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BRUSSELS – The European Commission is requesting comments on the RoHS Directive in preparation for a revision most likely to be presented in 2008.

The EC will review measures provided for in the Directive, taking into account scientific evidence, according to an official announcement. The deadline for comments is May 22.

LAKE FOREST, CA -- EMS firm Probe Manufacturing Inc. reported net profits of $425,134 on record revenues of $9.3 million for fiscal 2006. Sales were up 46% and the company reversed a net loss of $425,134 from 2005.

ITASCA, IL – Kester became the latest solder vendor to announce a surcharge on silver- and tin-containing solder paste products. The price increase will take effect 30 days from customer notification. As has been noted, metal costs have been increasing steadily for the past year and show no signs of retreating during the balance of 2007. As a result, solder vendors are passing along the higher costs to their customers. Kester is the third major supplier to announce a surcharge in recent weeks; the others were Cookson and Indium. The surcharges on Kester’s solder paste products are based on the difference between current metal costs and those from January 2006. The surcharge will be eliminated when tin and silver prices return to January 2006 levels, Kester said.

LOUISVILLE -- Just days after reiterating plans to lay off up to 1,500 workers, Solectron Corp. opened a 500,000 sq. ft. services center here and said it would hire up to 700 workers in the next 12 months.

The facility will perform parts fulfillment and repair for consumer electronics like cellphones.

LOHJA, FINLAND -- Elcoteq's chief executive today confirmed earlier reports the EMS firm would close its Lohja manufacturing plant and lay off a total of 242 employees by August.

The company said 215 workers would be affected by the Lohja plant closing. Another 27 would be laid off as part of changes to its NPI organization.

PHOENIX -- Electronics manufacturing provider Suntron Corp. reported net sales of $69.3 million and an operating loss of $4.7 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. The results include $1.7 million of restructuring charges due to the closure of two U.S. manufacturing operations. The net loss was $5.7 million, versus net income of $100,000 in 2005.

For the year, net sales were down 2% to $320.8 million. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales improved to 5.6% for 2006, up 0.5 points. The gross profit includes restructuring charges of $2.9 million for 2006 and $1.2 million for 2005. The company also cut debt by 33%, to about $32 million. The net loss widened $600,000 to $11.9 million, including a writeoff of debt issuance costs of $1.4 million and restructuring charges of $3.5 million.

For the quarter, the company saw a decrease in gross profit due to higher restructuring costs and lower net sales. Sequentially, gross profit decreased $4.1 million.

In 2006, Suntron closed business units in Lawrence, MA, and Olathe, KS, In February, it sold its Garner, IA, EMS plant for $4.8 million, a gain of approximately $500,000.

Although the 2006 financial results do not reflect it, we believe the restructuring actions taken during the year have poised the company for a promising future,'' stated Paul Singh, Suntron's president and chief executive officer.

"We believe that the majority of our restructuring efforts should be complete by the end of the first quarter. As we execute our 2007 business plan, our focus will be on profitable growth, working capital management, and quality customer service," said Singh.