LAS VEGAS – The ERAI Executive Conference 2011 will be held here Apr. 28 and 29.

The conference will focus on performance requirements, counterfeit avoidance/identification and risk mitigation techniques. The event will provide a standards overview for SAE International’s AS5553, AS6081 and AS6171 that provide uniform requirements, practices and methods to mitigate the risks of purchasing and supplying counterfeit electronic parts.

Topics also include hedging liability/risk in the supply chain, onsite distributor assessments, current counterfeiting techniques and identification methodologies, contract language required to confiscate, quarantine and subsequently destroy counterfeit parts, government agency efforts to fight IP theft, and solutions to gather critical market intelligence.

For more information, visit http://www.erai.com/ERAI_EXECUTIVE_CONFERENCE_VEGAS_2011_public.aspx.

BUCKS, UK – SMART Group has announced upcoming technical webinars on micro-BGA assembly and developing an electronics inspection system.

In the first, micro-BGA reevaluates an existing manufacturing process, inspection and size control of different solder alloy spheres. It will provide example packages and demonstrate reliability through assembly and soldering trials within different industries. Topics include project overview, industry survey, micro-BGA requirements, solder alloy requirements, solder sphere manufacture, existing process and issues, and future industry benefits.

The second webinar concerns the development of an electronics system for inspecting welded joints in plastic pipes. It will cover the current objectives of the TestPEP project; an overview of the work program; the principles of phased array inspection, butt fusion welds, and electrofusion welds; and initial results.

To register for both, visit www.smartgroup.org/diary.

SMYRNA, GA – With two weeks to go, a record number of companies have signed up for the fourth annual VIRTUAL PCB online trade show, UP Media Group announced today.

ANTHEM, AZ – A new report describes 18 emerging countries in terms of their current readiness for electronics manufacturing.

The 80-page report, by Charlie Barnhart & Associates, characterizes the nations’ infrastructure, population and high-tech “readiness.” It provides an analytical framework to help midmarket OEMs and EMS companies assess opportunities and challenges in establishing or expanding their global footprint, says the author.

“Next Horizons in Electronics Manufacturing for Midmarket Companies,” which was authored by Jennifer Read, provides country profiles and recommendations for a successful global strategy.

The report is available to the consulting firm’s Outsourcing Navigator Council members, and includes country profiles on geographies, as well as EMS profiles, data charts related to infrastructure, population, electronics readiness, corruption, and ease of doing business. For more information, visit www.charliebarnhart.com.