MILPITAS, CA – This week’s SEMA meeting here will address the evolving China photovoltaics model and its ramifications for the North American and European industries.

Matthew Holzman, president of SEMA, will present a technical assessment of the Chinese photovoltaic industry Mar. 3 at Flextronics, offering comparative data to help attendees understand the key differentiators in capital cost models, technology, manufacturing efficiency and quality practices.

RSVP to Jasbir Bath at jasbir.bath@solar-ema.org.

For more information about SEMA, visit www.solar-ema.org.

Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com

KEMPELE, FINLAND -- PKC Group, a top 50 EMS company, has signed an agreement to purchase Segu's wire-harness companies in Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

LOS ANGELES – Industry analysts this week are providing disparate views on the current state of chip inventory.

BANGKOK – Electronics manufacturer SVI Public Company Ltd. reported fourth-quarter 2010 gross profit of $8.4 million, up 23% year-over-year, and up 11% sequentially.

KIRKLAND, QUEBEC – In a rebound from depressed 2009 levels, global demand for light vehicle original equipment manufacturer automotive electronics will advance 12.3% annually to $174 billion in 2014, says Electronics.ca Publications.

Beyond the expected recovery from the 2009 recession, automotive electronics demand will find uplift from increasing regulatory pressure and the continued search among automakers for cost-effective ways to differentiate their products.

Safety and security electronics will register the biggest increase through 2014, as more advanced safety features percolate down into mass market vehicles. Powertrain electronics will also experience strong demand, driven by stringent fuel economy and emissions standards in developed markets, particularly the US and Western Europe, according to Electronics.ca.

Communication and navigation electronics systems will see rapid increases, as more OEMs integrate these technologies into vehicles. Instrumentation and comfort, convenience and entertainment electronics will experience lower, but still attractive growth rates, as more emerging market players install these features into vehicles.

LAS VEGAS – The ERAI Executive Conference 2011 will be held here Apr. 28 and 29.

The conference will focus on performance requirements, counterfeit avoidance/identification and risk mitigation techniques. The event will provide a standards overview for SAE International’s AS5553, AS6081 and AS6171 that provide uniform requirements, practices and methods to mitigate the risks of purchasing and supplying counterfeit electronic parts.

Topics also include hedging liability/risk in the supply chain, onsite distributor assessments, current counterfeiting techniques and identification methodologies, contract language required to confiscate, quarantine and subsequently destroy counterfeit parts, government agency efforts to fight IP theft, and solutions to gather critical market intelligence.

For more information, visit http://www.erai.com/ERAI_EXECUTIVE_CONFERENCE_VEGAS_2011_public.aspx.

BUCKS, UK – SMART Group has announced upcoming technical webinars on micro-BGA assembly and developing an electronics inspection system.

In the first, micro-BGA reevaluates an existing manufacturing process, inspection and size control of different solder alloy spheres. It will provide example packages and demonstrate reliability through assembly and soldering trials within different industries. Topics include project overview, industry survey, micro-BGA requirements, solder alloy requirements, solder sphere manufacture, existing process and issues, and future industry benefits.

The second webinar concerns the development of an electronics system for inspecting welded joints in plastic pipes. It will cover the current objectives of the TestPEP project; an overview of the work program; the principles of phased array inspection, butt fusion welds, and electrofusion welds; and initial results.

To register for both, visit www.smartgroup.org/diary.

SMYRNA, GA – With two weeks to go, a record number of companies have signed up for the fourth annual VIRTUAL PCB online trade show, UP Media Group announced today.

ANTHEM, AZ – A new report describes 18 emerging countries in terms of their current readiness for electronics manufacturing.

The 80-page report, by Charlie Barnhart & Associates, characterizes the nations’ infrastructure, population and high-tech “readiness.” It provides an analytical framework to help midmarket OEMs and EMS companies assess opportunities and challenges in establishing or expanding their global footprint, says the author.

“Next Horizons in Electronics Manufacturing for Midmarket Companies,” which was authored by Jennifer Read, provides country profiles and recommendations for a successful global strategy.

The report is available to the consulting firm’s Outsourcing Navigator Council members, and includes country profiles on geographies, as well as EMS profiles, data charts related to infrastructure, population, electronics readiness, corruption, and ease of doing business. For more information, visit www.charliebarnhart.com.

LAGUNA, PHILLIPPINES – Electronics manufacturing services provider Integrated Microelectronics Inc. posted 2010 income of $4.7 million, down 53% compared to 2009.

POMONA, CA – Everett Charles Technologies’ contact products group received US patent #7,862,391 for its ZIP family of flat technology Pogo pins.

The ZIP family includes products for final test, wafer scale, Kelvin, and Scrub for Pb-free, burn-in and test interface markets.

Some of these application-specific products are marketed as ZIP Scrub, ZIP Kelvin, ZIP Super Short and ZIP Long-Travel.

SOUTH TYNE, UK – Infoteam EMS has purchased Summit 1 EMS Ltd. in a move between two UK-based EMS companies.

No financial terms of the purchase were disclosed.

Contract manufacturer Infoteam, which has a 20,000 sq. ft. site also in Fife, reportedly has expansion plans for Summit 1. The latter, the former UK design and contract manufacturing arm of Mitsumi, has a 40,000 sq. ft. facility in a Tyne industrial park.

Summit specializes in printed circuit board design, manufacturing and testing.