BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC and National Physical Laboratory are sponsoring a Process Defect Clinic during the Apex trade show in April.

The clinic will feature process guru Bob Willis, who will assist show attendees with assembly and soldering process problems, RoHS compliance issues, solderability concerns, field failures and other process-related issues.

Attendees can bring board assemblies for examination or process problems, either by appointment (www.ipcapexexpo.org/my-show) or by visiting booth 217 during show hours.

Questions can be submitted in advance to processdefectclinic@ipc.org.

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Sparton Corp. today reported second-quarter fiscal 2011 net sales of $46.3 million, down 1.9% year-over-year.

Net income was $1.4 million, down 56.3% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Gross profit was $7.5 million, down 7.2% year-over-year.

EMS sales for the second quarter decreased approximately $3.8 million, compared with the same quarter last year. The company attributes this decrease primarily to certain program losses and customer design change delays.

The gross profit percentage on EMS sales increased to 7%, compared to 5% for the same quarter the previous year.

For the first six months of fiscal 2011, the firm’s net sales were $92.1 million, a drop of 3.4% compared to the same period in 2010. Net income was $5.5 million, up 18.5% year-over-year. Gross profit for the first six months was $14.6 million, down 6% year-over-year.                  

“Sales and margin contribution from our newly acquired Colorado medical facility, along with strong margins from our DSS business unit helped to carry our consolidated results, as we continue to work through softening sales within both our EMS business and our Ohio medical facility,” said Sparton president and CEO Cary Wood.

VANCOUVER, BC -- Micro tier EMS firm Northstar Electronics has begun an "aggressive" program to expand topline revenue through strategic acquisitions and organic growth.

BILLINGSTAD, NORWAY -- Top 50 EMS company Kitron reported a fourth-quarter loss before tax and discontinued operations of NOK 18.8 million (US$3.26 million), a swing from a profit of NOK 12.8 million last year.