AYUDHAYA, THAILAND -- Benchmark Electronics' Thailand subsidiary has temporarily suspended operations as a result of flooding in the surrounding areas of the EMS company's campus here.

BRASILIA -- It took a meeting between Foxconn Technology Group chairman Terry Gou and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, but a planned multi-billion dollar investment by Foxconn is back on.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Third-quarter worldwide PC shipments increased 3.6% year-over-year, beating last quarter's numbers but lower than market projections.

REYNOSA, MEXICO -- Top 10 EMS company Cal-Comp USA has purchased a 125,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility here to perform electronics manufacturing services, in particular for a major supplier of set-top boxes.

SHENZHEN – Zestron said today it would open its fifth global technical center here, with an inauguration to be held Oct. 25.

With the opening of this facility, the company is adding its second customer support center for China and fifth overall. Other sites are in Europe, the US and Southeast Asia.

The 1000 m²–plus facility features a range of different cleaning machines by various suppliers; a team of process engineers to support customers solving cleaning challenges; fully equipped conference rooms as a platform for technical seminars; and an HD video teleconferencing system that enables Zestron and its customers to access any of the company’s global engineering teams.

SUGAR LAND, TX -- Suntron will close its manufacturing facility here next year and move production to other locations, the company said today.

RICHARDSON, TX -- Asset InterTech has issued a white paper describing a new method for validating, testing and debugging printed circuit boards by embedding a board-tester-in-a-chip.

BANGKOK – Rampant flooding north of Bangkok has put several electronics manufacturing facilities in the region at risk.

CLEVELAND, OH – A new CD published by Keithley Instruments offers application notes and tutorial information on using source measurement units in a host of applications.

“Configuring Cost-Effective, High Performance Sourcing and Measurement Solutions” is aimed at users of high-power, high-brightness LED test, solar cell characterization, and high-resistance measurements.

SMUs combine the capabilities of DC voltage and current sources and a digital multimeter. These instruments are suitable for standalone benchtop use and as building blocks in highly scalable system solutions, combining wide I-V dynamic range with synchronized operation, says Keithley. A selector guide simplifies identifying the most appropriate SMUs for a particular application.

A free copy of the CD is available at www.keithley.com/promo/pr/092.

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Manufacturers today issued a strong statement in support of the Obama administration’s latest growth initiatives.

The President’s Jobs Council has recommended five major initiatives to facilitate corporate expansion, upgrade infrastructure and cut government red tape. Government policies have come under fire for hindering job growth and prolonging the economic recession.

NAM said it would support efforts to improve the communications between government and businesses, and applauded the policy shifts proposed by the Jobs Council.

In a statement NAM president and CEO Jay Timmons said, “Manufacturers wake up each day focused on finding opportunities to grow, create jobs and thrive in the global marketplace. Unfortunately, irresponsible policies have chipped away at our competitive edge, and it is now 20% more expensive to do business in the US. The President’s Jobs Council, led by Jeff Immelt, has taken a hard look at this environment and targeted a number of pro-growth initiatives to get our economy back on track and people back to work."

WASHINGTON -- A pair of amendments proposed today to the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011 would create new protections for the intellectual property of US companies and citizens.

RICHARDSON, TX ― Electronics manufacturing services company ACD reported a record third quarter, with sales currently up 17% year-over-year, and up 32% year-to-date over 2010.

Seven out of the first nine months in 2011 have been record months, the firm says.

The firm has added two Juki lines this year, and has more than tripled its capacity with the expansion of its plant here.

ACD has hired an additional 30 employees in the last year.

CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY's feature article on ACD this month: http://www.circuitsassembly.com/cms/component/content/article/159/11752-out-of-the-fire-acd-heats-up.