Chip tray with tacky surface

A tray for handling and retaining a plurality of components, wherein the tray has a rigid body portion and an elastomeric contact layer. The contact layer has a planar upper surface for contacting and retaining the components, and may be formed from a thermoplastic material having a surface energy between 20 dyne/cm and 100 dyne/cm, a hardness of between about Shore A15 and Shore D75, and a surface electrical resistivity of between about 1×10 4 ohms/square and 1×10 12 ohms/square. The material for the contact layer may be urethane, polybutylene terephthalate, polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate, styrenic block co-polymer, styrene-butadiene rubber, polyether block polyamide, or polypropylene/crosslinked EDPM rubber. The body portion may be formed from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polycarbonate, urethane, polyphenylene sulfide, polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyether imide, polysulfone, styrene acrylonitrile, polyethylene, polypropylene, fluoropolymer, polyolefin, or nylon. The body portion may have a peripheral border region and a downwardly projecting skirt portion to facilitate stacking of multiple trays. The contact layer may be divided into a grid portion defining a plurality of individual component receiving regions on the surface.