SAN JOSE -- The Semiconductor Industry Association today applauded passage of the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, by the U.S. House of Representatives.

“DR-CAFTA is an important agreement for the U.S. semiconductor industry,” said SIA president George Scalise. “Elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade is very important in helping U.S. companies gain access to these rapidly emerging markets."

Boston, MA –The NITON X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers from Thermo Electron Corp. (thermo.com) were awarded a Gold IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) for Medical & Scientific Products. The award-winning portable analyzer line was designed by Altitude Inc., a Massachusetts-based strategic product development firm.

The analyzers are used for a variety of nondestructive testing applications, including RoHS and WEEE compliance, metal alloy sorting, positive material inspection, mineral exploration and mining, precious metals analysis, environmental risk assessment and lead paint testing. According to the company, the small size, light weight, ruggedness, ease of use and good ergonomics are critical for the demanding field applications of XRF, where instruments must work in a range of environmental conditions and take upwards of one thousand readings per day.

Altitude's designers worked with Thermo engineers and scientists to develop XRF analyzers that maximize productivity. The XLi, XLp and XLt series XRF analyzers determine approximate sample chemistries and identify many types of samples in as little as one second. All are water resistant, dust proof and built to meet the demands of rigorous testing conditions.

The EMS provider reversed a net loss of $1.15 million for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue fell sharply for the period ended July 1, from $6.2 million last year.

W. Barry Gilbert, chairman and CEO, said, "Rebuilding our sales base and developing a steady stream of top line growth is our top priority. Our new prospect portfolio continues to stay strong and our manufacturing representatives continue to present us with excellent opportunities. Operationally we continue to gain strength. We have ample working capital, an unused credit facility to support our new customer activities

Long-term debt is less than $800,000, down from over $20 million three years ago.

For the quarter, IEC took $65,000 in restructuring costs due to severance of 14 employees, a move expected to save the company $380,000 annually.

IEC's five largest customers accounted for 72% of sales for the nine months ended July 1, down from 81% of sales in the comparable period in 2004.

NEENAH, WI -- Plexus Corp. announced record revenues of $313.7 million for its third fiscal quarter ended July 2, up 14.2% over last year. The EMS provider's pro-forma net income was $7 million; its net loss of $21.5 million included previously announced restructuring costs of $27.6 million.