ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL – EMS firm SigmaTron International reported fiscal second-quarter revenues decreased 25.5% year-over-year to $30.6 million. Sales were up 16.3% from the previous quarter.

TOKYO – Global electronics sales could rise 5% to 200 trillion yen ($2.24 trillion) next year, Japan’s leading electronics industry association forecast today.

Electronics and communications equipment, in terms of dollars shipped, will grow for the first time in three years, said the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association.

The trade group pointed to tremendous spending by various governments, including $586 billion in China, $224 billion in Japan, and $800 billion in the US, as helping to spur recovery in electronics.

OLATHE, KS – Elecsys Corp. reported a fiscal second-quarter loss, with a drop in revenue of 44% year-over-year.
 
The electronic design and manufacturing company posted sales of $4 million for the quarter, with a loss of $322,000, compared with earnings of $424,000 during the same period of 2008.
 
The company's EDMS sales were $2.3 million, down 25% from the prior year. 

The company cited the general economy for the decline.
 
Elecsys expects to begin shipping the FW950 handheld computer in the current quarter.

MANASSAS, VA – Heraeus and Zestron recently completed an evaluation of 10 solder pastes to characterize the ability to clean flux residues on reflowed assemblies. The effort also examined each paste in its unreflowed state to identify the best methods of removal from stencils and misprinted boards.

The companies have released application bulletins for cleaning the paste formulations.