BANGKOK – Fabrinet announced fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $13.6 million, up 245% year-over-year.

ORADEA, ROMANIA – Plexus Corp. said it has resumed operations here, following last week’s fire.

The fire was isolated to administrative offices in one of two buildings, and occurred when unoccupied; no injuries or fatalities resulted from this incident.

The source of the fire appears consistent with an electrical failure, the EMS firm said.

SHENZHEN – Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) will increase its China workforce 9% to one million this year, and another 20% to 30% in 2011.

The world’s largest contract electronics assembler plans to cut its Shenzhen-based workforce to between 300,000 and 350,000 staff within the next five years, down from 470,000 today, as it moves production inland to lower-wage provinces.

The company also expects to limit overtime to 36 hours per month, down from about 80 hours currently.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA -- Key Tronic Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income jumped to $2.3 million, up from $300,000 in the year-ago quarter, the 26th straight quarter of profitability.

HAVERHILL, MA – DKN Research unveiled a new concept for ultra-thin connectors on high-density flexible substrates. 

The firm has collaborated on research and development with Hirai Seimitsu Kogyo Corp. and NY Industries Ltd., resulting in a UTF connector series. 

A series of functions have been developed, such as SMT soldering type, adhesive fixed type, hinge opening type, and a no soldering type. The concept model reportedly can be applied to all mounting methods.

The UTF connector has arrayed micro bumps inside a thin cover substrate hinged to the frame, permitting it to precisely align with the flexible substrate and securely connect with a PCB or electronic component.

A hook-type mechanism was added to a thin metal plate cover to provide uniform pressure on the back of the bump array; the connector can be mechanically locked onto the guide holes of a rigid PCB.

When a high-density flexible substrate is connected to a rigid PCB using the UTF connector series, the mounted height from the PCB surface is less than 0.3 mm.
Micro bumps are arrayed on UTF connectors, making larger bump pitches compared to the circuit density on the flexible substrate.

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Sypris Solutions reported second-quarter revenue at its Electronics Group fell by nearly half on program delays and ending contracts.

GUANAJUATO, MEXICO -- US EPA Chief Administrator Lisa Jackson declared yesterday that preventing e-waste and its irresponsible management was one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s top six newly announced global priorities.

PHOENIX -- FlipChip International has signed a patent license agreement and will buy polymer flux from Cookson Electronics, thus eliminating potential issues of patent infringement for component package manufacturers using the FCI’s Polymer Collar process.

TAIPEI -- Pegatron has publicly acknowledged a subsidiary paid certain “brokerage commissions,” but denied knowing if those payments are related to the Apple bribery case.

BANGKOK – Cal-Comp Electronics reported second-quarter 2010 revenue of $917.5 million, up 5% year-over-year.

HOUSTON – Oil services group Hunting said it would acquire EMS firm Innova-Extel for $125 million. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of the month, subject to normal conditions.

The purchase is expected to be accretive in 2010, not including acquisition charges.

Innova-Extel, a contract assembler specializing in the oil and gas end-market, had consolidated 2009 profit before tax of $1.1 million. EBITDA for 2009 was $13.7 million.

CALAMBA, PHILIPPINES – EMS firm Ionics Inc. is opening a design and prototype shop in the Silicon Valley.

The group, which has seven manufacturing plants in Calamba and Cabuyao, Philippines, and one in China, did not disclose the location.

Ionics EMS builds printed circuit boards for the telecom and other industries.

Ionics EMS reported first-quarter revenue of $21.4 million, up 19.9% year-over-year. Gross income was $1.1 million, compared to $260,000 in the same period last year. Net income was $13,000, reversing a net loss of $1.19 million in the same period last year.