TAIWAN – Hon Hai Group (Foxconn) reported record sales of $8.18 billion for September on demand for consumer electronics such as iPads, iPhones and game consoles.

SHANGHAI – China state media are accusing Foxconn of forcing local staff to work excessive overtime, while exploiting interns, say published reports.

University researchers surveyed 1,736 workers at the EMS company’s factories in nine cities. They learned, per reports, that employees work an average 83.2 hours overtime monthly, more than twice the maximum 36 hours stipulated by Chinese law.

Survey results also showed workers claiming Foxconn cheated them out of overtime payments, while making interns work more than the legal eight-hour day.

The firm is also accused of providing insufficient checkups for exposure to harmful substances, reports say.

Foxconn, which has been under fire for low wages and the suicides of more than a dozen workers this year, has not publicly commented on the survey results.

VIENNA – The World Intellectual Property Organization has issued AT&S a pair of patents related to printed circuits.

HAVERHILL, MA -- The second EMS firm ribbon-cutting in one week took place in the north Boston suburbs as Stellar Manufacturing opened a plant in a business park here.

BRUSSELS -- While the rest of the world begins to roll out their own versions of the RoHS directive, the EU is backtracking on a list of proposed additions.

NEWARK, NY -- IEC Electronics has promoted Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum to president, one of two executive promotions the hard-charging EMS firm made this month.

LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES -- Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. today completed the previously announced acquisition of a majority stake in PSi Technologies Inc. (PSi).

WASHINGTON – Nations making up roughly half the world’s trade achieved consensus this month on almost all the major issues surrounding an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

METHUEN, MA – Rain drizzling on their heads, a small army of state and local politicians were on hand as EMS firm Suntron today officially opened its manufacturing plant here north of Boston.

DULUTH, GA – Viscom AG says it has experienced substantial recovery during the first half compared to the same period last year, with an 88% upsurge in AOI systems orders during the second quarter.

SMYRNA, GA – Attendance soared at the PCB West trade show held last week, with the number of visitors rising 25.7% from last year.

DEERFIELD BEACH, FL – Inovaxe debuted its Logistics Services Division to help small to mid-sized companies deal with the complexity of using offshore manufacturers.

The firm offers these logistics services: initial inspection of potential vendors: size of facility, number of buildings with sq. footage, power cycling to facility, ability to generate power for factory equipment, equipment list, type of equipment, general condition of equipment, maintenance schedules, tool handling process, number of employees, minimum age of employees, training programs for employees, etc.; first article inspection; production in-process inspection; pre-shipment inspection; vendor sourcing, and parts ordering.