LAKEVILLE, MN – ITW EAE, the Electronic Assembly Equipment division of Illinois Tool Works, announces a new partnership agreement with Foster Innovative Technology, LLC (FIT) to further expand its representation and distribution network. Under this agreement, FIT will now cover the territory of Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming for ITW EAE equipment. This partnership marks an extension of FIT’s existing representation of ITW EAE’s product line, which previously included Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho.

“FIT has provided excellent representation for ITW EAE product lines over the past few years,” said John Fanning, ITW EAE Sales Director. “As we were looking into this expansion, we felt that FIT would be best able to provide our ITW EAE customers with the first class, highly trained and technically experienced sales and support needed to grow our market in this territory. ”With over 25 years of experience serving the electronics assembly market, their mission is to provide world class solutions that are the optimal FIT to the customer application. More information on Foster Innovative Technology, LL (FIT) can be found at https://fitechnologyllc.com.

The recent FIT partnership expansion comes on the heels of retirement of Jeff Howe, AMTI, who represented ITW EAE in the territory for over 40 years.

“I can’t thank Jeff enough for all the experience and guidance as he provided ITW EAE and myself.“ said Marc Apell, ITW EAE Regional Sales Mgr. “Jeff was a mentor to me when I got into the industry and valued his advice.”

CLINTON, NY – Indium Corporation’s Senior Research Metallurgist, Jie Geng, Ph.D., will conduct a webinar on low-voiding, high-reliability, lead-free solder paste for automotive applications. The webinar, part of Indium Corporation’s free InSIDER Series, will be hosted on LinkedIn Live on April 17 at 11 a.m. EST.

Dr. Geng will evaluate a novel lead-free solder paste developed using Indium Corporation’s patented Durafuse® mixed-alloy technology, Durafuse® HR (DFHR). Demonstrating the merits of each constituent solder powder in the paste, DFHR delivers enhanced thermal cycling performance (-40°C/125°C and -40°C/150°C) and superior voiding performance for high-reliability automotive applications.

“Among other features such as versatile compatibility with SAC305 reflow profiles, Durafuse HR shows dramatically improved voiding performance along with high thermal fatigue resistance compared to SAC305 and other high-reliability solder pastes,” said Dr. Geng. “I believe that this technology has the ability to revolutionize automotive soldering processes, and I look forward to sharing this exciting data with my industry colleagues.”

As Senior Research Metallurgist, Dr. Geng leads research projects and works innovatively to deliver timely solutions for both customers and the market. He designs implementation and adjustments of experiments, analyzes the root cause of product failures to create solutions, and trains and leads research associates in laboratory projects. Since joining Indium Corporation in 2016, he has excelled in technology development, as demonstrated by his recent success with Indalloy®292 and Durafuse® HR. Dr. Geng holds a doctorate in metallurgy, a master’s degree in materials science, and a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering.

Click here to register for this free and insightful session debuting on LinkedIn Live. The webinar will also be made available for on-demand viewing afterward at indium.com/webinars.

MORRISVILLE, NC – The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) announces results from its recent Board of Directors election. The consortium’s members have added three new directors and re-elected three incumbents, effective April 1, 2024.

In addition, the Directors have elected Chan Pin Chong, Kulicke & Soffa, as the new Chair. He succeeds Mostafa Aghazadeh, Intel Corporation, who has been on the Board since 2013, chair since 2020, and will continue to serve as a member the Board.

Chong is a technology industry veteran with more than 29 years of engineering and operations experience in the semiconductor and electronics industry. He joined Kulicke & Soffa (K&S) in 2014 as Vice President of the Wedge Bonders business unit and was appointed Executive Vice President & General Manager of K&S Products and Solutions in December 2019.

Chong was re-elected to the Board in this recent election, along with Dr. Daniel Gamota of Jabil and Dr. Jennifer Muncy, IBM Systems. New to the Board are: Hidenori Abe, Resonac Corporation, Dr. Habib Hichri, Ajinomoto Fine-Techno USA Corporation, and Dr. Vasu Vasudevan, Dell Technologies.

“We congratulate and welcome all of the returning and new members to the Board,” says iNEMI CEO Shekhar Chandrashekhar. “This group of individuals highlights the diversity of our membership and I believe they will do an excellent job of representing all members’ interests along the electronics manufacturing value chain.”

“Our Board plays a very important role for iNEMI,” continues Chandrashekhar. “They have oversight regarding the policy, strategy and direction of the consortium, as well as operational authority. We are looking forward to working with Chan Pin in the months and years ahead as he takes over leadership of this group. We also want to thank Mostafa for his excellent leadership over the past four years and look forward to his continued guidance as a member of the Board.”

WASHINGTON – The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today released the following statement from SIA President and CEO John Neuffer applauding semiconductor manufacturing incentives announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce and TSMC. The incentives, which are part of the CHIPS and Science Act, will support TSMC’s new advanced manufacturing operations in Arizona. The Commerce Department previously announced incentives for Intel, GlobalFoundries, Microchip Technology, and BAE Systems.

“Today’s TSMC announcement is a big win for America’s economy, supply chain resilience, and the advanced chip manufacturing ecosystem. The new TSMC facilities—sparked by the CHIPS and Science Act—will spur job creation and economic growth in Arizona while also broadening the state’s already substantial semiconductor footprint. We commend TSMC for its ambitious investments in the U.S. and applaud the Commerce Department for continuing to make progress in implementing the CHIPS Act’s landmark manufacturing incentives and R&D investments. CHIPS remains on track for great success, and we look forward to continuing to work with leaders in government and industry to ensure it delivers maximum benefits to America’s economic and technological leadership.”

The CHIPS Act’s manufacturing incentives have sparked substantial announced investments in the U.S. In fact, companies in the semiconductor ecosystem have announced dozens of new projects across 25 U.S. states—totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in private investments—since the CHIPS Act was introduced. These announced projects will create more than 45,000 jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem and support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs throughout the U.S. economy.