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GAINESVILLE, GA – Count On Tools Inc. is offering free trial nozzles for SMT professionals.

Current customers are allowed to request any trial nozzle that they currently do not purchase from the company on a regular basis.

New customers are allowed to request any trial nozzle that fits their individual process requirements and is available in the standard range of products.

For more information, visit www.cotinc.com.

NEWARK, NY – EMS provider IEC Electronics Corp. reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $25.2 million, up 55% year-over-year.

ST. LOUIS – LaBarge Inc. said it expects to report third-quarter net sales of approximately $74 million, up 7.2% sequentially and up 2.5% year-over-year.

ROSARITO, MEXICO – EMS provider Victron Inc. has opened a 30,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility here.

TAIPEI – EMS giant Hon Hai Group (Foxconn) said it would develop plant factories using solar energy and LED lamps in collaboration with College of Bioresources, Agriculture of National Taiwan University, and Yunlin County Government, say published reports.

STOCKHOLM – EMS provider Note Ab reported year-to-date losses through February 28 were SEK 18.6 million, including restructuring and currency translation costs.

As part of a previously announced restructuring program, the company will discontinue production at its plants in Skänninge, Sweden, and Tauragé, Lithuania.

DEER VALLEY, AZ – Registration is open for the Symposium on Counterfeit Electronic Parts West, sponsored by the SMTA and CALCE. The event will take place June 8-11 near Phoenix.

The program is finalized and available at www.smta.org/counterfeit.

Analyst Mark Crawford of the US Department of Commerce will keynote the first day of the event, while Belva Martin from the US Government Accountability Office will keynote the second.

The symposium will include US law enforcement and supply chain panel discussions, as well as multiple other sessions.

The final two days will feature workshops led by CALCE/University of Maryland, DMSMS, IDEA, GIDEP, Integra Technologies, and the Global Intellectual Property Strategy Center.

NEW YORK – Electronics components remain in short supply, with major distributors upping lead times by as much as 100%.

MANASSAS, VA – Zestron Corp. now offers ion chromatography at its technical center here.

“The installation of ion chromatography is a direct response to the rapidly growing customer demand for premium precision cleaning facilities and services,” said Harald Wack, president of Zestron.

Ion chromatography is an analytical technique that validates product cleanliness based on the separation of the ionic species in a solution. In the case of circuit boards, ion chromatography can help identify high levels of ionic contaminants that can contribute to shortages.

NORWALK, OH – EMS providers EPIC Technologies and SFO Technologies have formed an alliance to leverage complimentary capabilities, provide global manufacturing support for their customers’ requirements in North America, Europe and Asia, and cooperate in joint sales and marketing efforts.

“We recognize that some of our customers are looking to source in multiple regions,” said Bhawnesh Mathur, EPIC’s CEO. “Our alliance with SFO Technologies enables us to offer those customers a comprehensive manufacturing option in Asia that seamlessly integrates with our existing program management resources. Similarly, SFO Technologies will be able to offer its customers an expanded North American solution through EPIC’s facilities.”

“The combined strength of EPIC’s manufacturing solutions and SFO’s unique model of providing end-to-end product support solutions covering design, software, value engineering, re-engineering and product development, manufacturing and testing will offer our customers competitive, full-service solutions anywhere in the world,” said N. Jehangir, SFO’s managing director.

No financial terms were disclosed.

AUSTIN – The popularity of e-books, particularly Amazon’s Kindle, drove electronic paper display shipments to 5 million units in 2009, up 417% year-over-year, says DisplaySearch.

“Seeing this growth for a new application, especially in the second half of last year, is a vote of confidence from consumers who seem to have embraced e-books,” said Hiroshi Hayase, DisplaySearch director of small/medium displays. “Momentum from e-book popularity last year combined with new, larger-screen products hitting the market right now means that this trend will continue, so we will see large shipment volume increases in the first half of 2010.”

Amazon’s Kindle e-book, with a 6" display, captured 66% of the total EPD market in 2009, says the research firm. This market domination is expected to increase as the Kindle DX, with a 9.7" display, is positioned to compete with Apple’s iPad, released earlier this month, which uses a 9.7" TFT LCD.

“We expect to see other service providers increase their presence in the US and expand e-book adoption in Europe and Asia as well,” Hayase added.

ARLINGTON, VA -- Electronic component orders took another leap in March, mimicking increases in January, according to the monthly report compiled by the Electronic Components Association.