Press Releases
BRONSCHHOFEN – Cicor Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: CICN) announces today the successful completion of the strategic supply partnership with Mercury Mission Systems International S.A. (Mercury) announced in April.
As part of the partnership, Cicor has acquired Mercury’s electronics manufacturing site in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland, as planned. The site comprises 34 employees. Mercury and Cicor have agreed to transfer production to Cicor’s sites in Newport (UK) and Bronschhofen (Switzerland) over the next 18 months.
Mercury has committed to sourcing products from Cicor over the next five years. Furthermore, both companies intend to strengthen their strategic partnership in the long term, which is expected to generate additional revenue in the future.
Cicor was selected as Mercury’s preferred outsourcing partner thanks to its technological expertise, comprehensive development and manufacturing capabilities, and strong presence throughout Europe. The acquisition of seven Eolane sites in France and Morocco in April 2025, combined with the announced signing of a share purchase agreement to acquire MADES S.A.U. in Spain, further strengthens Cicor’s position as the leading pan-European provider of mission-critical electronic solutions in the aerospace and defence sector.
TAMIL, INDIA – Test Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading test and inspection systems provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce that ZETWERK Electronics has integrated TRI's Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) and Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) solutions into its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. These advanced inspection solutions were delivered through TRI's trusted distributor in India, Test & Research India.
The grand inauguration of ZETWERK Electronics' cutting-edge manufacturing facility in Thiruvallur marks a significant advancement in India's electronics manufacturing sector, reinforcing the country's growing influence in the global supply chain.
By integrating TRI's AOI and SPI solutions, ZETWERK ensures the highest standards of precision, efficiency, and quality in its production processes. These advanced systems enhance manufacturing accuracy, reduce defects, and optimize production workflows.
CalcuQuote Enhances Automated Volume Price Negotiation Feature to Streamline Forecast-Based Sourcing
DALLAS, TX – CalcuQuote, a leading supply chain solutions provider for the electronics industry, is excited to announce that it has improved its automated volume price negotiation capability. This innovative feature helps electronics OEMs and EMS providers efficiently negotiate and secure pricing based on forecasted demand, dramatically simplifying one of the most time-consuming and critical aspects of strategic sourcing.
In a market where supply chain predictability and cost control are essential, CalcuQuote’s solution empowers purchasing teams with the tools to automate annual and volume-based pricing negotiations. By leveraging accurate demand forecasts and centralized supplier communication, the system delivers faster turnarounds, improved supplier alignment, and long-term cost savings.
Additional benefits to the upgraded feature include:
- Reduced total cost of ownership and landed cost
- Improved purchase price variance (PPV)
- Improved supplier relations, including the potential to qualify for supplier awards
- Increased cost and risk visibility/transparency across the sourcing process
“This enhanced capability reflects our continued commitment to digitizing and optimizing the electronics supply chain,” said Kurt Gehring, VP of Product. “With automated volume price negotiation, our customers can streamline sourcing strategies, strengthen supplier partnerships, and make smarter, more proactive purchasing decisions.”
The feature integrates directly into CalcuQuote’s quoting and procurement ecosystem, enabling users to:
- Automatically send structured RFQs to suppliers based on projected volumes or annual demand
- Evaluate pricing tiers and supplier responses in real-time
- Compare offers across multiple scenarios
- Lock in negotiated pricing to support future builds and minimize manual entry errors
Already embraced by several leading electronics manufacturers, the feature has shown significant time savings in multi-line sourcing events and has improved the consistency of pricing across high-volume parts.
To further showcase this capability, CalcuQuote is hosting a live webinar on June 11, offering a closer look at the functionality, use cases, and customer success stories. Attendees will learn how to use existing data to automate structured supplier communications and drive complex pricing negotiations — with improved visibility and control of the process.
Round Rock, TX – JOptel Software Inc., a global provider of smart software solutions for the electronics assembly industry, announces that Axiom Electronics has deployed Optel software’s dynamic production scheduling, component, process, and quality traceability and business intelligence solutions at its plant in Hillsboro, Oregon. For more than three decades, Axiom Electronics has been an electronics contract manufacturer specializing in high-reliability military, aerospace, and space hardware.
“Optel’s comprehensive software tools have leveled up our manufacturing capabilities, allowing us to easily track material and serialized assemblies on our production floor. Implementing Optel MES streamlined several cumbersome administrative processes and improved our efficiency by allowing combined machine job setups and reducing non-value activities like machine changeover while providing us with important metrics and statistics we need to measure our KPIs.
Throughout the implementation process and continuing to this day, Optel’s service and technical support has been world class. Its creative approaches to problem solving and willingness to aid us in developing solutions for our most pressing production challenges has made them a valuable partner in our business,” said Michael Brinkley, Manufacturing Engineer and MES Implementation Manager Axiom Electronics LLC.
Optel is an integrated software suite of smart solutions for dynamic production scheduling, line balancing, multi-vendor machine programming and optimization, real-time materials management, component and process traceability, and quality management. This integrated offering is supported by the company’s extensive application experience to help electronics assembly manufacturers achieve their production, cost, and quality goals.
For more information, visit www.optelco.com.
About Optel Software Inc.
Optel Software is a global provider of innovative software solutions for the control and optimization of electronics assembly processes. The company’s flagship product, Optel™, has been used in production at F500 companies since 1998, delivering a true Lean Manufacturing environment with an incredibly short return on investment (ROI). To learn more, visit www.optelco.com.
Altus Group, a leading distributor of capital equipment for the electronics industry in the UK and Ireland, has reinforced its commitment to support excellence by investing extensively in training and upskilling its engineering team.
Central to Altus’ strategy is delivering value-added support across the full electronics assembly process not just at the point of sale. By maintaining the largest technical team in the region, Altus ensures customers benefit from accessible, responsive, and knowledgeable service. This year, the company has invested significant time and resources into enhancing the team’s technical capabilities through a wide-ranging training programme.
Engineers recently completed refreshed IPC training delivered by Advanced Rework Technology (ART), ensuring alignment with the latest industry standards. This builds on ongoing internal cross-training, supplier-accredited sessions, and application-based development. Additional training in areas such as conformal coating and oven profiling further supports Altus’ ability to deliver deep process knowledge and robust technical insight to customers.
Mike Todd, Senior Operations and Planning at Altus Group, said: “We’ve dedicated a substantial portion of the past year to upskilling our team, and it’s something we’re extremely proud of. It’s a significant investment, but the benefits are clear, both for our engineers, who gain greater job satisfaction and personal development opportunities, and for our customers, who work with a more capable and knowledgeable support team. This broader understanding of manufacturing processes helps us improve new installations, resolve breakdowns more quickly, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.”
Investing in professional development allows Altus to provide customers with more than just equipment it also enables value-added support across the full electronics assembly process, delivered by engineers with practical, up-to-date knowledge.
For more information, visit www.altusgroup.co.uk.
JALISCO, MEXICO ― SMarTsol Technologies, the largest technical services and equipment provider for North and Central America, has announced strategic plans to expand its service and support infrastructure throughout the United States. The move follows a period of sustained growth and strong demand across Mexico and South America.
Ivan Romo, Director of SMarTsol Technologies, explains the rising importance of North American manufacturing and the need for suppliers to deliver faster, more localized support: “We see increasing demand for agility, technical depth, and immediate availability of equipment and support. Our U.S. expansion will allow us to bring our proven service model and stocked inventory closer to where our customers are making critical production decisions.”
SMarTsol represents more than 20 globally recognized brands, including ASMPT, Nordson Test & Inspection, KYZEN, Kurtz Ersa, and Heller Industries, providing solutions across capital equipment, test and measurement, automation, consumables, and materials. Its unique approach combines in-depth process knowledge with rapid deployment capabilities, backed by one of the region’s most experienced technical service teams.
One of the company’s competitive advantages is its ability to deliver advanced production equipment from stock, eliminating long lead times and enabling customers to move quickly on new production opportunities. This capability, along with its expanding U.S.-based support network, is designed to meet the needs of OEMs and EMS providers looking for both speed and reliability in a high-mix, high-tech environment.
“Our customers don’t want to wait months for answers or equipment,” Romo noted. “They want a partner who is ready today, not someday. That’s what sets us apart.”
With additional investment planned in technical staff, regional logistics, and U.S. demo infrastructure, SMarTsol is positioning itself to become the go-to partner for electronics manufacturers throughout North America.
For additional information about SMarTsol Technologies’ products and services, visit www.SMarTsol america.com.
