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38 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2026 A RT I C L E BY P H I L I P P E L E O N A R D, G LO B A L E L ECT R O N I C S A S S O C I AT I O N China Leads Hand Soldering World Championship R egional champions from around the world gathered excitedly at productronica in Munich this past November with one goal: to be crowned the world hand-soldering champion by the Global Electronics Association. Hand soldering is a significant process in printed circuit board assembly. Adhering to pro- cedures, standards, and best practices enables the production of high-quality and reliable solder joints. After two days of competition, the 16 regional champions from 12 countries completed a com- plex circuit board assembly in accordance with IPC-A-610 Class 3 criteria. The assemblies were judged on functionality, process compliance, and overall product quality. Participants were given a maximum of 60 minutes to complete the assembly. Contestants came from the following coun- tries: Saudi Arabia, Estonia, France, Australia, China, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, and Hungary. Taking top honors in the 2025 Hand Solder- ing World Championship were: • First Place: Ms. Yan Yang, ZhuZhou CRRC Times Electric Co. (China), who scored 871 out of a maxi- mum possible of 887 points • Second Place: Ms. Eva Gobet, Thales Six GTS (France), who scored 843 out of 887 points maxi- mum possible • Third Place: Mr. Peter Richard Zsombok, BHE Bonn Hungary Elektronik KFT (Hungary), with a final score of 840 out of 887 points maximum possible "The Global Electronics Association extends its thanks and congratulations to all the participants, companies, judges, and staff for their invaluable support and exper- tise throughout the competition week," said Philippe Leonard, Europe director, Global Electronics Associa- tion. "We look forward to an exciting year, marked by the 2026 HSC Qualification Rounds and the introduc- tion of a new competition variant: the CWH-Cable and Wire Harness Competition, which will begin in Europe in February 2026." Gold sponsors were Weller Tools and JBC Soldering. Silver sponsors were Optilia, Almit, Group ACB, Poly- gone CAO, Davum TMC, SFM – Société Française de Microscopie. SMT007 (Turn to page 40 for our photo gallery.)