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SALT LAKE CITY -- CirTran Corp. reported sales of $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, up 25% over a year ago. The net loss improved 93% to $67,619. Gross profit fell 30.5% to to $758,032, the result of higher costs of sales at the company, which performs EMS services but also sells OEM products and consumables.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nortech Systems reported record first-quarter net sales of $31.2 million, up 12% over 2007.

For the period ended March 31, the EMS firm's operating income rose 90% to $1.2 million, and net income was up 118% to $626,000.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works reported operating revenues rose 11.5% for the three months ended April 30, largely on translation and acquisitions, and modestly ahead of company expectations.

ITW, which owns Kester, Speedline Technologies, Vitronics-Soltec and several other electronics assembly suppliers, said its Power Systems and Electronics: group was up 8.9% year-over-year.

The company guided for overall second-quarter revenue growth of 9 to 12%, and full-year revenue growth range of 8 to 12%.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Photo Stencil has named Dr. James F. Reilly, II, vice president of research and development, a new position. He will direct research in support of the company’s product roadmap and technology plans as liaison to customers and business partners, and will spearhead independent projects designed to develop new products and technologies for the printing process.

Dr. Reilly is a veteran of the US Navy and NASA, and flew Space Shuttle missions in 1998, 2001 and 2007, where he performed five spacewalks totaling over 30 hours. Following the Columbia accident, he was involved with development and testing of repair materials and techniques for the Shuttle’s thermal protection system.

A materials expert, Reilly has a Ph.D. in geosciences from the University of Texas at Dallas, and is a former chief geologist at Enserch Exploration, where he was involved in the application of new imaging technology for industrial applications in deep water engineering projects and geological research.

Dr. Reilly joins vice president of technology Dr. William E. Coleman on Photo Stencil’s product development team.

AUSTIN, TX -- EMS provider Bantam Electronics has signed an agreement to manufacture JBM Electronics' Gateway C120 Routers.

No financial terms were announced.

TOKYO – Japan produced 1.67 million yen worth of electronics in February, up 0.5% over last year, the Japan Electronics Industries Technologies Association reported.

March exports were down 13.3% to 1.18 million yen, and are down 9% for the year. Components were down 14.6%, while consumer electronics were up 2%. Components make up more than 70% of the value of Japan’s electronics exports.

Japan imported 702,714 million yen worth of electronics products in February, the latest month for which data are available, down 5.3% from 2007. Consumer electronics imports were up 107%, but industrial electronics, computers and components were down 9.4%, 8.5% and 10%, respectively.

For the year, Japan has imported 1.49 million yen worth of electronics, down 2.6%. Overall production is up 1.1%.

JEITA is one of Japan’s largest electronic associations, with 525 member companies.

CHENGDU, CHINA -- Major electronics manufacturers escaped damage from the massive earthquake that rocked central China earlier this week. Among the major companies issuing statements, it appears the worst of the damage amounted to a few fallen ceiling tiles.

NEWARK, CA -- Phoenix X-Ray will open a West Coast demo and customer service center in Newark next month, the company announced.

LONDON – TT Electronics said its first-half results will be down against last year as result of slow economic conditions in North America. The company left its 2008 full-year guidance unchanged.

The company, which supplies EMS services and sensors, said in a published statement, “Although results for the first half will be lower than in the corresponding period in 2007, the board's outlook for the current financial year as a whole is unchanged from that communicated in our recent preliminary results announcement."

Overall, the company sees similar market conditions to 2007, North America notwithstanding.

The firm said it would continue to move production offshore, and would report losses in the first-half brought on by one-time transfer and reorganization costs.

BOSTON – Global first-quarter service provider switching and routing equipment sales grew to $3.1 billion overall, a 25% increase compared to a year ago, research firm Ovum RHK said.

SAN JOSE, CA – The worldwide IC packaging market reached $30.5 billion in 2007, reports Electronic Trend Publications. Some 151 billion ICs were produced during the year.

Modest growth should continue in 2008 and 2009, before accelerating in 2010, the firm says.

ETP found contract-packaging companies assembled nearly 49 billion ICs last year, or one-third of all components – for a value of $12.1 billion. The firm estimates the worldwide semiconductor output will grow to 261 billion ICs in 2012, a value of $47 billion.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – The stagnant economy will drive overall IT spending growth down to 4% in the US this year, compared to last year's growth of 6%, IDC says.