TAIPEI -- Foxconn will hire a reported 5,000 specialists here this year to design, build and program factory robots, company officials said.

SAN DIEGO – IPC Apex Expo 2013 brought 4,568 conference and exhibit attendees from 42 countries, compared to 4,915 in 2012.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Fu Chunyan of Beijing Railway Signal Co. won first place in the first IPC World Championship hand soldering competition. 

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nortech Systems today reported quarterly net income rose 17.5% year-over-year to $276,000, its highest mark in more than two years.

OYSTER BAY, NY -- The overall infrastructure video equipment market will grow an aggregate 35.7% to $3.8 billion dollars in 2017, up from $2.8 billion in 2012.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide PC shipments will decline 1.3% this year on sluggish desktop PC sales, according to research firm IDC.

AUSTIN – Flip chip in package is expanding in mobile computing, especially smartphones and tablets. In units, the compound annual growth rate from 2011 to 2016 is almost 26%, says TechSearch International.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – January North American printed circuit board shipments were down 1.1% year-over-year, and orders decreased 4% compared to January 2012, says IPC.

SAN JOSE -- Fab equipment spending for Front End facilities is expected to hover around flat in 2013 and with an increase of 24% in 2014.

MANASSAS, VA – Zestron and Speedline are presenting a free 45-minute webinar as part of a series: Inline Cleaning Equipment & Process Optimization.

LOS ANGELES – Ducommun today reported fourth-quarter 2012 net sales of $193.9 million, up 3% year-over-year.

SAN DIEGO – In recognition of their contributions to IPC and the industry, Karen McConnell, Northrop Grumman, and Linda Woody, Lockheed Martin, earned IPC Presidents Awards at IPC Apex Expo.