JUAREZ, MEXICO – Viasystems Group said it would relocate its electromechanical operations here to a larger facility later this year, more than doubling its space to 205,000 sq. ft.

The move is a result of demand in the Americas for metal fabrication, assembly and integration services from customers in the industrial, medical and telecom markets, the firm’s CEO, David Sindelar, says.

The facility will offer a large-format powder coat paint application system, precision sheet-metal capability, and increased capacity for backplane assembly.

WASHINGTON – The Securities and Exchange Commission issued proposed draft regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act, which would require firms to report whether goods contain conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo or other nearby countries.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, conflict minerals include cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, gold, wolframite or their derivatives.

A webinar is being offered to address how the act may impact operations. Information will be provided on the status of the SEC's anticipated issuance of final regulations sometime in late 2011.

The webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the Dodd-Frank Act and proposed SEC regulations; identification of industries and companies that would be subject to the new requirements; annual SEC reporting requirements, and due diligence considerations and key compliance issues raised by the proposed rules.

To register, visit www.strtrade.com. 

TEMPE, AZ – MEPTEC and SMTA will hold a medical electronics event Sept. 27 – 28 at Arizona State University.

Medical Electronics: Vital Technologies for Health will focus on materials, integrated circuit fabrication, manufacturing and assembly processes, as well as end products and applications as they relate to the medical industry.

Visit http://meptec.org/meptecmedicalele.html for more information.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The 90-day moving average bookings at North American circuit board fabricators fell 12.6% year-over-year in May, IPC said today.

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PORTLAND, OR – Celestica today said it has completed its acquisition of the semiconductor equipment contract manufacturing operations of Brooks Automation.

No financial terms were disclosed.

The operations, based here and Wuxi, China, specialize in manufacturing complex mechanical equipment and providing systems integration services for large semiconductor equipment manufacturers.

Celestica delivers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC is supporting a movement to phase-in new regulations governing so-called conflict metals over a three-year period.

The trade group this month submitted comments to the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the legal basis for a phase-in of the conflict minerals regulatory requirements. The SEC is charged with overseeing the legislation’s implementation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2010.

The conflict metals rule attempts to contain raw tin and other ores mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The minerals are said to be funding an ongoing civil war that has cost millions of lives over the past decade. US businesses have generally rejected the legislation as ineffective and impossible to authenticate.

IPC submitted a four-page brief proposing a three-year phase-in of the rules. The association’s recommendations are based on the anticipated dates at which on-the-ground tracking systems, such as the ITRI bag-and-tag program, are in place and supplying verifiable conflict-free minerals.

In addition, IPC believes the three-year period will give a significant number of smelters the opportunity to be audited and their products validated as conflict-free.

Without the phase-in, a de facto ban of minerals from the DRC and adjacent countries will be the only way to provide certifiably conflict-free minerals, as there are no tracking systems in place, says IPC.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Registration is now open for PCB West 2011. The event will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center Sept. 27 – 29.

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TRENCIN, SLOVAKIA – AU Optronics has opened a plant here, its second European site for large-sized LCD display production.

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DUNFERMILINE, SCOTLAND -- Simclar Group's UK operations went into administration yesterday as creditors moved to protect their loans to the contract electronics manufacturer.

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ARLINGTON, VA -- The National Association of Manufacturers has issued a statement in support of H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act.

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