Darekon invests in its production

The firm has invested in a completely new SMT production line at manufacturing plant in Haapavesi, Finland. The current situation surrounding COVID-19 has remained somewhat placid at all of Darekon’s four plants. Operations are in line with the new normal and the company has seen no cases of COVID-19 so far, Darekon states in a press release. The strong increase in intensive care units and other growing needs for medical care in the world has been reflected in the strong growth in demand for certain products at Darekon. “The pandemic has caused us an explosion in the demand for certain products,” says Antti Järviluoma, plant director at Haapavesi. “For example, if the annual production of one product has been 20,000 pieces, the same quantity should now be produced in three months. This indicates the scale of the situation.” In light of this sharp increase in demand, the decision to invest in a new production line was taken and the new line began operating in early May. In addition to an assembly machine and a reflow oven, the investment includes a paste printing machine, an automatic optical inspection machine and a selective soldering machine. The new line will almost double the plant’s SMT production capacity. “We are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic – in a valuable and important position,” Järviluoma continues. “The staff understands the situation and is very committed. The acquisition and installation of the new line was achieved in record time. The normal delivery time for machines from all over Europe is 10 to 12 weeks, but we received the equipment on a ‘bypass lane’ in a few weeks.” With the new equipment, new personnel was also needed at Haapavesi. The current number of more than 100 people has increased and will increase by about 10 to 15 more people. The total value of the investment at Haapavesi comes in at about EUR 1.2 million.