ARLINGTON, VA – Jedec will undertake an effort to standardize hybrid memory modules.

SAN JOSE – MEPTEC will sponsor its annual conference on thermal design management this March in San Jose.

The Heat is On: Performance and Cost Improvements through Thermal Management Design takes place March 21 at the Doubletree Hotel.
 
Sessions will provide in-depth discussions on challenges for various emerging applications and end markets, along with possible solutions and the resultant impact on cost and performance. This event will be part of the Electronics Thermal Week, co-sponsored by MEPTEC and SEMI-THERM.

For information, visit www.meptec.org/meptecthermal-th.html.
 

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC and National Physical Laboratory are sponsoring a Process Defect Clinic during the Apex trade show in April.

The clinic will feature process guru Bob Willis, who will assist show attendees with assembly and soldering process problems, RoHS compliance issues, solderability concerns, field failures and other process-related issues.

Attendees can bring board assemblies for examination or process problems, either by appointment (www.ipcapexexpo.org/my-show) or by visiting booth 217 during show hours.

Questions can be submitted in advance to processdefectclinic@ipc.org.

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Sparton Corp. today reported second-quarter fiscal 2011 net sales of $46.3 million, down 1.9% year-over-year.

Net income was $1.4 million, down 56.3% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Gross profit was $7.5 million, down 7.2% year-over-year.

EMS sales for the second quarter decreased approximately $3.8 million, compared with the same quarter last year. The company attributes this decrease primarily to certain program losses and customer design change delays.

The gross profit percentage on EMS sales increased to 7%, compared to 5% for the same quarter the previous year.

For the first six months of fiscal 2011, the firm’s net sales were $92.1 million, a drop of 3.4% compared to the same period in 2010. Net income was $5.5 million, up 18.5% year-over-year. Gross profit for the first six months was $14.6 million, down 6% year-over-year.                  

“Sales and margin contribution from our newly acquired Colorado medical facility, along with strong margins from our DSS business unit helped to carry our consolidated results, as we continue to work through softening sales within both our EMS business and our Ohio medical facility,” said Sparton president and CEO Cary Wood.

VANCOUVER, BC -- Micro tier EMS firm Northstar Electronics has begun an "aggressive" program to expand topline revenue through strategic acquisitions and organic growth.

BILLINGSTAD, NORWAY -- Top 50 EMS company Kitron reported a fourth-quarter loss before tax and discontinued operations of NOK 18.8 million (US$3.26 million), a swing from a profit of NOK 12.8 million last year.

DERRY, NH -- Sanmina-SCI will open a dedicated prototype EMS facility here, according to CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY sources.

ST. LOUIS -- Viasystems Group today reported higher fourth-quarter EMS sales on higher demand for automotive products, partially offset by softness in telecommunications.

BOSTON -- Kenneth Olsen, the Digital Equipment Corp. cofounder who famously said he couldn't imagine why a person would want a computer in their home,  died Sunday. He was 84.

OCOTILLO, AZ – Defining environmental research priorities to plan for a sustainable future is the focus of an upcoming iNEMI-sponsored conference here.

CINCINNATI – Buoyed by a strong 2010, Seho Systems is adding staff to its North American headquarters here.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Momentum behind tablet (slate) PC shipments is growing, with a year-over-year increase of nearly 200% to 55.7 million units expected in 2011, according to DisplaySearch.

Though growth rates will slow during the forecast period, the slate PC share of the overall mobile PC market, which also includes notebooks and mini-notes, will rise to nearly 35%, or 172.4 million units, by 2014, says the firm. Total shipments of the mobile PC market are expected to reach 503.8 million units by 2014.

DisplaySearch expects 7" wide, 10" standard, and 10" wide to be the dominant screen sizes used by new products in the coming years.

Mobile PC shipment growth is expected to be in the double-digit range throughout the forecast period, peaking in 2011, at 30.4% year-over-year, and gradually declining to 17.7% growth in 2014.