ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH, LEICESTERSHIRE -- Electrochemicals manufacturer Electrolube has moved its worldwide headquarters and UK factory to larger premises here.

BOSTON -- An industry equipment auction raised more than $100,000 to benefit the LiveSTRONG organization in its fight against cancer.

WEYMOUTH, ENGLAND – DEK said it would launch ProActiv technology during a free webinar to be held Sept. 24 and 27.

The webinar will explain how the technology will boost screen printing performance by enhancing aperture fill and paste release for manufacturers working with heterogeneous and ultra fine pitch assemblies.

It will guide participants through the process and reveal how the technology is able to deliver unprecedented productivity, the firm says.

The webinar will be followed by a live Q & A session with DEK product managers.

Six seminar sessions are being held in different languages.

To register, visit www.dek.com/webinar.

ST. LOUIS -- LaBarge today reported fiscal 2010 fourth-quarter net earnings grew 85% to a record $4.82 million as the company profited from higher demand in most end-markets.

WASHINGTON -- The Bureau of Industry and Security stressed the new export control rules announced Tuesday are designed to protect military security even while streamlining the process for sensitive and less-restricted products.

MILPITAS, CA -- The Solar Engineering & Manufacturing Association will meet here Sept. 22 to discuss the global photovoltaic technology outlook.

MUNICH -- Placement machine manufacturer deliveries increased almost 60% sequentially in the second quarter, making it the strongest quarter since 2000.

TEMPE, AZ — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August for the 13th consecutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management. The PMI was 56.3%, up 80 basis points.

A reading above 50% indicates the manufacturing economy is generally expanding.

New orders dropped a slight 0.4 percentage points to 53.1%. Production reached 59.9%, up 2.9 points, while inventories rose 1.2 points to 51.4%. Customer inventories went up 4.5 percentage points to 43.5%, and backlogs fell to 51.5%, down 3 points.

“Manufacturing activity continued at a very positive rate in August as the PMI rose slightly when compared to July. In terms of month-over-month improvement, the production and employment indexes experienced the greatest gains, while new orders continued to grow, but at a slightly slower rate. August represents the 13th consecutive month of growth in US manufacturing," said ISM spokesperson Norbert J. Ore.

The overall economy grew for the 16th consecutive month, according to ISM.

GUADALAJARA – Mexitronica 2010, which was planned for October, has been canceled.

STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2010 is forecast to reach $300 billion, a 31.5% increase from 2009 revenue of $228 billion, according to the latest outlook by Gartner.

TAIPEI -- Compal Electronics reported second-quarter net income rose 99% year-over-year to NT$6.4 billion, but the personal computer maker trimmed its third-quarter outlook.

APPLETON, WI – Surface Mount Technology has completed the first phase of an expansion here for the firm’s design and product development group.

The renovation of 6,000 sq. ft. is being driven by demand for product development services at its SMT Engineering group. The space provides room to add engineering personnel in the future. 

Groundbreaking for the second phase is underway, with the addition of 25,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. The second phase is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter. 

The additional square footage is required to integrate the company’s higher level assembly operations into its manufacturing facility.