SAN JOSE -- Hammer Storage, a division of Bell Microproducts, has added the Hammer NA-1400 Network-Attached Storage Appliance to its product line.

The high capacity device provides up to two terabytes of external storage in a compact, toaster-sized package. It is designed by Newisys Inc., a developer of computing and storage designs, and manufactured by its parent company Sanmina-SCI.

COLUMBIA, MD - Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI), a developer of analytical instrumentation, has a new, free white paper entitled “Understanding RoHS.” The paper is available at ssi.shimadzu.com.
 
The paper offers guidance and tips for organizations that have yet to properly comply with the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances regulations. It also provides insight into how RoHS will affect U.S. manufacturers, how they can earn compliance and the ramifications of non-compliance.
 
SSI is the American subsidiary of Shimadzu Corp., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

FT. WORTH, TX – Allied Electronics has broken ground on its new headquarters and distribution center in Fort Worth.

The catalog distributor,  a subsidiary of Electrocomponents, began construction on a 365,000-sq. ft. facility that will replace the company’s existing rented space. The new facility will help accommodate the company’s growth, as it expects to create an additional 300 jobs over the next several years.

Construction is expected to be completed as early as summer 2007.

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Blade Network Technologies has begun shipping RoHS-compliant servers in advance of pending legislation in Europe and California, the company announced today.

The servers are built by Solectron Corp. in Charlotte, NC

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SALT LAKE CITY -- CirTran Corp. said today that it has settled all major litigation in which it was a defendant, clearing the way for the filing of Form 10-KSB for fiscal 2005 with the SEC later this week.

The EMS company had been involved in a breach of contract filing dating to Sept. 11, 2003. The suit was settled for $200,000, on Feb. 24, according to court filings and company statements.

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BILLERICA, MA -- On March 31, BTU International executed a commitment letter for a commercial mortgage facility (ith Salem Five Cents Savings Bank in the amount of $10 million.

As of Dec. 23, the interest rate will be 6.84%. The maturity date is Dec. 23, 2015.

NEW DELHI -- The chief executive of Agilent Technologies said today that the test and measurement OEM could generate up to $300 million in annual revenues from operations in India by 2008.

The amount would be three times the company's revenue of $100 million in 2005, CEO Bill Sullivan said.

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NORTH YORK, ONTARIO -- ZTest Electronics Inc. is offering shares of the company in order to raise $1.44 million in financing, the company said today. Proceeds will be used for future acquisitions and working capital.

Each unit will be priced at $0.16 and will be comprised of one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant entitles the holder to acquire a further common share at the price of $0.24 for a period of two years from closing. The corporation will pay a finder's fee of up to 6% of the value of the units in cash.

Completion of this transaction is subject to the approval of the Toronto Exchange.

Separately, the company said directors William Brown and Cal Haverstock have tendered their resignations, effective this week. Haverstock joined the board last June.

ZTest's wholly owned subsidiary, Permatech Electronics, is an low-volume EMS provider.

 
John Sammut, EPIC president and CEO, said in a press release, “[This award] validates the efficacy of our Synchronous Flow Manufacturing (SFM) process because it was awarded in a time period which included a significant amount of new product introduction activity, which typically impacts performance metrics in traditional continuous flow manufacturing models. In addition, it is a tribute to our acquisition integration team because it underscores how quickly and smoothly they accomplished SFM process implementation in this facility in 2005.”
 
EPIC is headquartered in Rochester Hills, MI, and operates facilities in Ohio, Tennessee and Mexico.

CHANDLER, AZ – Isola USA Corp., announced today has settled its patent infringement case with Rogers Corp. involving a pair of inventions and and that the lawsuit has been dismissed.

The suit involved Rogers' U.S. patent nos. 5,972,811 and 5,571,609, which cover polybutadiene and polyisoprene thermoset laminates. Rogers claimed that the IS640 family of laminate and prepreg products from Isola infringed on those patents.

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ATLANTA — UP Media Group’s 15th anniversary PCB Design Conference West, held March 26-31 in Santa Clara, provided over 45 exhibitors with a robust, targeted audience of attendees enjoying the “Education, Inspiration and Solutions” promised by this year’s conference theme. This year, the number of conference attendees taking courses during the six-day event increased by 12%. In addition, 52% of conference attendees and 33% of exhibition-only attendees were first-time PCB West attendees.
 
“I am thrilled that this year’s increase in conference attendees, especially when coupled with the number of first-time attendees, enabled us to provide our exhibitors with the kind of qualified attendees that they most want to reach. This translated into excellent exhibitor re-signs for PCB West 2007,” said UPMG president Pete Waddell.
 
“I also was happy to see so many exhibition-only attendees take advantage of the free technical sessions and Exhibitor Showcase presentations that made ‘Free Tuesday’ truly special,” continued Waddell. “The show floor buzzed all day—right through the Opening Night Reception. That same level of excitement continued into the evening at our Casino Night Party, where exhibitors and attendees networked and competed at the blackjack, craps, roulette and Texas Hold ‘Em tables.”
 
This year’s inductee into the PCB Top Gun Hall of Fame is CAD Applications Engineer Julian Ungureanu of Cisco Systems in San Jose. Held annually at PCB West, PCB Top Gun contestants are put through a stringent battery of tests, including a written exam, personal interviews and an actual board design. The top scorer(s) are inducted into the Hall of Fame at the conference, where they receive a plaque and a Top Gun-style leather flight jacket.
 
For the first time, the PCB Design Conferences awarded scholarships to attend the entire six-day technical conference program for free. Scholarship applicants were asked to write an essay expressing what they would gain from attending the conference. The PCB West 2006 Scholarship recipients were: Tom Burek with Ametek/Dixson in Grand Junction, CO, and Malik Nisar with Comcept (Pvt.) Ltd. in Punjab, Pakistan.
 
PCB West 2007  will be March 25-30 in Santa Clara. UPMG’s next trade show is PCB Design Conference East on Sept. 25-29 in Durham, NC (pcbeast.com).

Mumbai – Jabil Circuit has acquired Celetronix, a leading EMS company in India, for around $185 million, including $30 million in debt.

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