MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The SMTA is pleased to announce that the program for their 21^st annual conference, SMTA International, is finalized and available on-line at www.smta.org/smtai. The conference will be held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on August 17 - 21. This year’s program allows the attendee to choose from 24 courses, 100 technical papers, 4 focused symposia, and numerous free offerings throughout the conference.

Over one hundred leading edge suppliers will be featured in the SMTAI Electronics Exhibition, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, August 19 - 20. The exhibit floor is the perfect place to network and to see the industry’s latest technology.

SMTAI 2008 is loaded with educational opportunities covering Manufacturing and Assembly, Advanced Packaging, Substrates, Soldering, Business Issues and Process Control. Technical sessions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. These are 1.5 hour programs emphasizing new scientific and technical developments. Tutorials are full- and half-day educational courses offered on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. The conference proudly offers thirteen new tutorials in 2008.

Three days of the conference will contain four essential symposia. An exciting new Alternative Energy Symposium will be featured on Monday. The symposium will feature sessions on solar and fuel cell manufacturing and photovoltaics. The Evolving Technologies Summit, also on Monday, will feature sessions on New Processing Methods, Paradigm Shifts, Embedded Technologies, Solderless Assembly, and a panel consisting of experts from the user and supplier segments of the electronics industry. The Contract Manufacturing Symposium will consist of two paper sessions on Teaming for Efficient Manufacturing and Managing Our Suppliers and Ourselves. Thursday will round out the conference with the essential Lead-Free Symposium, featuring paper sessions on Lead-Free Alloy Alternatives, High Complexity, High Reliability Lead-Free Case Studies, and Lead-Free Reliability.

Many additional events at SMTA International are free to all attendees including:

• The Opening Ceremony presentation - The Ever-Changing Component - for Better or for Worse!
• Counterfeit Electronics
• Troubleshooting Yield Problems in a Lead-Free World
• iNEMI Roadmaps
• 3D Stacked Packages: Which Way to Go
• DFM: What Can No Longer Be Ignored in Today's Electronic Designs
• Board Talk
• Wii™ Lounge and Live Chat Rooms

Rounding out the program is the Keynote Address during the Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday that will feature Dr. Sharon Nunes from IBM presenting "Big Green Innovations - Innovation that Matters".

For full details and to register for SMTA International, visit smta.org/smtai or contact SMTA administrator JoAnn Stromberg: 952-920-7682 or joann@smta.org.