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GRAND RAPIDS, MI-- Firstronic has been awarded state grant worth nearly $300,000 to train workers hired in part with funds from an earlier grant, the EMS company said today. The $289,550 Skilled Trades Training Funds grant from Michigan’s Workforce Development Agency comes on the heels of a $300,000 state grant awarded in September to help the contract assembler fund additional hiring driven by strong business growth.

HONG KONG -- ASM Pacific Technology continued its consolidation of the SMT process equipment market, acquiring DEK in a deal that is pending regulatory approval.

MILWAUKEE, WI – Salaries for quality professionals in 2013 increased 1.58% after a year of flat growth in 2012, according to a new survey of 6,500 workers.

NORTH SOMERSET, UK -- A company run by Mardsen Smith shareholder Robert Smith has acquired the EMS company out of administration for £50,000, according to published reports. Smith is director of Virtuose Circuits, and is also Mardsen Smith's largest shareholder.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Total North American printed circuit board shipments increased 3.6% year-over-year in October.

The 90-day average PCB orders increased 7% year-over-year, bringing year-to-date growth into positive territory at 0.1%, says IPC.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- The combined hardware and manufacturing cost of Microsoft’s new Xbox One amounts to $471, suggesting that Microsoft is subsidizing the cost of the video game console at the time of launch.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to surpass 1 billion units in 2013, representing 39.3% growth over 2012, IDC said. Despite a number of mature markets nearing smartphone saturation, the demand for low-cost computing in emerging markets continues to drive the smartphone market forward, the research firm stated.

MANIEMA PROVINCE, DRC -- Changes in local trade following the agreement to mine conflict-free metals in the Democratic Republic of Congo have had many positive impacts on the community, according to the promoters of a new mining traceability program.

SON, THE NETHERLANDS – Neways Electronics plans to terminate production activities at its subsidiary in Kassel, Germany, after a major fire in September brought all production at the site to a halt. The EMS company said that after an evaluation of its options, there's no alternative other than to terminate Neways Electronics Production's production activities.

HUDSON, NH – Contract assembler Altronics Manufacturing plans to increase its factory size by about 50% in order to accommodate system assembly and box build, the company told a local paper.

SOUTH AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND – Promation will establish a soldering lab here during the next year's first quarter to sell the company’s line of robotic soldering systems.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The semiconductor and electronics OEM industries are set to enjoy significant revenue growth in 2013, partly due to their tight management of inventory levels, according to IHS. Among OEMs in six categories, total revenue in the third quarter reached an estimated $493 billion, up 7% from $462 billion in the second quarter. Revenue in the final quarter of the year is expected to climb at an even more blistering pace, reaching $540 billion with sequential growth of 10%.