Escatec invests in Malaysia

Escatec has just completed a 2.5 million dollar (8 million ringgit) upgrade program at its contract manufacturing facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. This complete refurbishment of the factory included new electronic assembly machines and new plastic moulding machines with robotic load/unload systems. In addition, the layout has been re-organised as part of Escatec's Lean Project to improve throughput and operational efficiency. Juha Arola, General Manager, Escatec Mechatronics Malaysia, added, "Continuous investment to provide the best facilities for our customers is a key philosophy of Escatec as we always aim to deliver quality and reliability at a competitive price. Most of our rivals are continually cutting corners and skimping on investment as their business model is to win business by being the cheapest tender. Our customers come to us because they want us to make products for them that reflect the quality of their brand that they have invested and built up over the years - products that fail in the field can quickly destroy a brand's reputation. We combine Swiss quality with high volume, low cost production in Asia." The Plastic Injection Moulding Department has five new Arburg plastic injection moulding machines (two of 50 tons and three of 100 tons) to bring the total number of machines up to twenty, ten new Yushin robotic arms, eleven new Mould Temperature Controllers and thirteen Z-type conveyers. This increased automation not only improves the quality and yield but also significantly improves efficiency. The Electronic Assembly Department has added a Yamaha YS100 and a YS24 Pick and Place machines with electronic feeders, two SAKI in-line AOI inspection machine, a Nikon X-Ray Machine, a DEN-ON BGA rework station, an Asymtek solder paste dispensing machine, a stencil cleaning machine, a pallet cleaning machine, a 3D solder paste inspection machine and feeder calibration equipment. Christophe Albin, Escatec's Founder and Executive Chairman, concluded, "The most successful technology companies, such as our customers, always lead the way out of a recession with innovation and new products. Even in the recent, difficult economic environment, we continued to invest not only in new manufacturing facilities but also in our most important asset - our skilled staff - to ensure that we are better positioned to service customers as the world economy recovers."