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News

SALT LAKE CITY -- Chemicals giant Huntsman reported fourth-quarter net income of $80.2 million on revenues of $2.54 billion, compared to a net loss of $65 million on sales of $10.68 million for the same period in 2005.

The company announced a definitive agreement to sell its U.S. base chemicals and polymers business to Flint Hills Resources, a division of Koch Industries, for $761 million. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Huntsman makes solder mask, conformal coating and other specialty materials.

LOS ANGELES - The IPC and iNEMI, in cooperation with GEIA, HDPUG and JEDEC, are sponsoring a free forum at the IPC Apex trade show to discuss keeping industry reliability test protocols current with rapidly changing markets.

The summit is planned for Feb. 23 from 8:30 to 4:30, room 404AB, in the Los Angeles Convention Center.

For more information, visit GoIPCShows.org/ReliabilitySummit.asp.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The SMTA and Auburn University seek abstracts for the AIMS (Automotive, Industrial, Military and Space) Harsh Environment Electronics Workshop.

The event, formerly the Harsh Environment Electronics workshop, takes place June 13-14, in Indianapolis. The event is chaired by Dr. John Evans and Dr. Ken Gilleo.

The June workshop will focus on harsh environments with an added emphasis on military and space.

Specific subject areas include:

Semiconductor Technology.
Substrate Advancements.
Connectors and Interconnect Technology.
Lead-Free Implementation.
Advancements in Materials.
Next Generation Harsh Environment Automotive Systems.
Latest Developments in Thermal Cycle Testing for Extreme Environment Electronics.
Substrate Surface Finishes for Harsh Environment Applications.
Chemical, Thermal and Vibration Considerations for Industrial Electronics.
Operating Environments for Military Electronics (land, sea, air and space).

Speakers will be required to submit presentation materials for inclusion in the workshop proceedings. There is not a paper requirement for this event.

Interested participants should send a 200-300 word abstract to the Conference Coordinator, Melissa Serres. Abstracts can be submitted via e-mail as a Word document attachment, to melissa@smta.org., or uploaded to the SMTA Web site at:

smta.org/education/education.cfm#aims

ORLANDO – Abstracts for the SMTA International conference, Oct. 7 – 11, in Orlando, are due Feb. 16. Short course descriptions are also being solicited. Submit abstracts using the online form at

www.smta.org/smtai/call_for_papers.cfm. For questions, please contact JoAnn Stromberg at joann@smta.org.

STRATHAM, NH – Vitronics-Soltec today named Aaron Saxton president, effective March 19. He is a executive with Universal Instruments, where he ran its Chinese manufacturing operations in Shekou, China.

LOS ALTOS, CA – Chinese vehicle production is estimated to have risen 12.1% during 2006, according to analyst Henderson Ventures.

The research group says world unit vehicle sales rose 4.4% last year, after a 5.2% gain in 2005. Unit production of cars and light trucks is expected to be up 2.9% in 2007, in part as a result of higher-end vehicles with electronic modules.

NORTH BILLERICA, MA – Transition Automation has published a list of new part numbers for direct cross-reference to OEM metal squeegee blades. This list of part numbers and metal blade specifications reportedly will help engineers match existing OEM metal blades with Transition Automation’s own line of blades.

The list includes squeegee sizes used in DEK, Speedline, Ekra and SpeedPrint factory-supplied holders. The list is posted at www.transitionautomation.com.

NEWARK, NY -- IEC Electronics reported a net first-quarter loss of $576,000 , down from a loss of $48,000 last year.
The EMS provider's revenue increased 150% year-over-year to $9.2 million, for the quarter ended Dec. 29.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Nam Tai Electronics' fourth-quarter net sales were down 7.1% to $229.6 million from 2005.

For the period ended Dec. 31, the net loss was $2.3 million, down 118.3%. Sales were hurt by weakening demand from the telecommunications sector, plus pricing pressure.

LAKE FOREST, CA -- EMS firm Probe Manufacturing today announced an annual blanket order for building and testing electronics for Miyachi Unitek's fine spot resistance welders. No financial terms were disclosed.

"We welcome Miyachi Unitek as our newest customer, and are pleased to provide them with tested electronic assemblies for their fine spot resistance welders. Moving forward, the Miyachi Unitek and Probe Manufacturing teams will work together in focusing on improving quality and reducing the overall product cost to create additional markets," said CEO Reza Zarif in a statement.

ASSODIGITALE, ITALY– Alcatel-Lucent will sell its manufacturing activities in Geel, Belgium, to TBP Electronics BV. Terms include the transfer of all customer contracts, 319 employees and manufacturing assets. The deal is expected to close next quarter. No financial terms were announced.

LOHJA, FINLAND -- Elcoteq is discussing a range of options for the EMS provider's operations in Finland, including layoffs of up to 500 workers and the possible closure of its Lohja manufacturing plant.

Elcoteq employs about 23,000 workers worldwide, about 700 in Finland.

The company previously announced it would reduce overhead costs by about 20 million euros per year.

The company's board has proposed moving its headquarters to Luxembourg, which is known as a corporate tax haven.