SEOUL – AOI OEM Mirtec has been awarded contracts reportedly totaling more than $15 million with certain undisclosed mobile solution manufacturers.

SAN JOSE – A new SEMI white paper details the rapid progress of 3-D IC integration technology, including through-silicon via developments.

AUSTIN, TX — Some 25% of LCD TVs shipped in the first quarter were made by external OEMs/EMS, up 1% sequentially.

STAMFORD, CT -- Gartner Group today issued a lower outlook for worldwide IT spending this year. The firm now predicts a 6% drop in 2009, to $3.2 billion. Hardware sales will drop 16.3, the researchers said, citing reluctance on the part of corporate and consumer buyers.

In March, the firm guided for a overall drop on 3.8%, including software and services.

A recovery should come in 2010, Gartner said. The firm forecasts 2.3% growth overall next year, with hardware sales flat.

LONDON -- Electronics distributor Premier Farnell is accepting scholarship applications from students worldwide who are registered in a full-time electrical and electronics engineering course in the 2009 entry year.

SAN JOSE -- Call it EMS Harmony. EMS consulting group Charlie Barnhart & Associates has launched an online program said to enable OEMs to identify appropriate electronics manufacturing services partners.

HERNDON, VA -- Jim McElroy, the chief executive of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, is set to retire. A search for a successor has been launched.

MINNEAPOLIS – RITE USA has signed an exclusive agreement to represent Exergy Technologies Corp. in North America and Canada.

No financial terms were disclosed.

RITE USA represents manufacturers in North America. The firm provides system solutions to the PCB and EMS marketplace, featuring EthorCel.

Exergy is a California-based manufacturer of industrial water and chemical recycling systems, utilizing advanced membrane and electro-membrane technologies.