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MANKATO, MN – EMS firm Winland Electronics reported net sales for the first quarter were $7 million, down 24.4% year-over-year. The company incurred a loss from operations of $569,000 compared to a loss of $342,000 in 2007. First-quarter net loss was $380,000, compared to a net loss of $267,000 last year.

Gross profit was $611,000, or 8.7% of sales, down from last year’s $872,000, or 9.4% of sales. Decreased gross profit was primarily a result of underutilization of fixed manufacturing costs because of lower sales volume for the quarter, said the firm.

Operating expenses were $1.2 million, which was consistent overall with the same period of 2007, according to Winland. The company's sales and marketing expense increased with the hiring of two salespeople during the past year, and in the first quarter, the company decreased new product development spending.

"Winland's results during the first quarter this year reflect the negative impact of a sharp decline in customer demand from two of our three largest customers, as well as the phase out of sales from two customers," said newly named CEO Thomas de Petra.

"Early in the first quarter, we responded to this sales trend with discretionary expense reductions and adjustments to fixed overhead that were paired to a restructuring of our manufacturing and operations departments and other initiatives announced earlier this year," de Petra added.

ROME, NY – The ESD Association will hold an online course on controlling ESD in automated equipment next month.

The course takes place June 25 at 2 p.m. EST.

Instructor Donn Bellmore of Universal Instruments will focus on the grounding and material requirements of ESD Controls in AHE for prevention of CDM and MM type damage to ESD sensitive devices. Design methods and material selections that provide effective ground paths through the assembly will be introduced. Test methods used to qualify the design will be discussed. Students will also become familiar with different types of plating and practices to provide effective designs.

For more information, visit www.esda.org/education.html.

For a complete 2008 schedule, visit
www.esda.org/documents/2008EducationSchedule.pdf.

MUNICH – Siemens AG said its second-quarter net profit fell 67% as a result of weaker performance in some key business projects, but said orders were up.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA – EMS provider Key Tronic Corp., reported third-quarter fiscal 2008 revenue of $51.5 million, up 9% year-over-year.

For the first nine months of the year, total revenue was $146.8 million, down 3.8% compared to the same period last year, the company said.

Net income was $1.2 million, up 57% year-over-year.

For the first nine months, net income was $3 million, up 19% compared to the third quarter last year.

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $50 million to $54 million.

NORTH BILLERICA, MA – BTU International Inc., supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment, said first quarter 2008 net sales were $16.6 million, up 10% year-over-year, and down 9% sequentially.

Net income was $100,000, down 83% from the preceding quarter, and down almost 86% compared to the first quarter of 2007.

“First quarter sales and income were in line with the forecasted ranges. Cash flow was positive, with a quarter-end balance of $27 million, and bookings during the quarter for both electronics and solar were strong,” said Paul J. van der Wansem, chairman and CEO of BTU.

“As we outlined at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007,” said van der Wansem, “we are in the midst of an aggressive program to grow our alternative energy business. Managed by our new Alternative Energy Business Group, we are adding employees and investing heavily in technology and new product development. Although the cost of these initiatives will have a negative impact on short term results, we believe they are necessary...”

The company remains conservative about the electronics business outlook for the second half of the year because of weakening economic conditions. BTU expects second-quarter sales in the range of $19 to $20 million.

Earnings are expected to show a moderate improvement compared to the quarter just finished, as the firm foresees a continuing ramp of costs associated with executing the plan to grow its alternative energy business.

ELKHART, IN – EMS provider CTS Corp. announced first-quarter 2008 revenues of $172.8 million, up 6% compared to the same period last year.

BOSTON – Nepcon East opened today to predictably modest crowds and a surprisingly upbeat mood. Attendance was difficult to gauge. On one hand, there were ample people in the aisles. On the other, it was near impossible to know at a glance which show they were there for: Nepcon, Assembly New England or OEM New England, the latter two of which cater to distinctly different customers.

HERNDON, VA – The North American workshop for the 2009 iNEMI Roadmap will review drafts of most of the 22 technology/business process chapters to be included in the roadmap.

The full-day meeting, scheduled for May 14, at iNEMI’s Herndon, VA headquarters, provides for a two-way dialogue.

The registration deadline is May 8.

Chapter committees will give industry a “sneak peek” at work in progress, and workshop participants can provide feedback and direction to ensure that the final chapters accurately reflect the state of the industry and anticipate future directions.

In addition to the workshop in North America, roadmap workshops are scheduled in Europe (June 18 in Leuven, Belgium) and Asia (July 28 in Shanghai).

For more information, visit http://www.inemi.org/cms/calendar/2009_RM_NA_May08.html.

HONG KONG – Xinye Technology Enterprises has selected the Suining Innovation Industrial Zone in Sichuan Province, China, to build a new PCB manufacturing plant. Located in Southwest China, the manufacturing facility will reportedly be the largest in this area of the country when completed, occupying about 7 million sq. ft.

The company reports that it expects to take three to five years to build the facility, with a cost of over $250 million required for completion. The designed annual capability of the base will reportedly be 5 million square meters, and create 6,000 to 8,000 new jobs for the area.

LOGAN, UTAH -- When Blake Kirby first invested in Inovar, some 10 years ago, he “didn’t even know what contract manufacturing was.” Now president and COO of the EMS firm, Kirby recalls when he first saw the company, it was housed in a garage. The space was so small, the first SMT line the company purchased cleared the walls by a scant 4".

LEXINGTON, MA -- Cookson Electronics will implement IBS America's quality management software at its 55 locations around the world, the software supplier said today.

According to IBS, Cookson purchased an enterprise license for IBS's QSi system. Cookson has used the tools since 2001 to streamline document control and resolve customer concerns. With the purchase of the enterprise license, the software will now be used by 2,500 employees across multiple divisions.

"We chose to implement the QSi System worldwide in order to standardize quality systems," said Adam Gorski, IT global vice president, Cookson Electronics/AMG. "The enterprise system will help us with systems integration globally, and allow us to communicate changes in documentation across all of our locations and coordinate rapid, consistent responses to customer concerns."

BEIJING -- A group of leading Chinese consumer electronics companies today announced the formation of an industry consortium whose mission is to build and drive the adoption of the next-generation interactive television and home CE networking interface known as DIVA, or Digital Interface for Video and Audio. The DIVA Consortium's charter members (called the Promoters Group) include major CE and home appliance manufacturers such as Sichuan Chang Hong Electric, Qingdao Haier, Hisense Electric, Konka, Nanjing Panda Electronics, Skyworth Group, SVA Information, TCL, and Synerchip.

The Promoters Group will demonstrate the DIVA bi-directional technology next month and expects to release the specification by the end of 2008.

In addition to the transmission of uncompressed video and audio data, DIVA technology embeds a reliable, high-speed bi-directional data transmission channel to allow the consumer to locate, connect and control various CE devices from a DIVA-enabled digital television (DTV). The DIVA interface purports to help streamline and simplify connections among various electronics devices, offering ease of connection and use. Leveraging a single interface, which integrates multimedia and data communication, the DIVA standard promises to upgrade home networks to a new level, making DTVs the center of the home entertainment network.

Today's digital interfaces are point-to-point connections that are limited in their ability to accommodate a network of devices. DIVA reportedly has the ability to connect multiple source devices to multiple displays, to monitor and control various digital home appliances from the TV in the living room, and to organize various personal and mobile entertainment devices in the same home network.

The China Video Industry Association has agreed to fully support the DIVA standard.