WASHINGTON -- Sanmina-SCI Corp. is among five companies awarded contracts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

Overall, $113 million in contracts were issued for human portable radiation detection systems for use at the nation's ports. No information was available as to the size of Sanmina's program.

Other contracts were awarded to Science Application International, Ametek AMT, Target Instruments, and Smiths Detection.

The nuclear detection office anticipates purchasing and deploying about 1,000 handheld systems and 200 backpack systems through the program. There are more than 14,000 handheld devices already in use.

"The portable technology will be used primarily by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers for secondary screening of cargo to identify and localize radiological material after a primary alarm has been triggered," the nuclear detection office said in a statement.

NANJING, CHINA -- Electronics manufacturer Nanjing Panda Electronics reported third-quarter report sales of 207 million yuan ($26.28 million), up 35.7% from last year.

Earnings rose 84.7% to 36.96 million yuan ($4.7 million) year-over-year.

Year to date, earnings are up 5.6% to 68.1 million yuan ($8.7 million) on revenue of 562 million yuan ($71.3 million), up 14%.

CHICAGO -- Cobra Electronics Corp. , a manufacturer of mobile communications products, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Performance Products Ltd., a privately held consumer electronics company based in the U.K. Cobra will pay $21.4 million plus two earnout payments of up to approximately $6.5 million and $9.3 million, respectively, contingent upon Performance Products' operating performance for the year ending March 31, 2007 and the fourteen months ending May 31, 2008.

The acquisition will expand Cobra's product line into the rapidly growing categories of GPS-enabled speed camera detection systems and personal navigation devices.

In a statement, Jim Bazet, Cobra president and chief executive, said, "We are witnessing explosive growth in the use of speed cameras for safety and traffic control throughout Europe and the United States. GPS technology for speed camera detection is legal and, given current trends, we anticipate widespread adoption.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Performance Products had revenues of $14.8 million and operating income of $1.8 million after adjustment for certain shareholder compensation that will not be paid in the future.

IRVINE, CA -- Electronics manufacturer Newport Corp. will acquire the laser products unit of Picarro Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in early November.

Newport makes instruments and lasers for the fiber-optic, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

Picarro makes photonics products including lasers for bio-instruments and gas analyzers for environmental monitoring. The unit is expected to have 2007 sales in the range of $5 million to $7 million.

GUADALAJARA -- Electronics manufacturing services is alive and well in Mexico.

According to a recent magazine report, the number of contract manufacturing facilities in main cities in Mexico has doubled to 26 since 2000. Meanwhile, the amount of manufacturing space in square feet has grown 117% to 7.4 million, reported Purchasing Magazine this month.

Guadalajara is growing fastest, the report said. The number of EMS plants has doubled to 12 during that span, the magazine reported, quoting data from Technology Forecasters.

It's not clear whether the data include the Flextronics plant under construction in Juarez.

 

 

MANSFIELD, TX – Mouser Electronics announced it has signed a global distribution agreement with Memtech to distribute its IDE and SCSI solid-state flash drives.
 
Memtech’s drives are used in government, military, aerospace, energy, manufacturing, transportation, and telecommunications market sectors.
 
Mouser provides same-day shipping with no minimum order requirements on most orders.
 
 
 
 
 

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The IPC Lithium Ion Battery Subcommittee met Oct. 12 to develop the scope of a standard for lithium ion battery cells used in laptop computers. 
 
Members representing major laptop manufacturers and independent R&D firms agreed that standard would cover process requirements, quality control and assurance for lithium ion battery cells.
 
The standard refers to all aspects of the batteries from incoming quality through packaging and shipment. It will apply to all form factors of rechargeable lithium ion battery cells, the committee said.
 
The standard expected to be published June 15.

ROCHESTER, NY – A.C.E. Production Technologies donated a KISS 102 Selective Soldering System to Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly.
 
The new machine, designed to fill the gap between hand soldering and automated in-line robotic selective soldering, will be used to support education, training, and research programs.
 

ATLANTA – ASYS has opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and named Roberto Cardozo regional sales and service manager for Southeastern Brazil.
 
Cardozo has several years experience in electronics as an end-user and sales representative and will work closely with company offices in Manaus, BR, and Atlanta.
 
 

ATLANTA -- Companies that currently import into the EU are implicitly declaring RoHS compliance. This was the message conveyed by Steve Andrews, head of the eco-design and product registration unit with the UK Department of Trade and Industry. European countries are taking self-declarations on good faith; there is no visible mandate, according to Andrews.

Andrews and others spoke on RoHS issues last week in a special Webcast on due diligence and environmental compliance. The presentation focused on laws in place in the EU and pending in China.

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