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MANCHESTER, NH – EMS provider EPE Corp. has been selected by Business NH Magazine as one of its 100 Top Private Companies, based on average sales growth.

EPE’s three-year revenue growth rate was 21.44%, making it the 14th fastest growing private company in New Hampshire.

According to the list, EPE is also the fastest growing privately held contract assembly in the state.

Business NH Magazine surveys thousands of companies annually to compile the list.

NEW TRIPOLI, PA – Chip purchases are sending the market toward a fast recovery in 2010, says The Information Network, according to published reports.

Leading firms have raised capex plans for this year, which can be a significant leading indicator of improvement, says the research firm.

Another sign for improving conditions is how much chipmakers are willing to spend on advanced equipment to create new products.

“We nevertheless are cautious about 2010, because all we see going forward are technology purchases rather than capacity purchases," said Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network. "Utilization is increasing, but with 31 fab closures in 2009, this is analogous to increased productivity due to layoffs.”

BANNOCKBURN, IL – An IPC task group is organizing a standard covering intellectual property protection.

The trade group seeks PWB manufacturers, EMS providers and OEMs to develop the document. The first meeting takes place Oct. 23 in Scottsdale, AZ.

Similarly, the US Congress has directed the Department of Defense to develop a trusted source program for PCB manufacturers supplying the DoD, the association says.

The new standard is expected to educate members and elevate best practices in IP protection. The trade group hopes to develop a common standard to which companies can certify will save the industry money.

BALLSTON LAKE, NY – Datacom OEM Sixnet will acquire JBM Electronics Co., a provider of networking connectivity gear.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Sixnet markets a line of products under the BlueTree Wireless brand. JBM's products will be aligned to create a range of industrial and commercial wireless networking solutions.

LOHJA, FINLAND -- Electronics production equipment supplier Cencorp will combine certain operations and close its current headquarters here before June 1, 2010, the company said today.

SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Sparton Corp. reported fourth-quarter sales of $58.8 million, up 1.6% year-over-year.

ARLINGTON, VA – Worldwide electronic component orders took a slight upturn in August, while the 12-month average remained flat, according to a monthly survey of leading component manufacturers.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Abstracts are being sought for the annual academic poster competition at the IPC Apex trade show next year.

SAN DIEGO -- A just-launched consulting firm has been formed to help PCB assemblers with automated x-ray inspection implementations.

SHANGHAI -- China's electronics and information manufacturing industry sales rose 5.3% in July, bringing the year-to-date total into the black.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works today reported fiscal second-quarter operating revenues fell 21% year-over-year as its Power Systems and Electronics unit took a 36.9% hit.

SAN JOSE – The underlying burdened cost of labor for EMS was basically unchanged in July/August, says a leading industry analyst.

The burdened cost of EMS labor in the fourth quarter is expected to be flat to very slightly lower in Mexico; marginally higher in Eastern Europe, Japan and China; and flat in the balance of the reported global geographies, Charlie Barnhart & Associates said.

Margins in all sectors are expected to remain relatively constant in the quarter, as backlogs and book-to-bill ratios stabilize.

Lead times remain relatively flat to slightly down, and are expected to improve slightly over the balance of 2009, but demand is expected to remain soft.

Historically, during times of flat to falling industry demand, average margin expectation tends to be flat to very slightly down at the higher tiers, down among mid-sized firms, and flat to up slightly on the smallest projects, the firm said.