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NEWARK, NY -- EMS provider IEC Electronics Corp. has completed the acquisition of Val-U-Tech Corp., a privately held manufacturer of wire harness assemblies located in Victor, NY, for approximately $10 million.

For the period ended Dec. 31, Val-U-Tech had revenue of $11 million and expects that its revenue for the six months ending June 30 will be approximately $6.9 million, up from $4.4 million last year.

Val-U-Tech serves military, medical and industrial customers and IEC believes the acquisition leverages the existing customer base of both companies and could lead to cross-selling opportunities.

IEC financed the transaction with a credit facility from M&T Bank, seller notes and issuance of stock. IEC fixed approximately $7.2 million of the purchase price at a weighted average of 5.1% for five years. The balance of the purchase price came from the issuance of 500,000 shares of IEC stock and a draw on IEC’s working capital line.

M&T Bank has provided a $1.5 million equipment line of credit and is supporting IEC’s working capital requirements with a $9 million revolving credit line at LIBOR rates.

IEC chairman and CEO W. Barry Gilbert said, "Val-U-Tech has been very successful in growing both its sales and earnings at double digit rates for the last few years. Some of IEC’s customers have anticipated cable harness projects to be awarded over the next year. With Val-U-Tech’s management team and IEC’s support we are reasonably confident of winning our share of these programs. This acquisition should significantly contribute to our earnings.”

ANGLETON, TX -- Benchmark Electronics will supply EMS services to iRobot Corp. in a deal the company calls a significant contract. The company didn't disclose the length or value of the program.

The program will be built in one of Benchmark's four ITAR-compliant facilities in the US.

iRobot designs behavior-based robots that help people complete complex and dangerous tasks.

OTTAWA — Canadian legislators this week introduced amendments to the national Energy Efficiency Act, a precursor to establishing broad federal limits on power use.

Under current law, Canada regulates each product individually. The proposed rule would encompass all energy-consuming products, including electronics that use energy even when they're off or in standby mode. Read more ...

TAIPEI -- Foxconn parent Hon Hai is scheduled to apply for investment permission to establish a branch at Kaohsiung Software Park, a move that will bring 3,000 jobs in the next five years.

The investment would focus on innovation, R&D and design, chairman Terry Guo said, according to published reports.

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – A new ASTM International standard details methods for complying with the EU’s REACH rules.

ASTM F2725, Standard Guide for European Union’s Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals Supply Chain Information Exchange, provides step-by-step instruction throughout the inventory process, including planning and processing orders; handling; and transporting and storing of all materials purchased, processed or distributed among players on the chain to fulfill compliance requirements.

The standard also includes case studies to show the process of exchanging data for three representative scenarios.

REACH, an acronym for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, outlines mandatory regulatory systems for companies doing business in Europe.

Other initiatives discussed during Committee F40’s recent meeting in Brussels were the development of a new x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy test method that describes a procedure for identification and quantification of restricted substances in polymeric materials, and updates to ASTM F2576, Standard Terminology Relating to Declarable Substances in Materials.

TOKYO – Rohm Co. will buy Oki Electric Industry Co.'s chip business for about 95 billion yen ($913 million) in a deal set to close by Oct. 1.

The terms of the deal call for Oki to spin off its chip business into a new company, then sell a 95% stake to Rohm.

The Oki semiconductor division makes LSI chips used mainly in consumer electronics.