Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider EPIC Technologies (Rochester Hills, MI) has recently added two new surface-mount technology lines to its facility in Juarez, Mexico. The new Siemens lines bring EPIC's Mexico capacity to a total of seven lines. Steve Fraser, general manager of EPIC's Norwalk, OH, facility, said the company specifically uses Siemens machinery because of its quick changeover capability that allows for flexibility and accuracy.

 

Fraser said, "In addition to the new Siemens lines, we have added another EPM wave solder machine, EPM vapor phase rework station for fine pitch, flip chip and ball grid array (BGA devices) and two vapor phase inline reflow ovens in our Juarez location." 

 

The vapor phase reflow ovens use an inert Teflon solution, which will not leave a residue on the printed circuit boards that go through it. One of the advantages of vapor phase reflow ovens is the lower operating temperatures (lead solder 200^oC and lead free 230 ^oC). The company will now be poised to handle most lead-free alloys.

 

EPIC's 70,000 sq. ft. operation in Juarez opened in July 2002 with just over 100 employees. The staff grew to 260 workers last summer, with current employment in Mexico at over 600 people. In addition, the operation has implemented a 24/7 schedule since January to provide additional capacity and flexibility.  The success in Juarez has led EPIC's management to conduct a preliminary analysis to expand their Mexican operations, possibly with an additional site in late 2004.

www.epictech.biz

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SMT Resource Group LLC (SMTR, Wake Forest, NC), a reseller and integrator of new and refurbished electronics assembly equipment, is celebrating its fifth year of operations.

 

SMTR has delivered approximately 500 machines to customers worldwide during its first five years. The majority has been sold internationally, especially to Asia, where China is the biggest market, followed closely by Korea. The mix of customers includes local customers and North American companies manufacturing in Asia.

 

SMTR has increased profits every year, converting them into inventory and leveraging them into financial relationships with banks.

SMTR's Eastern Technical Center with 6,000 sq. ft. is located in Wake Forest, NC, and includes the company's administrative offices. The Central Technical Center in Temple, TX, has 50,000 sq. ft.; the Western Technical Center has 12,000 sq. ft. and is located in Concord, CA. SMTR has over 100 major pieces of equipment in inventory. Additionally, the company has sold 200 machines during the past year.

 

Eric Berg founded Encore Trading East LLC in December 1998, after a career with GE Capital, Universal Instruments and Texas Instruments. Chris Thornton founded Encore Trading West LLC in early 1999 with the intention of working with Encore Trading East. This resulted in the joint formation of Encore Trading International on April 15, 1999.

 

Malcolm Montanjees owner of Equipment Services LLC worked with Berg and Thornton at GE Capital and assisted Encore Trading Intl., which lead to formation of SMTR on Jan 1, 2002.

 

SMTR wants to recognize Dave Heller, who began with Encore Trading on April 15, 1999. Heller has worked in the used equipment business, beginning with Universal Instruments close to 20 years ago after being employed at IBM. He is now the Tech Center Manager for SMTR's Eastern facility.

www.smtresource.com

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The second phase of the Kester University Program is commencing May 21 at Kester's DesPlaines, IL, facility. Kester is offering a two-day, hands on training seminar at its headquarters.

 

Kester recognizes the many changes required to effectively implement lead-free assembly reliably without reduction in production output and has created a program to assist customers wishing to go lead free. Courses are offered to train personnel in lead-free surface-mount technology, wave soldering and rework. The courses bring practical knowledge and experience to the user, enabling the fulfillment of a company's training requirements and the rapid implementation of lead-free assembly.

Kester University also offers consulting services to companies wishing to troubleshoot specific soldering assembly issues with lead-free or traditional tin-lead soldering. These services include solderability analysis, x-ray analysis, micro-sectioning, line audits, soldering process implementation and optimization.

 

Before beginning any project, Kester's engineers assess a company's specific issues and recommend a detailed action plan. At the project's completion, the company is supplied with a complete engineering report.

 

www.kester.com

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