Finding common ground in Central Europe

The aim of the conference was to establish a common communication platform, and provide opportunities for participants to hear presentations on current industry issues, and experience the latest technologies developed by DEK Printing Machines. The SMT market is growing fast in Romania and Bulgaria – thanks to a highly-qualified local workforce, and their recent membership of NATO – and the medium- and long-term predictions are very optimistic. Production costs in neighbouring countries are rising, while China cannot always offer the best quality/cost ratio, making the area an attractive prospect. The conference, which focused on SMT-related subjects, started with a brief introduction to DEK’s Central Europe office and its activities. Set up in Gyor, Hungary, five years ago, the office covers a wide area including all the countries in Eastern and Central Europe. There are engineers from Hungary, Romania and Czech Republic all working within the Engineering Department, supporting customers throughout the whole area. Laser cut stencil manufacturing is a major activity, and DEK has become the key stencils provider in Eastern and Central Europe during the last five years. The latest technologies developed by DEK were presented to the delegates, including the VectorGuard™, PumpPrint™ and ProFlex™ stencil systems, the DEK Instinctiv™ interface, DEK Interactiv connectivity, GridLok™ and FormFlex™ tooling support systems, Hawkeye verification system and the new Micron Class platform for printers, represented by Europa. The subject which inspired the most heated debate was the phasing in of lead free pastes and alloys. Renowned expert Dr. Eng. Thomas Ahrens from Institut Siliziumtechnologie Fraunhofer, Germany and Eng. Cristian Tudor from Indium Corporation of Europe both shared their views, and stimulated debate. The second part of the day was interactive, with hands-on workshops based on the subjects discussed during the morning, giving delegates an opportunity to explore answers to the most pressing questions, and establish dialogues on common topics. The conference – the first of its type ever organized in Romania – attracted delegates from companies including Solectron Timisoara (world leader in PCB manufacturing), Intrarom Bucharest, Novar Electric Lugoj, ROEL Bucharest, Kuhnke Relee Sibiu, Linetron IP Cluj-Napoca, AEE Bacau, ICCO EMT Brasov, TeleTek Sofia and Syscoset Sofia.