John Crawford From the EMPF HelpLine asked:

>We have a HelpLine requester trying to locate a source for a solder
>brand/type called ALMIT. Best info our in-house solder folks have is that
>the Japanese company is no longer distributing in US themselves, but have
>partnered with one of the US companies. Can anyone assist with a US source.
>The customer requiring this is in the Minneapolis area.  Thanks! Jack

Ah, so: Nihon Almit Co., Ltd.

The U.S. rep used to be:

Seika Corporation
20000 Mariner Ave., #100
Torrance, CA 90503
213-373-0404

It may have changed, but they can probably tell you who. Seika is really a
trading company.

The Almit KR-19RA and KR-19RMA flux cored wire solder are interesting
products. KR-19R will solder aluminum! I believe the flux chemistry is
based on rosin activated with fluorinated hydrocarbons, but the RMA flux
will pass the Bellcore test with no cleaning. I have a spool of the RMA
solder in my desk, and some samples of the RA at home for those situations
where magic solder is required. Absolutely killer stuff, it will wet metal
you would never believe until you see it.

They tried to make a market penetration in the US a number of years ago,
but have sort of retreated. I hear there are several big users who still
swear by the stuff, though. Just another example of the magic of
chemistry...


Jerry Cupples
Interphase Corporation
Dallas, TX
http://www.iphase.com