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News

EDINA, MN – Six spots remain for the Pan Pacific Symposium technical conference, conference organizer SMTA said today.

Next year’s conference, the 13th overall, will be held Jan. 22-24 in Kauai, Hawaii.

The committee is looking for papers in the following areas: packaging, interconnection, business issues, markets, assembly and microsystems technology.

The deadline for abstracts has been extended to Sept. 7.

The full call for papers can be found at www.smta.org/pan_pac/call_for_papers.cfm.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Following a brief respite, market conditions for DRAM suppliers are set to take a turn for the worse in September, iSuppli Corp. predicts.

ARLINGTON, VA – Entries for the International CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards will be accepted through Sept. 28, the Consumer Electronics Association announced. This annual competition honors outstanding design and engineering in 32 consumer electronics product categories.

Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards are open to all, regardless of CES exhibitor status. To submit products for Innovations 2008, review last year’s winners or register for the show, log onto www.CESweb.org/innovations.

CEA has implemented an awards entry tool that utilizes an online collaboration system that permits coworkers to combine nominations.

The 2008 Best of Innovations honorees will be announced at the New York Press Preview and showcased on Nov. 13 at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Honorees are also highlighted and featured in the Innovations Showcase at Innovations Plus at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Media and analysts will see this year’s Innovations Design and Engineering showcase honorees during CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of CES. CES Unveiled runs from 4 – 7 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 5 in the Marco Polo Ballroom at the Sands/Venetian.

The awards are sponsored by CEA and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America.

SYDNEY – Startronics Pty. has purchased Sanmina-SCI's Australian EMS operations, creating the largest EMS company in Australia. Financial details were not disclosed.

IRVINE, CA – Acer Inc. today announced the purchase of Gateway Inc. for $710 million. The deal has the support of both companies’ boards and is expected to close by December.

ROME, NY – ESDA will offer the online course The Good, The Bad, and the Improvements in CDM ESD Testing on Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. EST.

The course will demonstrate the improved changes in the CDM ESD Standard and basics of CDM stress testing as required by the standard.

It will also cover proper equipment/tester qualification, calibration and periodic verification. It will be shown how the CDM stress testing requirements combined with proper stress testing procedures will lead to reliable qualification of product.

Visit www.esda.org/education.html for more information.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WI – Gary Goldberg, Promation’s president and CEO, has pledged to all North American customers that his company will guarantee it will beat its competitors’ prices on equipment similar to the E-Series of PCB handlers.

Promation is offering quotes, and if competitors quote lower prices, customers may bring these proposals to Promation for validation.

This challenge will be valid for purchases during September.

SAN JOSE, CA – Joseph R. Bronson has been named president and COO of Sanmina-SCI Corp., and was elected to the board of directors, the EMS provider announced Thursday.

WESTLAKE, OH – Nordson Corp. announced worldwide sales for the third quarter reached a record $257.7 million, a 14% increase year-over-year. The growth consisted of 9% from acquisitions, 3% from core volume growth, and 2% from favorable currency effects, the company reported.

Nordson, owner of such suppliers as Asymtek, EFD, Dage and YesTech, said sales for the quarter were up 26% in advanced technology systems. In addition, the industrial coating and automotive systems segment had a third-quarter sales increase of 14%. The adhesive dispensing systems segment showed an increase of 4%, reported Nordson.

According to the manufacturer, sales increased 32% in the Americas, 15% in Japan, 11% in the U.S., 10% in the Asia Pacific region, and 9% in Europe.

Backlog at the end of the quarter was approximately $115 million, up more than 19% year-over-year.

For the first nine months of the year, sales were a record $702.9 million, an 8% increase over the same period last year, said Nordson. Sales growth consisted of 6% from acquisitions and 3% from favorable currency effects; core volume was down 1%.

Nordson produces precision dispensing equipment that applies adhesives, sealants and coatings to consumer and industrial products during manufacturing operations.

ST. LOUIS – Contract electronics manufacturer LaBarge Inc. reported fourth quarter net sales rose 18% to $64.9 million year-over-year.

Net earnings were $2.9 million, up 7% from the same period last year, the company said.

WASHINGTON – Factories saw orders for big-ticket goods jump 5.9% in July, the most in 10 months, an encouraging sign that many manufacturers are holding up to the stresses caused by a housing slump and a credit crunch, the Commerce Dept. reported today.

The department reported a sizable increase in new orders for "durable" goods followed a 1.9% rise in June. Durable goods are costly manufactured items expected to last at least three years.

The barometer of manufacturing activity was better than the 1% increase economists expected, and gains were widespread, the report stated. Orders went up for machinery, automobiles, metal products, airplanes and communications equipment. That blunted a drop in demand for computers, as well as electrical equipment and appliances, the reported added.

In the manufacturing report, orders for automobiles rose 9.8% in July, the most since January 2003. Demand for primary metals, including steel, increased 7.9%, the biggest rise since July 2004. Orders for communications equipment soared 20.7%, the most since March 2006. Demand for airplanes for commercial use rose 12.6%. Airplane orders for defense purposes increased 15.8%.

Demand for computers, however, dropped 4% and orders for electrical equipment and appliances fell 1.2%.

Overall, the figures suggest that capital spending by businesses is weathering the financial storm so far, said the Commerce Dept. Credit problems, however, worsened in August, so upcoming reports on manufacturing will offer more insight into companies' spending.

HILLSBORO, OR – Viscom AG, maker of electronics inspection equipment, has acquired the MX family of IR inspection systems from Phoseon Technology Inc., the companies reported today.

The MX product family is a series of semiconductor inspection systems that incorporate infrared light sources for semiconductor applications where inspection through silicon is required, such as MEMS seal inspection, through-silicon wafer bond imaging and inspection, as well as SOI and flip-chip die bond inspection.

The acquisition price will remain confidential. This transaction takes the form of an assets deal and grants Viscom all patents for near IR inspection and exclusive use of Phoseon Near-IR lighting technology for inspection application licenses.

The agreement also transfers employees and the customer and applications base from Phoseon.