TAIPEI - Taiwan's Acer Inc. blamed three of its PC contract manufacturing partners for a patent infringement lawsuit filed in the U.S. by Hewlett-Packard Co.

Acer, the world's third-largest computer vendor, has filed a lawsuit against its Taiwan ODM partners: Quanta Computer Inc., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., and Wistron Corp. As an ODM partner of Acer, the firms are not allowed to make products for HP using Acer's patents and vice versa, a spokesperson for Acer said.

ATLANTA – A one-hour China RoHS Webinar by Mike Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates is still available until May 30. Sponsored by UP Media Group, information and registration is available at http://www.pcbshows.com/webinars/ondemand/chinarohs/. This Webinar features timely information critical to ensuring compliance.

The cost of the Webinar is $119 for unlimited viewing and a downloadable PDF.

The Mar. 1 deadline has come and gone, but implementation of this law continues to be dynamic. China RoHS requires extensive material disclosure and has a far broader and more onerous scope than EU RoHS compliance, including medical, test and measurement, component, and material products. Decisions that impact the requirements continue to occur.

HAUPPAUGE, NY – Components distributor Jaco Electronics Inc. said it lost $747,000 in its fiscal third quarter, compared to a profit of $84,000 in the same period last year.

Sales in the quarter were $49.8, compared to $60 million year-over-year, said the company.

JACKSON, MI – EMS provider Sparton Corporation announced sales for its 2007 fiscal third quarter totaled $47.7 million, an increase of $2.4 million year-over-year. Medical/scientific instrumentation sales increased $11.1 million, while aerospace and industrial/other sales were below the prior year.

Sales for the nine months ended Mar. 31 totaled $149 million, an increase of $28.8 million from the same period last year. Medical/scientific instrumentation sales increased $35.2 million. Year-to-date aerospace sales also increased compared to the prior year. Year-to-date industrial/other sales decreased slightly, while government sales, both for the quarter and year-to-date, were below the prior year.

ST. LOUIS – LaBarge, Inc. today reported fiscal 2007 third quarter sales were $59.6 million, up 26% year-over-year. Third-quarter profit increased 23% to $2.8 million, compared to $2.3 million last year. 

For the nine months ended Apr.1, sales were $170.3 million, up 26% from $135 million year-over-year. Profit for this period increased 21% to $8.5 million.

During the third quarter, shipments to defense customers were the largest contributor to revenues, accounting for 39% of sales, versus 38% in the fiscal third quarter of 2006.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – iSuppli Corp. will host a free Webinar, IP/Networked Video Surveillance: Equipment and Semiconductors, on May 15 at 8:30 a.m. PST. Mark Kirstein, vice president, multimedia content & services, will discuss the current market for video surveillance systems; market sizes and trends for surveillance equipment; trends for surveillance semiconductors, and new technologies enabling fresh areas of growth.

The Webinar will also answer such questions as who the leaders in video surveillance are; why networked DVRs have replaced regular digital recorders in modern surveillance systems; what the fastest growing segment of the video surveillance market is, and where opportunities and challenges reside for equipment and technology providers in this market.

For more information, please visit: http://www.isuppli.com/events/default.asp?EventCode=WB.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – In March Tellumat acquired Pertec Ltd.’s EMS subsidiary Rhomco. No financial terms were announced.

Rhomco’s operations will transfer from Diep River to Cape Town, where Tellumat is located. The addition will add about 40% to Tellumat’s capacity, said CEO Rasheed Hargey.

Tellumat’s EMS group builds for the telecom and medical markets.

HO CHI MINH CITY – Jabil Circuit Inc. has reported an initial investment of $30 million in a facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which is scheduled to be operational next month.

Located in Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the 55,000 sq. ft. facility (expandable to 120,000 sq. ft.) is the first plant in the country for Jabil. 

WESTLAKE, OH – Nordson Corporation today announced that it has acquired YESTech Inc. and PICO Dosiertechnik (Picodostec) in two separate transactions totaling $53 million. Both companies will become part of Nordson's Advanced Technology Systems segment.