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

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

TOKYO -- Japan-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment said 90-day average bookings were ¥119,148 million, up 4.4% over revised April levels and 12.2% from last year.

WASHINGTON – President Obama today announced a national initiative to invest in emerging technologies to create jobs and increase US global competitiveness.

The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership aims to unite industry, universities and the federal government to concentrate on building manufacturing capabilities in national security industries; diminishing the time required to create advanced materials used in manufacturing products; establishing US robotic leadership; increasing manufacturing process energy efficiency, and developing new technologies that will reduce the time required to design, build and test manufactured goods.

More than $500 million will be allocated to start this effort, including investments on small high-powered batteries, advanced composites, metal fabrication, bio-manufacturing and alternative energy.

This summer, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, Agriculture and Commerce have set a goal of $300 million in funding.

BOLTON, MA – Electronic data transfer formats, vital as they are, are guaranteed to elicit yawns, if not outright derision, from users. But that history isn’t deterring an industry task group from attempting to tackle the now three-decades-old problem of unintelligent schematic files.

BROOKLYN PARK, MN – Krayden has opened a new location here to provide enhanced service and support to customers in the upper Midwest.

This is the company’s fourth expansion in the last two years.

Krayden provides technical expertise and offers application assistance through custom packaging and formulating, dispensing/processing equipment and technologies, in addition to fabricating capabilities.

The firm serves solar, electronics, aerospace and transportation, as well as OEM manufacturers.

WESTFORD, MA – Electronics test and fault diagnostic provider Diagnosys plans to relocate its Kissimmee, FL, and Westford, MA, offices into a single, larger facility near Boston.

Approximately 80% of the Kissimmee staff, including all of the engineering team, will make the transition. Additional staff will be hired in Massachusetts.

The transition is scheduled to begin in early July, with final steps taking place in late September through early October. The company’s training facility will remain in Kissimmee through October.

The firm noted its Functional Test Group has won several new long-term contracts over the past few years, while its Diagnostic Group has seen an increase in the need for support of products and services to the Functional Test Group. 

Diagnosys provides equipment and support for testing printed circuit boards and modules.

GARDEN GROVE, CA – A call for abstracts has been issued for the Symposium on Counterfeit Electronic Parts and Electronic Supply Chain. The event will take place Dec. 6 – 8 at the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort.

This symposium will provide a forum to cover changes in the electronic parts supply chain on how an organization performs part selection and management through the whole lifecycle of the parts.

Topics include impact of supply chain changes on the component management practices: quality, reliability, manufacturability; electronic parts distribution: current stage and evolution; authentication techniques for securing electronic part supply chain; federal procurement practices and its impact on electronic supply chain; inspection tools and techniques for detecting counterfeit parts; new areas of counterfeit concerns: materials, energy storage, and industry and international working groups and standards on electronic part supply chain and counterfeit electronic parts.

The symposium is sponsored by SMTA and CALCE at the University of Maryland.

Three-hundred-word abstracts should be sent to diganta@umd.edu no later than Aug. 23. 

Presentations are due Oct. 28.

For more information, visit www.smta.org/counterfeit.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works' Power Systems and Electronics business unit reported sales rose 21% over last year for the three months ended May 31. 

WASHINGTON – Reps. Gene Green (D-TX) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced an e-waste export bill today that would promote responsible electronics recycling, stop global dumping of e-waste from the US, and boost green jobs.

The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act seeks to avert electronic waste exports to developing countries, where it may be bashed, burned, flushed with acids, and melted down in unsafe conditions.

The bill establishes a new category of “restricted electronic waste” that cannot be exported from the US to developing nations. Used equipment can still be exported for reuse, as long as it has been tested and is fully functional. Non-hazardous parts or materials are also not restricted. Other exemptions include products under warranty being returned to the manufacturer for warranty repairs; products or parts being recalled, and crushed cathode ray tube glass cullet that is cleaned and fully prepared as feedstock into CRT glass manufacturing facilities.

For more information, visit http://www.electronicstakeback.com.  

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit last night reported net profits of $110 million for the period ended May 31, up 84% from a year ago.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- A pair of research firms offered conflicting assessments of where the semiconductor industry is headed this year.