AUSTIN, TX—Samsung will spend $4 billion renovating its factory here, where it produces chips used in smart phones and tablet computers.

WEST CALDWELL, NJ—MaxLite, a manufacturer of energy-efficient lighting, has established its first U.S. assembly line and expanded its workforce.

BANNOCKBURN, IL—Electronics manufacturing operations with a total value of at least $2.5 billion are expected to be brought to North America in the next three years, according to a new study published by the IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries.

HUIZHOU, China—A Chinese supplier for Korean electronics giant Samsung uses children to make its products, hits workers on the factory floor, and punishes workers who make mistakes by forcing them to stand all daylong or write “self-criticism” reports, according to a labor advocacy group.

BANNOCKBURN, IL—The IPC has released its first standard covering the solder paste printing process.

THORNTON, CO—Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. will make solar panels to help power Foxconn’s new electronics assembly plant in Zhenzhou City, China.

WASHINGTON—More jobs will be coming back to the United States from offshore locations during the next eight years, according to a new report by CoreNet Global, an association of corporate real estate executives.

BROMONT, Canada—A public-private partnership has opened a new, $218 million research center here that will focus on microelectronics testing, assembly and packaging.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—A thin nickel barrier will slow the rate of intermetallic growth between the base metal and surface plating on component leads.