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MINNEAPOLIS – Nortech Systems today reported net sales of $27 million for the fourth quarter, down 7.84% year-over-year.

HELSINKI – Nokia said it would cut up to 1,700 jobs, or about 1.3% of the company’s work force, in response to sluggish demand and the poor outlook for near-term recovery.

The company said the cuts will come in its device and media segments, plus corporate development and global support.

Cellphone sales were down 5% to 315 million cellphones in the fourth quarter, Gartner reported, and grew 2% sequentially despite the holiday buying season.

TEDDINGTON, UK – National Physical Laboratory scientists are researching what use of Pb-free solder alloys could mean for tin pest and tin whiskers.

NPL has been studying the allotropic phase transformation in tin and its alloys, commonly known as tin pest, to measure the implications of adopting Pb-free solder manufacturing practices.

The firm has received funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. It seeks industry support for the work on the order of £5,200 per company for the 14-month project.

Also, NPL has developed a measurement system and test method to assess the ability of different conformal coatings to stop or slow down tin whisker growth. The method can help conformal coating suppliers modify coatings to inhibit whisker initiation, growth and penetration for electronics.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works today reported operating revenue fell 21% for the three months ended Feb. 28. The drop included a 20% fall in base revenues and a 7% fall in contributions from currency translation, partially offset by a 7% increase from acquisitions in the period.

MALMO, SWEDEN -- An arbitration board has found in favor of top 40 EMS firm PartnerTech Åtvidaberg AB in its case against Swe-Dish Satellite System AB.

The board ruled Swe-Dish is to pay PartnerTech almost SEK 23 million for invoice claims and costs.

The ruling will raise PartnerTech's reported earnings for the first quarter by more than SEK 3 million.

ROGERSTONE, UK -- TT Electronics said full-year profits fell 37% on weaker volumes, especially for its automotive components.

For the year ended Dec. 31, the pretax profit before exceptional items was 21.1 million points ($29.5 million). Revenue rose 7.2% to 584.3 million pounds, boosted by foreign exchange and acquisitions. Organic revenue was down 1.7%.

About 40% of TT's revenue came from automotive sales, and the company is trying to lower its exposure to that market to 25 to 30%.

TT, which has laid off 1,295 workers since 2008, said it would fire more staff than previously announced in January, and has implemented short-time working and temporary shutdowns across a number of sites.