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SALEM, NH -- EMS provider Data Electronic Devices yesterday officially opened its NPI center here in the building in which the company was launched in 1977.

The two-story facility at 18 Bridge St. has been completely remodeled and refinished, but retains much of the charm of the original building, which dates to 1914. A hand-operable elevator near the center of the open concept building offers both tremendous visual interest as well as functionality in a pinch, for example.

The site features several workstations for engineering projects, hand soldering and test benches, a full SMT line including two stencil printers and a Mydata MY500 printer, Mydata MY9 and MY12 placement machines, a Heller 1809EXL reflow oven and a Pillarhouse Jade S-200 selective soldering machine.

Other lines include a VJ Electronix Summit 1800 rework machine, Nordson YesTech B3 AOI, Aqueous Technologies Trident cleaner, Glenbrook xray, and aThermatron environmental chamber.

ESD flooring has been installed throughout the entire building.

The company named Lori Giglio to manage the NPI center.

DataEd had an NPI line in its production factory in Salem, but said the new site was opened as the request of customers who wanted to be able to work on projects away from the bustle of the main site, Bob Bibeau, vice president of engineering/quality, told CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY.

The company has assigned seven workers to the NPI facility, where all workers will eventually be cross-trained. It also has 115 workers at its 65,000 sq. ft. production plant in Salem and 275 at its 55,000 sq. ft. plant in China. DataEd customers range from entrepreneurs to billion-dollar companies.

WESTLAKE, OH -- Nordson today reported second-quarter results at its Advanced Technology Systems business unit fell 3% from the prior year. Solid organic growth in electronics test and inspection and fluid management equipment was offset by softness for automated dispensing equipment in certain mobile end-markets.

For company's fiscal second quarter ended April 30. The ATS unit includes Dage, YesTech, Asymtek, and March, among others.

Orders for Asymtek have been recovering, however, the company's top executive said.

"We have begun to see an increase in orders for automated systems in recent weeks and we expect to generate solid sales growth in our third quarter within this segment,” said president and CEO Michael Hilton.

Geographically, organic sales growth in the second quarter over the prior year in the US and Europe was offset by softness in other regions. Operating margin for the Advanced Technology segment was 24% in the second quarter, up 13 percentage points from the first quarter.

Overall company sales for the quarter were $417 million, up 9% from a year ago.

HERNDON, VA – iNEMI released a rare earth metals white paper.

"Rare Earth Metals: Current Status and Future Outlook” discusses the sources of rare earth metal ores and processed materials. Potential solutions to prevent future supply constraints are suggested.

"Demand for rare earth metals has increased significantly in the past decade," said Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI. "REMs can be found in every electronic device produced today. But the electronic industry is not the only sector requiring an increased supply of REMs. These materials can be found in every hybrid automobile and most batteries, as well as every fiber-optic amplifier, LED, fluorescent light, and even in wind turbines. As demand continues to grow, shortages are a real risk."

Bader says iNEMI developed its REM white paper to inform the electronics industry about the REM situation worldwide and to urge the industry to take steps to become better informed and ready to react appropriately to future challenges. He notes some affected industries are developing policies and alternative technologies to reduce their dependence on REMs and/or mitigate risks to their supply chains, and that the electronics industry should consider taking a similar approach.

To view the white paper, visit http://thor.inemi.org/webdownload/projects/iNEMI_REM_Whitepaper.pdf.