Plexus Corp., a global provider of optimised Product Realisation solutions, has introduced a new Surface Mount Technology (SMT) placement line into its manufacturing facility in Kelso.
The £1.6M investment brings state of the art technology, including:
• ASM pick and place equipment
• DEK screen printer
• Camalot adhesive dispensing
• Speedline omnimax reflow oven
With electronics manufacturing operations becoming increasingly sophisticated, original equipment manufacturers expect the latest technical equipment from manufacturing partners. Incorporating equipment with the latest technological advancements provides more opportunities to ensure complex products that meet ever-increasing technical standards, are manufactured faster and with improved accuracy and quality. This reduces the time it takes for products to get to market and gives a substantial competitive advantage to original equipment manufacturers.
The new SMT placement line increases the capability of Plexus’ UK manufacturing operations, enhancing the service offering by adding the advanced technological capabilities. The new equipment will be populating 01005 components, fine pitch CSP devices and deliver package on package technology. It also completes the refresh of all of SMT equipment across the two Plexus manufacturing sites in the UK and provides the opportunity to run dedicated ASM scheduling software to sequence change-overs and minimise downtime.
Following last year’s extensive expansion of its UK design and manufacturing operations in Livingston (an investment of £9M) Plexus’ latest purchase is testament to the company’s continued commitment to providing manufacturing solutions in the EMEA region.
Frank Zycinski, VP operations EMEA at Plexus commented: “We understand that having the latest leading edge equipment is key to providing the best possible manufacturing services for our customers, which enables them to reduce the overall time to market of their products. This investment comes less than 12 months after the substantial expansion of Plexus’ UK manufacturing facilities and it is demand that has driven this decision to invest further our capabilities in the UK.”
