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LOS ANGELES – The images are dismaying, but they are real. Workers in an electronics counterfeiting facility in China rinse chips in a murky river and throw them in piles on the sidewalk, separated by sizes. The smallest chips look like dirt mounds. These chips will later be marketed as the real deal.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Worldwide production of PCBs was basically flat in 2008, climbing a tepid 1% year-over-year to $50.8 billion.

SKELLEFTEA, SWEDEN -- Note AB will lay off an undisclosed number of workers here and take a SEK 40M ($5.72 million) restructuring charge, the result of a decision by its largest telecom customer to cease orders from the site.

SAN FRANCISCO – Verical has launched a Web-based trading platform for manufacturers and distributors of electronics components.

Verical Marketplace uses information and technology to create a pedigree scoring system for component parts, which also are available in the company’s catalog.

The site permits only authorized channels and original owners of component parts to sell pedigreed inventory. It assigns a score to each component part based on how far back Verical is able trace its chain of custody. The higher the pedigree score, the further up the supply chain the component is traceable.

The method is said to ease transactions between sellers and buyers.

It currently serves more than 3,200 buyers from small to large manufacturers, with more than 27,000 unique part numbers from more than 230 manufacturers, including IDT, Molex, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments and Tyco Electronics.

Verical relies on a supply chain software team that includes Solectron, Agile Software, Dept. of Homeland Security, Classic Components, and Lockheed-Martin.

ST. LOUIS – Sikorsky Aircraft awarded LaBarge a $1.8 million add-on contract to produce electronics assemblies for various models of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

MULINO, OR – Sunstone Circuits has expanded its online quote and ordering process through a collaboration with Screaming Circuits.

ST. LOUIS -- Born of acquisitions and once the largest PWB company in the world, Viasystems Group today made a strong step toward the crown by agreeing to merge with Merix Corp.

SAN DIEGO -- SMTA International kicks off today, bringing a major electronics assembly trade show to San Diego for the first time in eight years.

NEW YORK — A pair of nonprofit environmental organizations today announced a new research report on companies that are leading the electronics industry by moving away from chemicals that can lead to health and environmental problems.

HONG KONG -- Electronics test provider Goepel Electronic will open a subsidiary here next week in response to increased demand for JTAG by high-volume customers, the company said today. The new site will feature application support and development services.

BOSTON -- In a startling announcement, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed charges against three Chinese citizens and two component distributors for conspiring to violate US law by exporting military products to China.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC is urging its members to respond to Canada’s Chemical Management Plan’s proposal banning five rosin-containing substances from all products manufactured and sold there.

The trade group also submitted comments today to the Canadian Department of the Environment in advance of the Oct. 20 comment deadline.

Rosin is used in the manufacture of more than 75% of electronics products, including defense systems, telecommunication and transportation technologies, IPC noted.

A ban on rosin would make it difficult for electronics manufacturers to continue to do business in Canada, says IPC. In addition, consumers would likely foot the bill for the increased production cost because electronics manufacturers would have to engineer products specifically for the Canadian market. Even more likely, Canadian electronics manufacturers would consider moving operations to countries that do not ban the use of rosin, resulting in a loss of Canadian jobs, says the association.

According to Dr. Greg Munie, IPC technical director, rosins are naturally occurring materials that possess irreplaceable chemical and electrical properties qualities that ensure a reliable, safe and long-lasting product. There is no known chemical or combination of chemicals that can provide the same functionality and reliability of rosin. Therefore, eliminating rosin would force a change in the composition of soldering flux and solder paste that will ultimately affect the reliability of the final electronic product.