IRVINE, CA -- Multi-Fineline Electronix swung to a net profit in its fiscal fourth quarter as cost-cutting maneuvers overcame lower overall sales. 

GENEVA --  A recent vote overwhelmingly approved the latest draft of the revised ISO 9001 on quality management systems, paving the way for the new version to be released next year.

The document now goes to a subcommittee review for comment disposition and final ratification.

The draft ISO 9001 is part of planned periodic review, which typically happens every three to five years. The new edition, expected in 2015, will feature some important changes, among them the introduction of the concept of risk-based thinking.

The latest draft (Draft International Standard – DIS) was received nearly 90% approval from the ISO members, enough to progress to the next stage: Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). The ISO subcommittee revising the standard will now review all comments received during the DIS vote in order to produce a final draft, which will then be put forth for ratification. Once approved, the standard can then be published.

"We are on the right track, and we are on schedule for publication," said Nigel Croft, chair of the ISO subcommittee revising the standard. "The new version is very strongly based on three basic core concepts: that process approach which was very successful in the 2008 version of the standard superimposed on that system of processes is the plan-do-check act methodology, and a third core concept which is new in the 2015 version is risk-based thinking, aiming at preventing undesirable outcomes."

ISO 9001 is one of ISO’s most well-known standards, with more than 1.1 million certificates worldwide. 

Watch Nigel Croft explain what's new and the next steps: http://youtu.be/1JIMyvpP0tw

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Sparton's Manufacturing & Design Services (EMS) business unit saw September quarter sales drop despite a pair of acquisitions.

OLATHE, KS -- Lindsay Corp. will acquire EMS/OEM firm Elecsys in a cash deal worth about $70.5 million, the companies said today.  

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS – Neways Electronics recorded revenue of $112.2 million in the third quarter, up 31% year-over-year.

HONG KONG -- Valuetronics Holdings reported second-quarter net profits fell 8.4% year-over-year to HK$36.3 million ($4.68 million) on lower sales, especially to consumer electronics customers. 

SOMERSET, NJ – Alpha has opened an application lab in Korea.  The lab will focus on trial or evaluation testing of products for new projects.

WASHINGTON – Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $87 billion during the third quarter, up 8% year-over-year and 5.7% sequentially. The results beat the forecast of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, which compiles the data.

BANGKOK – Fabrinet reported fiscal first-quarter revenue ended Sept. 26 of $189.3 million, an increase of 10.3% compared the same quarter last year.

ANAHEIM, CA – Murrietta Circuits is holding an invitation-only open house Nov. 13 here to highlight the opening of its new eSurface technology line, the first in Southern California.

FRAMINGHAM, MA -- New smartphone releases and an increased emphasis on emerging markets drove global smartphone shipments above 300 million units for the second consecutive quarter.

SAN JOSE -- Sanmina's contract electronics assembly unit recorded $1.36 billion in sales in the quarter ended Sept. 27, up 13% from a year ago.