BANNOCKBURN, IL – March PCB shipments among North American fabricators rose 9.5% year-over-year, while bookings jumped 11.2%. Rigid shipments were up 9.5%, and flex shipments were up 9.7%, said IPC.

BREDA, HOLLAND – Cobar Europe BV, member of the Balver Zinn Group and supplier of solder pastes, fluxes, and other electronics soldering materials, has acquired a global license to distribute solder pastes and wire using the SN100C alloy developed by Nihon Superior Co. Ltd.

The license permits Cobar Europe and Cobar Solder Products to sell SN100C solder paste and wire in specific territories allocated by Nihon Superior.

No financial terms were disclosed.

SN100C is a patented nickel stabilized tin/copper alloy that is based on the eutectic 99.3% tin 0.7% copper with a trace amount of nickel.

ANGLETON, TX – Contract manufacturer Benchmark Electronics Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $22.6 million, down about 8% year-over-year.

NEENAH, WI – EMS provider Plexus Corp. reported second-quarter revenue of $451 million, up 20% year-over-year.

SAN JOSE, CA – EMS provider Sanmina-Sci Corp. reported its second-quarter loss narrowed to $24.4 million, from $26.1 million in the same period last year.

Adjusted net income was $28.2 million.

Revenue was $1.82 billion, up a slight 1.6% year-over-year, the company said.

PHOENIX – Electronics distributor Avnet Inc. reported revenue for the fiscal third quarter was $4.42 billion, up 13.3% compared to the same period last year.

Net income was $107.2 million, up 1.9% year-over-year.

LOUISVILLE, KY – Manufacturer and outsourcing specialist Sypris Solutions Inc. reported revenue of $106.3 million for the first quarter, down about 4.6% year-over-year.

The company reported net income of $400,000, compared to a net loss of $200,000 in the prior year period.

“Revenue was at the high end of our expectations due to stronger than anticipated sales from our industrial group. Top line performance for our electronics group bettered last year’s quarter by 13% on improved revenue from our products and manufacturing services,” said Jeffrey T. Gill, president and CEO of Sypris.

“Orders for our electronics group increased 7% compared to the prior year period, driven by a 13% year-over-year increase in bookings in our aerospace and defense segment.”

Revenue for the company’s electronics group was $36.4 million.

ANAHEIM, CA – DDi Corp., provider of PCB manufacturing services, reported first-quarter net sales of $47.4 million, up 9% year-over-year, and up 5% sequentially.

The company reported net income of $718,000 compared to a net loss of $1 million in the same period last year, and a sequential improvement compared to a net loss of $285,000 in the fourth quarter 2007.

TORONTO – EMS provider Celestica Inc. announced net earnings for the first quarter 2008 were $29.8 million, compared to a net loss of $34.3 million for the same period last year.

Revenue was $1.84 billion, down a slight 0.33% year-over-year.

Adjusted net earnings were $35.4 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of $9.1 million year-over-year.

Restructuring charges in the quarter were $3.3 million compared to $8 million in the first quarter of 2007.

For the second quarter, ending June 30, the company anticipates revenue to be in the range of $1.8 billion to $2 billion.

PEABODY, MA – Carl Zeiss SMT, provider of electron- and ion-beam imaging and analysis solutions, opened its North American headquarters in Peabody, MA, near Boston.
 

Representing an investment of more than $9 million, the 53,000 sq. ft. facility houses the research, development and production center for the Orion helium ion microscope product line.

The facility also serves as the North American hub for sales and service for Zeiss particle beam instruments and houses the Carl Zeiss Nano Solutions Center Peabody. This center is a demonstration and application development facility hosting six electron- and ion-beam systems for nanoscale imaging, analysis and structuring.

The facility is the home office for more than 150 employees.

BRUSSELS – The European organization charged with collecting and collating comments to the latest RoHS exemption list has scheduled a series of meetings to discuss the preliminary input with stakeholders.

Öko-Institut e.V. has signaled its intention to discuss the use of lead in high-melting-temperature type solders (i.e. lead-based alloys containing 85 % by weight or more lead); in solders for servers, storage and storage array systems, network infrastructure and telecommunication equipment; and in electronic ceramic parts (e.g., piezoelectronic devices). Cadmium is also up for discussion, as are seven other exemptions.

Not expected to be discussed is an exemption for lead in solders consisting of more than two elements for the connection between the pins and the package of microprocessors with a lead content of more than 80 % and less than 85 % by weight; lead in solders for electrically connecting semiconductor die and carriers within flip chip packages; or lead in finishes of fine-pitch components other than connectors with a pitch of 0.65 mm or less with NiFe lead frames and lead in finishes of fine pitch components other than connectors with a pitch of 0.65 mm or less with copper lead frames. It is unclear whether by foregoing discussion on those proposals the Institute is suggesting a fait accompli.

"The aim is to discuss these nine exemptions within five days," Öko spokeswoman Stéphanie Zangl said.

The organization has put online all non-confidential documents obtained during the consultation: http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/index.php?id=17.

The meetings will be held June 9-13, and is by invitation as the number of participants is limited, Zangl said.

BOXBORO, MA – If XRF is the best choice for detecting the presence or absence of RoHS-banned substances, why aren’t more companies using it?