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ROSWELL, GA -- Rehm Thermal Systems, a maker of soldering equipment, has moved into a new Applications Center here.

MINNEAPOLIS – The SMTA has announced a series of webinars coming in March to be held in conjunction with Virtual PCB.

Go Greener in Your Cleaner, presented by Dr. Harald Wack at Zestron America, will take place Mar. 3. Attendees will learn about recent cleaning challenges, including the removal of flux residues under challenging low standoff components such as 0603 chip capacitors, while using pH-neutral de-fluxing agents, as well as alkaline chemistries with reduced VOC levels.

Also on Mar. 3, Root Cause Failure Analysis of PCB Assemblies will introduce the element of root cause failure analysis through the correlation of product and tooling design with assembly defects, including examples of actual product design, manufacturing tooling design, and SMT and PTH assembly process issues matched to actual product failures. The presentation will be given by Dale Lee of Plexus Corp.

Status of the Proliferation of Lead-Free Alloys: 2010, on Mar. 4, will provide an overview of the current Pb-free alloy proliferation, a discussion of new failure modes and how to minimize them and an outlook on how alloy convergence might occur. Ronald Lasky, Ph.D., PE, of Indium Corp. will present.

For more information, contact ryan@smta.org or visit http://www.smta.org/education/presentations/presentations.cfm.

Virtual PCB (www.virtual-pcb.com), the industry's only Web-based trade show and conference, is brought to you by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY and PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB.

ITASCA, IL – Illinois Tool Works reported mixed results for its January quarter, as total operating revenue increased 5% year-over-year, but organic revenues were down 2%.

The growth in revenue was due to acquisitions and currency translation, which contributed 1% and 6%, respectively.

ITW is the parent company of Kester Solder, Speedline Technologies, Vitronics-Soltec and other electronics assembly suppliers.

For the period ended Jan. 31, base revenues were up sequentially on greater demand in the North American automotive sector.

Operating revenues were $3.76 billion, with base revenues down 10.9% in North America and 9% internationally.

ITW said most end-markets have stabilized and expects a modest expansion in a variety of worldwide end markets in 2010, with fiscal first-quarter total revenue growth of 14% to 18%. The company forecasts fiscal year growth of 10% to 14%.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The turnaround at CyberOptics continued in the fourth quarter as the AOI OEM reported net sales rose 5% sequentially and 34% year-over-year.

ANAHEIM, CA – Producing a trade show in the middle of a recession rarely brings out the best in people. Sometimes, it doesn’t bring out the people at all. However, this year, as the recovery starts to settle in, Electronics West brought out a number of EMS firms positive about their 2010 outlooks; some even experienced solid growth in the last three years.

SIEVI, FINLAND -- Scanfil reported fourth-quarter sales of 48.1 million euros ($65.6 million), down 11.1% from 2008.

VELLINGE, SWEDEN -- Top 40 electronics manufacturing services firm PartnerTech reported fourth-quarter net sales of SEK 556.1 million ($77.4 million), down 14.6% from a year ago.

Separately, the company named Leif Thorwaldsson president and CEO, replacing Rune Glavare.

PHILADELPHIA – Soldering guru Dieter Brammer passed away this morning at his home in Philadelphia.

Brammer was well known in the surface mount electronics manufacturing industry as a pioneer in the use of forced convection reflow for SMT soldering.

Originally from Lüneberg, Germany, Brammer immigrated to the US in the 1960s as a locksmith. He became involved in the membrane switch industry, printing and curing conductive inks, which led him to the electronics industry and the search for efficient drying and curing ovens.

He founded Screen Printing Technology in the 1980s in Eastern Massachusetts, eventually switching to infrared and later convection reflow soldering ovens. The business later became ABW Systems.

SUZHOU – Nordson Dage can now build x-ray inspection systems at its plant in Suzhou, China.

The facility is able to provide complete, fully tested products from a manufacturing procedure that replicates those used at its headquarters in the UK.

The plant was set up originally four years ago to provide subassemblies for the firm’s x-ray inspection systems.

LAMPHUN, THAILAND – Hana Microelectronics reportedly could spend $30 million to $35 million to expand production facilities, hiring up to 1,000 more staff in 2010.

SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Sparton Corp. reported results second-quarter fiscal 2010 net income of $3.2 million, reversing a net loss of $2.8 million from a year ago.

SINGAPORE – Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) reported fiscal third-quarter sales fell 17% year-over-year to HK$476 million on higher demand for turnkey business.