2013 is a year of exciting changes and opportunities!
In April we begin the asset acquisition process of one of our competitors – Asemco. Over a period of several months we transition most customers, some equipment and a good number of employees to the Schippers & Crew location. It is a win-win for S&C and Asemco as we increase our customer base and the owner of Asemco is free to pursue other interests.
In support of the transition of customers, we acquire another new Europlacer Iineo Pick & Place machine! This adds a large amount of capacity to our shop, and it is a platform which our employees are well used to.
The additional work also spurs expansion of our space – in August we add 5000 square feet of space to our shop. This becomes our inventory room and purchasing office area, in addition to storage. This enables expansion of our SMT area and gives us more flexibility for all types of production including box build.
Near the end of the year we decide to invest in an ACE Selective Soldering machine – a make that we’ve been evaluating for some time. This gives us more flexibility in our assembly processes, and should increase through-put on selected soldering operations which are usually done manually.
Overall it is a very busy but rewarding year and we look forward to 2014!