Florham Park, NJ – June 2026 – Heller Industries, a leading global provider of advanced thermal processing solutions, today announced the appointment of Mike DePauw as Senior Key Account Manager, reinforcing the company’s continued investment in growth, customer partnership, and global account support.

DePauw joins Heller with more than 25 years of experience in the electronics manufacturing, SMT, and Semiconductor industry, bringing a proven track record of building strategic relationships and driving customer success across global markets.

In his new role, DePauw will focus on supporting Heller’s key customers, leveraging his extensive experience in sales leadership, program management, and technical operations to deliver high-impact solutions aligned with customer needs.

Supporting Continued Growth and Demand

The addition of DePauw reflects Heller’s continued expansion in both market demand and organizational scale. As the company experiences sustained global growth, strategic hires like DePauw ensure Heller remains well-positioned to support increasingly complex customer requirements.

“Heller continues to grow alongside our customers,” said David Heller, CEO of Heller Industries. “Mike’s deep industry expertise and customer-first mindset will play a critical role as we scale globally and strengthen our partnerships.”

A Commitment to “Say Yes”

At the heart of Heller’s success is a core value: “Say Yes” to customers. This philosophy drives a proactive, solutions-oriented approach that prioritizes responsiveness, flexibility, and long-term partnership.

The continued investment in Senior Key Account Managers highlights Heller’s commitment to this principle — ensuring that customers receive dedicated, experienced support at every stage.

DePauw’s career reflects this same ethos. Most recently, he served as Western Regional Sales Manager at PARMI USA, Inc., following his role as Senior Program Manager at Kyocera International in San Diego, California.

Prior to that, DePauw spent over two decades at Fuji America Corporation, where he progressed from Field Engineer to Western Regional Sales Manager, developing deep expertise in customer engagement, B2B strategy, and operational excellence. He began his career as an SMT Programmer at SEL.

Enabling Global Key Account Success

With a strong global footprint, Heller serves multinational customers across regions, requiring consistent, high-quality engagement worldwide. DePauw’s experience working with global organizations and managing complex customer relationships makes him uniquely suited to support these efforts.

“Heller’s global reach and reputation for customer commitment are what drew me to the company,” said DePauw. “I’m excited to work closely with our key accounts and help deliver the responsiveness and solutions that define Heller’s ‘Say Yes’ approach.”

TROY, MI ― July 2026 ― Amtech Electrocircuits, a leading provider of manufacturing solutions, has launched First Article, a new online resource dedicated to helping engineers, product developers, and manufacturers understand how AI can be applied to solve real-world hardware development and manufacturing challenges.

The publication is part of Amtech’s broader AI in Hardtech initiative, which explores the intersection of AI, product development, and advanced electronics manufacturing. Drawing on the company’s experience supporting complex, high-reliability electronic products from prototype through production, First Article will provide practical guidance on AI technologies that help engineering teams bring products to market faster while reducing risk and improving manufacturability.

The publication’s name comes from one of manufacturing’s most important milestones: First Article Inspection (FAI). In manufacturing, a first article is the first part produced from a new process that is carefully inspected against every engineering specification before production continues. Whether it is a printed circuit board, machined component, or molded part, the first article represents the point where design intent is validated against reality.

According to Amtech CEO Jay Patel, the concept perfectly captures the publication’s mission. “First Article Inspection is where a design stops being an idea and becomes something tangible,” said Patel. “It’s the moment assumptions are replaced by measurable results. A validated first article tells you the design works, the process works, and the product is ready to move forward. Everything before that is development. Everything after that is value creation.”

While many AI resources focus on automating routine office tasks, First Article will examine AI through the lens of engineering and manufacturing performance. Each article will evaluate technologies based on a straightforward question: Do they help engineering teams move from concept to a validated, producible product more quickly and with greater confidence?

Topics will include AI applications in electronics manufacturing, hardware development, product engineering, supply chain resilience, manufacturing automation, and emerging technologies that support the development of complex electronic systems. The publication complements Amtech’s growing library of AI in Hardtech resources, which explore subjects ranging from AI hardware and edge computing to AI-powered product development and manufacturing workflows.

Patel said the publication also reflects another important principle: providing manufacturers with an objective evaluation before they commit valuable engineering time and investment.

“Every new technology promises to transform manufacturing,” Patel said. “Our goal is to provide that first honest assessment before companies invest their budget, engineering resources, or development cycles. We want readers to understand which technologies genuinely improve engineering workflows and which ones simply add complexity.”

As an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider supporting customers across demanding industries, Amtech believes AI will become an increasingly important part of product development, but only when it delivers measurable improvements in engineering efficiency, manufacturability, quality, and speed to market.

With First Article, the company aims to become a trusted resource for hardware innovators seeking practical insights rather than industry hype, helping engineering teams make informed decisions about the technologies shaping the future of hardtech manufacturing.

To learn more about First Article and Amtech’s AI in Hardtech initiative, visit www.buildamtech.com/ai-in-hardtech. For more information about Amtech Electrocircuits and its manufacturing capabilities, visit www.buildamtech.com.

July 2026 ― Cranston, Rhode Island USA – AIM Solder, a global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of David Solis to Senior Technical Applications and Laboratory Support Engineer for AIM Solder Mexico.

In his expanded role, Solis will provide strategic oversight of AIM’s Applications Laboratory in Mexico, including equipment procurement, maintenance, and long-term operational sustainability. He will also support product development and testing initiatives in close collaboration with AIM’s Research and Development, Quality Assurance, and Technical Support teams. Solis will continue to play an important role in supporting customers, optimizing manufacturing processes, and advancing the performance and successful implementation of AIM products.

With more than 20 years of experience in the electronics industry, Solis brings extensive expertise in surface mount technology maintenance and production across the automotive, commercial, medical, and solar sectors. He is a recognized selective soldering process expert and has additional certifications in Bullet Proof® Manager training and process optimization. His background also includes experience in manufacturing and project engineering.

“David’s technical knowledge, practical manufacturing experience, and commitment to customer success make him exceptionally well suited for this expanded role,” said Carlos Tafoya, Global Director of Technical Applications & Support. “His leadership will help strengthen our laboratory capabilities and further enhance the technical support we provide to customers throughout the region.”

You can reach David Solis at dsolis@aimsolder.com.

MILPITAS, CA -- July 7, 2026 - SEMI and TechSearch International today announced the release of the 2026 edition of the Worldwide Assembly & Test Facility Database, a comprehensive resource tracking semiconductor back-end manufacturing facilities operated by integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) companies worldwide.

The 2026 edition covers more than 820 facilities, up from 750 in the 2025 edition, and adds new fields that help users analyze not only where facilities are located and what assembly and test services they provide, but also the materials, platforms, technologies and end markets they support.

Based on the new classifications, more than 360 facilities report compound semiconductor capabilities, including sites supporting silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP). More than 170 facilities identify AI and high-performance computing (HPC) among their end-market focus, while more than 70 facilities support photonics and optical applications. The new fields also capture substrate and interposer platforms along with broader technology and module capabilities, providing clearer visibility into how global back-end infrastructure is aligning with emerging demand.

“AI infrastructure, photonics and compound semiconductors are expanding the range of capabilities required across semiconductor assembly and test,” said Clark Tseng, Senior Director of Market Intelligence at SEMI. “The 2026 database gives users a more detailed view of which facilities support these technologies and end markets, helping them assess supply-chain exposure, identify manufacturing partners and track the evolution of global back-end capabilities.”

The 2026 edition includes the following updates and enhancements:

• Expanded Global Coverage: More than 820 facilities worldwide, an increase of more than 70 facilities from the 2025 edition. The largest additions to database coverage were in China and Taiwan.
• Compound Semiconductor Visibility: New fields identify whether facilities support compound semiconductors and specify material types including SiC, GaN, GaAs and InP.
• End-Market Focus: New classifications provide insight into facilities supporting AI/HPC, automotive, mobile and consumer, industrial, networking and telecom, photonics and optical, and other end markets.
• Substrate and Interposer Platforms: New data identifies capabilities across laminate substrates, redistribution layers (RDL), ceramic substrates, silicon interposers and leadframes.
• Technology and Module Capabilities: Expanded facility-level descriptions provide additional detail on advanced packaging, modules, test services and specialized technology capabilities.
• Updated Facility Profiles: The database continues to provide current information on facility status, ownership, location, plant type, assembly and test capabilities, device focus, automotive certification and operating history.
• Updated OSAT Market Benchmarks: The 2026 edition includes updated top 10 OSAT capital expenditure and top 20 OSAT revenue rankings.

The database supports semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, packaging and test providers, investors, government agencies and analysts seeking to map global manufacturing footprints, compare facility-level capabilities, identify potential partners, evaluate regional concentration and monitor facility openings, closures, expansions and ownership changes.

To access the Worldwide Assembly & Test Facility Database, visit https://www.semi.org/en/products-services/market-data/ww-assembly-test-facility-database.