Archives: News / Press

STI Electronics, Inc., will exhibit in Booth #18 at the 2015 Space & Missile Defense Symposium, scheduled to take place August 10-13, 2015 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL. Company representatives will discuss STI’s Engineering Services and Training Resources divisions.

The SMD Symposium is the leading educational, professional development and networking event in the space and missile defense community.  The symposium is widely attended by leaders and professionals from the United States and our allies around the world.  It is the ideal forum for conducting business face-to-face.  Participants can also earn continuing education credits.

This is your opportunity to spend some time with us to discuss your business needs.

Click on the link to register.

http://smdsymposium.org/register-for-the-symposium/

STI Electronics, Inc., is pleased to announce a 15 year employee anniversary. Mark McMeen recently celebrated his fifteen-year anniversary with the company. David Raby presented Mark with a plaque in recognition of this milestone.

Mark McMeen  is the Vice President of manufacturing and Engineering Services. Mark oversees the daily operations of the Engineering Services division of STI.  With over 18 years of experience in the manufacturing and engineering of electronic assemblies Mark has been a major contributor to the success of STI.

STI Electronics, Inc., is pleased to announce a 15 year employee anniversary. Frank Honyotski recently celebrated his fifteen-year anniversary with the company. David Raby presented Frank with a plaque in recognition of this milestone.

Frank Honyotski is a Master IPC Trainer (MIT) and Lead Instructor at STI. Frank delivers training at the STI training site located in Madison, Alabama as well as on-site training classes for our customers at their locations.  Frank also coordinates the materials and equipment needs and shipment of equipment when required by the customer.

STI Electronics, Inc., a full service organization providing training services, analytical and failure analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly, is pleased to announce that Andy Mitchell has joined its Training Services department. Mitchell will be the Center Manager for STI’s Texas training initiative and will be located at STI’s training facility in Houston, TX.

Mitchell brings a tremendous amount of electronics manufacturing experience to STI and will work with Julio Estrada to expand STI Electronics’ training offerings in TX, OK and the surrounding areas. He was previously a Category B instructor at China Lake, CA and joins STI from American HAKKO, CA where he held numerous roles during the past 18 years. 

STI Electronics, Inc., announces the addition of Patti Gander to the STI Training Services staff. Gander is the new Center Manager for STI’s Florida Training Initiative.

Gander possesses both an MBA and a Master’s in Management. She is a subject matter expert in a number of areas within the manufacturing and training industry. Gander has developed training curricula covering topics in lean manufacturing, business process improvement and quality best practices as well as areas in project management, management and leadership development. She is a seasoned manufacturing veteran holding positions of Quality Manager, Operations Manager, Lean Implementation Manager, Plant Manager and Vice President of Operations. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Gander has experience in both commercial and military manufacturing environments.

STI Electronics, Inc., a full service organization providing training services, analytical and failure analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly, will exhibit at the SMTA Atlanta Expo & Tech Forum, scheduled to take place Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA. Company representatives will discuss STI’s Engineering Services and Training Resources divisions.

STI’s Engineering Services division provides engineering support and specialized contract manufacturing services for the electronics manufacturing industry. From product design and manufacturability analysis to pre-production prototype and development, STI’s Prototype and Development Lab is a full-service design review and preproduction facility. STI’s Microelectronics Lab was established to meet the rising need for advanced systems development and assembly. The Microelectronics Lab specializes in state-of-the-art engineering design including current technologies such as Chip-On-Board (COB) and Multichip Module (MCM) as well as emerging technologies such as Imbedded Component/Die Technology (IC/DT).

STI’s Training Services division develops customized training courses to fit specific training needs. Typically, STI builds these classes around company-specific standards and specifications. STI is an IPC authorized training center for J-STD-001, IPC-A-610, IPC/WHMA-A-620, IPC-A-600 and IPC7711/7721, and provides both Certified IPC Application Specialist (CIS) and Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) courses. Other courses include basic soldering, wave soldering, ESD training, BGA rework and many more. It also provides operator/inspector training for through-hole and SMT soldering, conformal coating, and cable harness to NASA-STD-8739.1, .2, .3 and .4 for Marshall Space Flight Center and its support contractors. In addition to its standardized training program support materials, STI Electronics’ Training Materials division provides unique or custom training materials including Fine Pitch Lead Free Solder Training Kits.  STI is also an approved distributor for IPC training materials and videos.

STI Electronics, Inc., announces the addition of Darlene Hoffer as a Master Instructor.

Ms. Hoffer will be based at STI’s Madison, AL facility. Hoffer has more than 30 years of experience in electronics manufacturing and technical training, and will be a tremendous asset to STI and the students who will have a chance to attend one of her classes. She previously worked at DRS as a Technical Training Specialist.  Ms. Hoffer was responsible for training/certifying electronic assemblers and quality personnel to the requirements of the J-STD-001, IPC-A-610, IPC-7711/21 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 standards.

Hoffer also worked for Crane Aerospace Electronics as an Assembler/Manufacturing Training Specialist. Her responsibilities included developing and conducting training to IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 as well as ESD Training. Additionally, she maintained certification/recertification schedules. Hoffer is currently certified as a Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) for IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, IPC/WHMA-A-620.  

STI Electronics, Inc., a full service organization providing training services, analytical and failure analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly, announces that Governor Robert Bentley, State of Alabama and Ron Sparks, Director, Alabama Rural Development, recently visited its facility in Madison, AL. The state officials visited STI Electronics, Inc. at the invitation of Larry Frederick, President & CEO, Frederick Energy Products, LLC in Huntsville, AL and David Raby, President & CEO, STI Electronics, Inc.
 
 
There are a multitude of accidents and deaths involving lift equipment and personnel each year. Accidents and deaths are extremely costly for the industry and the impact on an individual and his/her family is immeasurable. Frederick and his staff at Frederick Energy Products have developed one of the most precise personal alarm devices – HIT-NOT®. The device was designed and developed to warn both the pedestrian and the equipment operator, thus significantly decreasing pedestrian collisions.
 
Governor Bentley and Mr. Sparks visited to view a demonstration of HIT-NOT and receive valuable information to help the industry reduce accidents and deaths in Alabama.  STI has been instrumental in the success of HIT-NOT through engineering support as well as manufacturing expertise.
 
“It is encouraging when our governor shows a personal interest in new technology that prevents costly forklift accidents and saves lives of employees,” commented Jimmy Helms
Sales and Marketing Director, HIT-NOT Proximity Detection.
 
STI Electronics CEO David Raby commented, “We appreciate the time Governor Bentley and Ron Sparks spent at STI. We are grateful for their interest and help in raising safety awareness across Alabama and Fredrick’s solution-based HIT-NOT Proximity Detection.”

STI Electronics Commemorates the Retirement of Founders Jim and Ellen Raby
 
MADISON, AL — September 2014 — STI Electronics, Inc. announces that after their 57-year careers in the electronics industry, two of its founders, Jim and Ellen Raby have retired. STI employees, business associates, and friends and family of the Raby’s came together on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 to honor Jim and Ellen Raby with a retirement reception to commemorate their impact on STI and the electronics industry as whole. STI presented Jim and Ellen with the first flag flown over STI as well as a “Through the Years” photo album of their accomplishments and history of their careers. 

STI Electronics was founded in 1982 as a small family business with Jim, Ellen and David Raby. Over the past 32 years, STI has grown to employ a staff of more than 70 and expanded its focus from consulting and technical seminars to become a full service organization providing training services, analytical and failure analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly.
 
“Jim and Ellen’s contributions to our industry are well documented,” says David Raby, President/CEO. “Jim’s vision and Ellen’s steadiness also have helped shape STI Electronics into the kind of company it is today – a company based on strong values and ensuring our employees, customers and suppliers are all treated as they should be. I wish them the very best in their well earned retirement and I commit to growing STI without changing those values.  It has been a special privilege to be able to work as a family for the last 32 years.”
 
Jim is well-known through the industry for his work with soldering and high-reliability printed circuit assemblies. He spent his entire career in electronics manufacturing, starting with the Saturn/Apollo rocket program. Jim is credited for developing the NASA and Navy (the famous China Lake) soldering schools, and was instrumental in developing the IPC soldering certification curriculum, used by the vast majority of the industry today. He initiated the Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (now known as the American Competitiveness Institute). During his career, he has trained tens of thousands of engineers and operators.
 
For more than 30 years, Jim has worked on industry standards, including DOD-STD-2000, MIL-STD-2000, J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610. He also helped write and implement standards for wire harnesses. He has been involved in the research for lead-free solder processes and materials. His seminal paper, “Standardization of Military Specifications,” was the roadmap for reducing some 219 specifications into a single four-document set known as MIL-STD-2000, the precursor to J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610. He has worked on more than a dozen standards and training programs, and chaired or vice-chaired committees on soldering, rework and repair, component mounting and product assurance. Jim was instrumental in the writing of the curriculum and beta testing for J-STD-001, IPC-A-610D, IPC/WHMA-A-620 and IPC-7711/7721A, and received the IPC Presidents Award in 1984.
 
For more information about STI Electronics, Inc., visit www.stielectronicsinc.com.
 
 ###
 
About STI Electronics, Inc.
Since 1982, STI Electronics, Inc. (STI) has been the premier full service organization for training, consulting, laboratory analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly in the electronics industry. STI also produces a complete line of solder training kits and training support products. For more information, visit www.stielectronicsinc.com.