Electronics provider Electrica has completed a £1.2m investment programme to boost its ability to deliver premium products and shorter lead times to customers in some of the world’s most performance-driven and highly regulated sectors.
The UK firm designs, develops and manufactures complex electronic hardware, firmware and mechanical solutions in-house. Its four-year investment initiative has already enabled it to elevate the quality and reliability of its products – its yield stands at over 99.6% and its return rate 0.2% – while efficiency and productivity continue to surge, facilitating competitive lead times.
Capital investments include a suite of world-class equipment, including Europlacer ii-P7 paste screen printers, Hanwha SM482PLUS surface mount machines, a Heller 1810 MK7 10-zone oven which promotes first-pass yields on high-volume and complex jobs. Electrica has also elevated its inspection capabilities, with the introduction of a Unicomp AX8200max X-ray machine and a Mirtec MV-3 OMNI 3D AOI machine.
The company has redeveloped its premises, installing in-house nitrogen generation equipment, electrostatic discharge (ESD) flooring and a dedicated test room. Its workshop has been reconfigured and the entire space has been optimised to increase production capacity and efficiency.
Investment in skills is a priority for the family firm, which was established in 2003 and still includes many of its original team. Last year alone, the firm undertook a £35K staff development programme, including Institute of Printed Circuits (IPC) training for the entire manufacturing department, delivered by its internal IPC trainer.
Electrica’s 32-strong team continues to grow, with recent recruits including two new design engineers and a technical product-manager, along with additional production staff.
The investments will enable Electrica to enhance its offer to customers in industries such as security and surveillance, scientific instrumentation, automotive, food and beverage and building management systems, which range from small businesses to some of the world’s leading brands.
Said materials director, Mike Nield: “This scale of investment is unheard of for a company of our size. It’s this level of ambition that has seen us become one of the few SME intelligent electronics providers to offer design as well as product development and manufacturing under one roof.
“Our customers trust us to bring their projects to life while they focus on core activities, and our investment will enable us to do this to an even higher standard and more efficiently than ever before, allowing them to compete on a global scale.
“We’re moving forward with agility and are already planning our next phase of investment.”
For further details, please visit electrica.co.uk
