing, and receive input on technologies that will impact the electronics industry over the next 10 years.

JISSO North America will also host the Annual JISSO International Conference (May 25 – 27) and a standards meetings for the IEC Technical Committee 91 on printed circuit boards (May 23 – 25), both also at the University of Maryland. 

BANNOCKBURN, IL – An estimated one-third of all printed circuit boards for US defense or military systems are produced outside North America, according to recent IPC data.

TAIPEI -- Foxconn Electronics' (Hon Hai) non-consolidated revenues rose 33.2% year-over-year in April to NT$204.9 billion ($7.2 billion) on growth in consumer electronics.

PATHUMTHANI, THAILAND -- SVI Public Co., the third largest Thailand-based EMS company, reported first-quarter consolidated net profits rose 32% to 229 million baht ($7.6 million), a record for the quarter.

RICHARDSON, TX ― Automated Circuit Design has completed a 13,500 sq. ft. expansion to its electronics manufacturing services facility here, the company said.

OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND – The Smart Area Array Reliability Conference and Table Top Exhibition will be held here Oct. 5 and 6.

Topics include industry trends on area array packaging; design and reliability of BGA and uBGA devices; soldering and joint reliability of lead-free and mixed alloys; ductility of lead-free solder balls; underfill vs. corner bumping; pad cratering on laminates; design for cleaning electronics assemblies; no-clean vs. clean; aqueous, semiaqueous and solvent choices; demonstrating area array cleaning reliability; coating and its impact of joint reliability; coating under BGA; and tin whiskers and benefits from coating.

For more information, visit www.smartgroup.org.

SHENZHEN -- Nam Tai Electronics swung to a first-quarter net profit of $2 million, up from a loss of $1.1 million in the year ago quarter.

ST. LOUIS -- Top 40 EMS firm LaBarge reported its fiscal third-quarter net profits fell 10% year-over-year to $3.7 million.

TORONTO -- SMTC Corp. today reported first-quarter net income fell to $700,000, a third of last year's level.

KEMPELE, FINLAND – PKC Group’s first-quarter consolidated net sales grew 59.3% year-over-year to EUR 96.9 million.

Profit for the period was EUR 7.6 million, up 370% compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Electronics manufacturing services sales rose 23.9% to EUR 18.7 million in the quarter. The operating profit was EUR 400,000, down from EUR 1.3 million in the year-ago period. Deliveries increased from last year, but fell sequentially as customers delayed projects.

PKC said certain electronics components remained scarce due to global industry growth, but Japan’s earthquake had no significant effect on its electronics business in the quarter.

PKC, which announced plans to acquire Segu’s wire harness operations in Eastern Europe and Germany, said it expects EMS sales to grow in 2011.

1 EUR = US$1.4638

JASPER, IN – Kimball International today reported EMS net income fell 71% year-over-year to nearly $3.2 million for the period ended March 31.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – First-quarter worldwide PC microprocessor shipments were up 7.4% year-over-year and 1.6% sequentially, says IDC.

IDC expects full-year 2011 shipments to rise 10.3% compared to 2010. 2011 revenue is expected to grow 17.6% to nearly $43 billion.

In the first quarter, Intel had 80.8% unit market share, while AMD had 18.9%, both flat sequentially.

Demand for the second half of 2011 looks good, the firm says. Japan’s “earthquake and tsunami had minor effects on the PC supply chain," said IDC’s Shane Rau. "However, the real near-to-mid term concern there is the effect on Japanese demand for PCs and so microprocessors."

By 2015, IDC expects that more than 13% of PC processors will be based on ARM architecture.