BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, March 10, 2015 — The fourth annual IPC Hand Soldering World Championship at IPC APEX EXPO® on February 26 drew eight competitors from around the world. Victors from IPC hand soldering competitions in China, Europe, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States were challenged with building a functional electronics assembly within a one-hour time limit.

Completing the championship round with a nearly perfect score of 247 points out of 248, Min Seok Kim, Samsung Thales Company Limited (Korea), was crowned champion, earning him a $1,000 cash prize, a new Metcal MX5210 soldering station and bragging rights as the world's best hand solderer.

Also with a score of 247 points but with a slightly slower time, Hidemasa Kihara, Toshiba Design & Manufacturing Service (Japan), earned second place in the championship.

Hasrol Mizam B. Hassan, HGST Technologies (Malaysia), took third place with a score of 244.

Assemblies were judged by Master IPC Trainers, Helena Pasquito, EPTAC Corporation; Robert Fornefeld, L-3 Communications; and Shelly Holt, L-3 Communications.

“Those who cheered on the competitors got a first-hand look at the best-of-the-best hand soldering talent across the globe,” said Kris Roberson, IPC manager of certification product development and competition coordinator. “We look forward to the upcoming hand soldering competitions taking place in Europe and Asia.

"IPC thanks Premier Sponsors, EasyBraid Company, JBC Tools and Metcal; as well as our Supporting Sponsors, Balver Zinn Cobar and Vision Engineering for their support of the IPC Hand Soldering World Championship,” added Roberson.                               

For information on upcoming IPC Hand Soldering Competitions, visit www.ipc.org/hsc.

About IPC
IPC ( www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,600 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Washington, D.C.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore and New Delhi, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.