The competition got heated as 44 competitors from 11 well-known electronics companies and a leading vocational institute in Southeast Asia competed at IPCs Hand Soldering Competition at NEPCON Malaysia 2014 in Penang. Taking first place and a cash prize of $400 (USD) was Noryati Binti Mat Nor, Affinex Innovation. As the winner, Noryati qualified for the IPC Hand Soldering World Championship at IPC APEX EXPOreg; 2015 in San Diego.

Second place and a cash prize of $200 went to Hasrol Mizam B. Hassan, HGST Technologies. Norashikin Bt Nordin, Affinex Innovation, took third place and a cash prize of $100.

Participants in the hand soldering competition were tasked with building a functional electronics assembly within a 45-minute time limit. A panel of independent judges from Blackfox Training Institute-Penang and Clarion Malaysia evaluated each assembly based on workmanship, overall functionality, compliance with IPC-A-610E Class 3 criteria and speed of completion.

The best-of-the-best hand soldering talent in Southeast Asia displayed their workmanship, quality and speed, said David Bergman, IPC vice president of international relations. Because of the vast popularity of these hand soldering competitions, we plan to continue with this highly popular event at locations across the globe in 2014 and beyond.

Bergman added, IPC thanks hand soldering Premier Sponsor  Thermaltronics; Gold Sponsors  Balver Zinn GmbH, Indium Corporation, Kyzen Corporation, and Nihon Superior; Local Partner  Reed Exhibitions; and Supporting Partner  SHRDC, for their support of the IPC Hand Soldering Competition.