Keywords
Citation
(2002), "APW plans second phase of capacity expansion at southampton", Circuit World, Vol. 28 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2002.21728dab.015
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
APW plans second phase of capacity expansion at southampton
Keyword: APW
(EETimes) APW Electronic Solutions has embarked on the second phase of a $21m capacity expansion and technology upgrade at its PCB plant in Hedge End, near Southampton.
The company has completed the first round, worth $16.5m, and is now in production on a line where it has effectively replaced all the existing equipment. It has also put Class 10 000 cleanroom conditions in place across the factory floor.
A total of 200 people work at Hedge End with around 140 involved in production.
Tim Froome, head of the PCB operation at Hedge End, said: "Bar the odd chair or corner cabinet, there is nothing in there that is anything other than right up-to-date.''
The company has approved $4.5m for the second phase, which will add selected pieces of production equipment according to demand. APW has installed placement and test machines for ball grid array packages, but will only install X-ray inspection once demand has built up for backplanes with active devices on them.
"The big drivers [for the investment] were capacity and technology enhancement,'' said Froome. "We can do super-large, super-complex technically-challenging products. We are looking at a 20-fold capacity increase.
"One other factor was lead time improvement. The selection of the equipment took account of that. We can have prototypes assembled and tested in a two- to three-week cycle. We can then take series production through the same equipment.''
Froome says there will be steady increases in the workforce over time, but these will not be dictated by the improvement in capacity. The line is highly automated, can handle a high mix of products and improve yields without needing more staff.
"We have things like automated handling systems, which allow us to avoid in-process handling damage. That is absolutely critical on the large panels we are using,'' said Froome.