The SMTA was saddened to learn on Wednesday of the death of our Austin Chapter President, Chris Kimbell. Chris had planned to attend the Leadership Forum this weekend and was scheduled to conduct a breakout session with Leslee on Vendor Days.

Chris worked to rejuvenate the Austin chapter many years ago and his work is still providing benefit to the technical community in Austin through the CTEA. Chris was tireless in his support of these activities. We can't remember Chris not having a smile on his face. When our staff would go to Austin for their Vendor Day, Chris and his wife, Diane, were always wonderful about inviting us to their home, or taking us to dinner. A good friend, Greg Caswell, wrote to me, "One of the reasons Chris was successful in his position with VirTex was the rapport he developed with all of his customers. Invaluable in today's economy. He was unselfish about opportunities that he came across that his company could not handle, because, in his opinion, solving the customers need came first."

Brad Heath, President of VirTex Assembly, sent me the following message: There are two types of sales people I have seen be very successful. One is highly polished, very detail oriented and has all the right answers exactly when you need them. The other is a really good guy who connects with the right people and makes you want to do business with him. You know he will take care of you. Chris was a world class example of the latter. He made more cold calls and visits than any sales manager I ever met. Chris opened up Houston for us this way, penetrating the "good old boy network" down there into an active sales territory.

When Chris came to VirTex, he had been doing outsourced offshore assembly sales for a company that had a unique business model of US based component sourcing and offshore production. That idea was the initial spark that became VirTex's model of right-shoring. As an expansion of that original idea, VirTex now has assembly plants in Texas and Mexico, as well as partners in Taiwan, China and India. This has been instrumental in allowing us to create jobs in the US while partnering offshore.

On behalf of the SMTA Board and our staff we want you to know that we share this loss with our leaders in Austin and with our many colleagues in Austin. The SMTA family has lost a strong leader and a good friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris' family at this difficult time.

JoAnn Stromberg SMTA Administrator

It is with great sadness that we share with you that Rich Freiberger, Chief Operating Officer of ZF Array Technology in San Jose, CA, passed away on February 7th after a difficult and courageous battle with both lymphoma and Hepatitis C.

From 1995 until 2001 Rich served the SMTA on our Board of Directors. He initially served on the Planning Committee and from 1998 – 2001 he served as our Vice President of Technical Programs. During this time he oversaw the Academy program, EAE (Electronics Assembly Expo), Emerging Technologies, SMTA Philadelphia, SMTA Boston, and SMTA Dallas. He also served on the SMI/SMTA International technical committees for many years—overseeing the SMT and DFM sessions. Rich never failed to jump in and assist wherever needed—a course offering on SPC, a paper on DFM, a talk to a chapter, chairing a session. Rich also served on the Surface Mount Council, SMTA’s nominating committee and chaired our Certification Committee. Rich was very instrumental in assisting us with the re-formation of our Silicon Valley SMTA chapter. He was a past recipient of both SMTA’s Founders and Excellence in Leadership Awards.

We can think of no one who embodied what the SMTA is all about more than Rich Freiberger. He was actively involved in SMT since the early 1980’s, but not just “involved”-he was an active participant. He was one of the most knowledgeable people in our industry and he retained that status over many years. Through his active work in our industry, he contributed to the advancement of the technology. Rich didn’t just read and preach, he practiced the technology, and as some of his close friends would say, “Rich has solder paste under his fingernails-he builds boards, he puts together lines, he helps define the technology and the state-of-the-art.” That, in itself, would be enough, but Rich shared that knowledge freely and with open-mindedness, intelligence and insight. Through the roles he assumed in his career, and most importantly, through the various positions he held with the SMTA, many have learned a great deal from Rich.

Rich was a wonderful husband to his wife, Liza, and a most loving father to his daughters, Kristin and Ashley. He was always quick to share with others (in that booming and distinctive voice) how blessed he was with this wonderful family and how proud he was of each of them. We keep them all close in thought and prayer at this difficult time.

And on a personal note, Rich was a very dear and treasured friend of mine. He shared with me his diagnosis many months ago, but in typical Rich fashion, he did not want others to know. He continued to work every day until just recently. He fought a courageous battle and remained positive and upbeat. Earlier today someone shared with me, “grieve for a bit and then celebrate the wonderful man that Rich was and the life that he lived.” I think this is a message that Rich would have approved of. His extensive contributions to the industry and the SMTA, along with the many friendships he built will be an enduring legacy. I will always feel so proud to have been a friend of his.

-JoAnn Stromberg, SMTA Administrator

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 27th at 3:00 pm at the Oak Hill Funeral Home, Chapel of the Oaks, 300 Curtner Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125, 408-297-2447. Request to join the tribute page set up by Rich's family on Facebook.

Minneapolis, MN - The SMTA International Technical Committee invites you to submit an abstract for SMTAI 2010, the electronic industry's premier forum on the manufacture of electronic products utilizing surface mount, advanced packaging and related technologies, being held October 24-28, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Papers should describe significant results from experiments, emphasize new techniques, and contain technical, economic or appropriate test data. Materials should be original, unpublished and non-commercial in nature.

Papers are being solicited in the following categories:
 
•    Emerging Technologies
•    Components
•    Assembly
•    PCB Technology
•    Process Control
•    Harsh Environment Applications
•    Business

Abstracts (300 words) are due March 5, 2010. Proposals are also solicited from individuals interested in teaching educational courses related to surface mount technology, advanced packaging, and electronics manufacturing. Course length may be half-day or full-day, and these proposals must also be submitted by March 5, 2010.

Speakers and participants benefit by making contributions to the industry and through recognition by colleagues for sharing research work and findings.  To reward exceptional achievement, $1,000 and a recognition plaque are given for the "Best of Conference Presentation," "Best of Proceedings Paper," and "Best International Paper."

Visit http://www.smta.org/smtai/call_for_papers.cfm to view the complete Call for Papers and to submit an abstract.  For more information contact JoAnn Stromberg at 952-920-7682 or joann@smta.org.

Minneapolis, MN - The SMTA, in conjunction with Chip Scale Review magazine, is pleased to release the Call for Papers for the 7th Annual International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference and Tabletop Exhibition (IWLPC) to be held October 11-14, 2010 at the Marriott Santa Clara Hotel in Santa Clara, CA.  The IWLPC Technical Chair, Lee Smith of Amkor Technology, and the IWLPC Technical Committee would like to invite you to submit an abstract for this program on or before April 23, 2010. 

The conference will include three tracks in 2010 with two days of papers covering:
• Wafer Level Packaging
• MEMS Packaging
• 3-D Integration

This premier industry event explores leading-edge design, material, and process technologies focused on Wafer-Level Packaging applications. There will be special emphasis on the numerous device and end product applications (RF/wireless, sensors, mixed technology, optoelectronics) that demand wafer level packaging solutions for integration, cost, and performance requirements.

Visit http://www.iwlpc.com/call_for_papers.cfm to view the complete Call for Papers and to submit an abstract.  For more information contact Melissa Serres at 952-920-7682 or melissa@smta.org.