MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The SMTA is excited to announce the technical program for the Counterfeit Electronics & Materials Symposium. The symposium will be held 14-15 March 2023 at The Manufacturing Technology Centre in Ansty Park, Coventry, United Kingdom.

The technical program consists of over 20 expert speakers who dive into the impact of counterfeit electronic parts on the supply chain. Increasing the scope of counterfeit material presentations, this symposium focuses on the solutions that are available and are in development by all sectors of the industry. Speakers will depict the current state of counterfeiting, effects on the supply chain, avoidance and best practices, important policies, detection methods, and more.

Daily Keynote Speakers have been selected. On Tuesday, 14 March 2023, Tom Sharpe, SMT Corporation, will be calling attention to, “The Progression of the Counterfeit and Clone Integrated Circuit Threat: 2000-2023.” On the second day of the conference, Wednesday, 15 March 2023, Adam Fletcher, The Electronic Components Supply Network Ltd., will present, “Dancing Between the Raindrops - A Status of Electronic Component Supply Chain.”

To commence the event there will be two professional development courses to choose from, which is included in standard registration. On Tuesday, 14 March, 2023, the courses will be presented from 9-11 a.m. Michael Ford, Aegis Software, will instruct the course titled, “The Crucial Role of Traceability in the Secure, Smart Supply-Chain”, and Diganta Das, Ph.D., CALCE, University of Maryland, will be teaching the course titled, “Use of Component Documentation and Supply Chain for Counterfeit Avoidance.” For more information, click here.

Registration for this event is open. Discounted rates available by registering on or before 28 February 2023, click here to register. All presentations, professional development course, reception, and exposition are included in registration. View the program here.

If there are any questions, please call +1-952-920-7682 or email anticounterfeit@smta.org. For more information, visit https://smta.org/mpage/anticounterfeit.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Specialty Coating Systems (SCS) is pleased to announce that it presented Quality Associates with its ‘Representative of the Year Award’ during the recent 2023 IPC APEX EXPO. Quality Associates represents SCS’ PrecisionCoat spray and dispense line, cure ovens and ionic contamination test systems in the states of Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.

“SCS relies on dedicated representatives to help fuel the growth of our equipment lines and better serve our customers,” said Hans Bok, Equipment Sales Manager. “Quality Associates were chosen for this award because of their outstanding achievement in 2022 and continued commitment to SCS and our customers.”

Founded in 1990, Quality Associates brings a project and engineering focused consultative sales approach to its clients. The team has a strong capital equipment focus while maintaining consistent strength and synergistic lineup of distribution/consumable products. Quality Associates realizes consistent growth in its distribution products by maintaining solid relationships with its distribution partners as well as end-user clients. For more information, visit www.quality-associates.net.

For more information about SCS, please visit www.scsequip.com.

MONTERREY, MEXICO — PAC Mexico recently announced the development of a brand new diploma program at the Universidad Tecnologica Escobedo for students who want to learn more about the SMT industry. The 80 hour training program is designed to give students hands on experience with manufacturing equipment and help facilitate career development once students graduate. To garner interest from students and industry leaders alike, PAC is hosting an open house at UTE on February 7th at 10am (CST), where students can network with industry professionals and learn more about the SMT program.

As part of the program at UTE, the university will also be home to Fuji flagship placement platform, the NXTIII, allowing students to get hands-on experience with industry standard machinery, expanding their skillsets and assisting with job placement after graduation. Management from Fuji America Corporation will also be present at the UTE open house to field questions and provide guidance to students. “Fuji and PAC want to prepare recent graduate students to be ready for the production floor and help our customers fill their need of skilled technicians and engineers,” said Everardo Jaime, Service Manager for PAC Mexico. “We sincerely thank UTE for their interest in collaborating with the industrial community in Northeast Mexico and for hosting this event.”

Fuji Corporation is a market-leading supplier of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Pick & Place solutions, and has designed and manufactured many ground-breaking innovations in the circuit board assembly world.

PAC Global, based in Dallas, Texas, was established in 1973 as a manufacturing representative for top-tier manufacturing equipment providers in the electronics industry. PAC’s mission is to provide solutions for manufacturers of printed circuit boards. Our highly skilled professional sales associates and technical service engineers utilize superior training and state of the art demo facilities to rise above industry standards.

ASMPT, a leading provider of hardware and software solutions for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, has opened its first European semiconductor Center of Competence (CoC) in Regensburg, Germany. The Center follows the model of the company‘s international CoCs and serves, among other things, as a laboratory for proof of concepts in the context of innovations and applications and as a direct point of contact for rapid knowledge transfer. The manufacturer already has an SMT Centre of Competence in Munich.

Robin Ng, the Group‘s Chief Executive Officer, opened the new Center at the headquarters of ASMPT‘s subsidiary AMICRA in Regensburg, Germany. “Our customers expect a local presence for their research and development and fast, competent know-how transfer,” he said. “With our new EU SEMI CoC, we support our numerous customers in the development and design of new applications and ensure that new technologies also prove themselves in practice. We see a lot of potential in Germany, especially in the automotive and photonics sectors.”

“We are pleased that we can now offer leading semiconductor companies and decision-makers in Europe the innovative ASMPT Semiconductor solutions and know-how in our centrally located CoC in Germany,“ said Dr. Johann Weinhändler, Managing Director of AMICRA.

Resilient to supply chain disruptions

The company says the new Center follows a successful corporate philosophy of strict customer orientation and offers protection against the overall increase in volatility in the global electronics supply chain. “ASMPT sees its role not only as a leading supplier to the semiconductor and electronics industry worldwide, but also as an innovation driver for manufacturing processes,” explained Günter Lauber, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Digitalization Officer and SMT Segment CEO, ASMPT. “For this reason alone, it is important for us to further expand our already significant investments in research and development worldwide.“

Proof of Concepts for Industry 4.0

ASMPT operates a large network of research and development centers globally. These are modern and forward-looking laboratories with the latest machinery and equipment to demonstrate technologies and investigate the precise impact that innovations will have in electronics manufacturing. Customers can tell the experts at the CoC what interests them and what aspects are relevant to their individual production. Through close technology partnerships with other companies, the company says its Centers of Competence also act as enablers for the Integrated Smart Factory.

www.asm-smt.com