ORLANDO -- Vern Solberg last night received SMTA's Founder's Award, the highest individual honor the trade group presents.

ORLANDO -- SMTA and IPC will colocate their respective fall trade shows next year.

BRUSSELS – Circuits.io makes it possible to build circuit boards online.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Following economic setbacks in 2009, the world market for electronics manufacturing services continued to recover in 2011 and 2012, and is projected to grow this year 9.4% globally and 8.9% in North America, says IPC.

CRANSTON, RI – AIM announces its partnership with the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative, whose goal is to create regulated tin supply chains from the South-Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ATLANTA -- PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB is undertaking a survey of how printed circuit board designers, design engineers and other layout specialists use and think about various CAD tools.

WASHINGTON, DC -- US companies doing business in China are both more profitable than ever and more pessimistic than ever about their prospects in the world's most populous nation.

BELTSVILLE, MD – DfR Solutions is opening a new facility here to meet increasing demand for electronics reliability services and software.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – The worldwide PC market contracted sharply in the third quarter, with shipments declining 8.6% year-over-year, says the International Data Corp. The results are below IDC's August forecast of a 3.8% year-over-year market contraction.

KREFELD, GERMANY -- Hitachi High-Technologies Europe this month will host a one-day seminar on electronics manufacturing.

SUZHOU -- Surrounded by scores of customers and employees, electronics manufacturing services provider Enics in late September inaugurated its second -- and largest -- plant in China.

SAN DIEGO – Gentry Lee, chief engineer for the Solar System Exploration Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will provide an inside look at the Mars Curiosity rover mission during his keynote address at IPC Apex Expo on Feb. 20 at the San Diego Convention Center.