WESTLAKE, OH -- Nordson has acquired assets of ACE Production Technologies, a Spokane, WA-based designer and manufacturer of selective soldering systems.

The transaction is not material to Nordson results, and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ACE’s lead tinning business will remain with the sellers and will operate under the new name Component Tinning Services, Inc.

 “ACE’s selective soldering solutions are adjacent and highly complementary to Nordson’s existing conformal coating and optical inspection solutions and are sold to the same set of customers,” said Joseph Stockunas, Vice President for Nordson’s Advanced Technology Systems segment. “We expect to leverage Nordson’s global footprint to accelerate ACE’s growth beyond its strong current presence in North America.”

Founded in 2005 and employing approximately 35 people, ACE will operate as a new line of business within Nordson’s Advanced Technology Systems segment. ACE’s end-markets are expected to continue growing at a mid- to high-single digit rate over the next several years driven by increasing electronic content in automobiles and electric vehicles, and further penetration of electronics in areas such as avionics, industrial automation and appliances.

Selective soldering is the process of soldering specific components to printed circuit boards and molded modules. The approach is chosen for processes where components could be damaged by the heat of a reflow oven in a traditional surface mount (SMT) assembly process or where reliability dictates through-hole mounting. Entry level selective soldering is often used as an efficiency and quality improvement solution over hand soldering.