For over 40 years, ED&A has been developing and producing customized electronic controllers for consumer and industrial applications. The company, based in Kalmthout, Belgium, is more than just a supplier, describing itself as the “in-house electronics department” for its customers. As part of a recent expansion of its production capacity, the developer has expanded its machinery portfolio with the addition of an Ersa Versaflow 4/55 selective soldering system.
Background
ED&A was founded in 1981 by Agnes Francken and her husband Flor D´Handschotter, who was at that point working as a teacher of electronics. The idea to start a company was sparked after a student’s father asked Flor to develop a controller for a coffee machine. Not content with simply saying, “yes, let’s do it”, he seized the opportunity and founded his own business. It took four years before the enterprise hired its first two employees – and both are still within the company. Fast forward 37 years and ED&A employs 110 people (50 in production) and reported a turnover of over 25 million Euros last year. 20% of business takes place in Belgium, the rest is for export. In 2009, Gert D´Handschotter took over management of the business from his parents.
Centrally located in Kalmthout with a production area totalling 5,000m2, the company’s current focus is on the development and production of custom-made electronics for innovative machine and appliance manufacturers, such as makers of washing machines, ventilation systems, heat pumps, coffee, and baked goods machines.
In-house production
On 8 October 2012, ED&A took the groundbreaking step of opening its own production facility with the help of various systems, including a number of Ersa soldering machines. Having previously outsourced all its manufacturing, mainly to Belgium and Romania, the decision to manufacture its own designs in-house was made after intensive evaluation and research. The quality of the outsourced electronic assemblies did not always meet requirements and an increasing number of bottlenecks was affecting
production capacity.
One person was central to the transformation: Eric Vets. Vets joined ED&A in November 2011, and brought with him many years’ experience of electronics production working for a large mobile phone manufacturer where he had become very familiar with Ersa systems (provided via Belgian representative Smans NV). After one day on board, Eric and the ED&A team went to the Productronica trade show in Munich to see the Ersa portfolio up close. Shortly afterwards, they ordered a Hotflow 3/14e reflow machine, a Versaflow 3/45 selective machine, a Versaprint 2 stencil printer and an HR 600 Rework System. Driven by Eric, ED&A went on to invest in a top-class machine park with state-of-the-art soldering systems, which, among other things, enabled full inline X-ray inspection of every PCB and comprehensive digitization of production with traceability down to the component level.
“Of course, it was a big challenge to begin an electronics manufacturing operation from scratch – we actually had zero experience until we started production in the fall of 2012,” Gert D´Handschotter recalls. “Eric and his extensive experience in electronics manufacturing were worth their weight in gold for ED&A, it was an absolute win-win situation for everyone involved – otherwise it would have been very difficult to get such a production up and running,” says Tom Berx, Ersa Sales Manager responsible for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg at the time. Eric retired in 2017, but he, together with the ED&A team, had initiated a development that allowed the company to grow to its current size. “The local support from the Smans team, who is not far away with its headquarters in Turnhout, was invaluable, especially at the beginning,” says D´Handschotter. For every machine ED&A has ordered, quality has always been the most important factor. This is where Eric´s expertise came in, as he had had the most experience with high-quality machines. “Our goal with our own production was to become the leader in terms of production quality in Belgium. We succeeded in this, and the Ersa systems we ordered initially and subsequently have contributed significantly to this,” D´Handschotter adds.
More flexibility, more speed
Since starting its own production line, the company has reduced lead times by more than 60% while increasing product quality by a factor of 10 (compared to its previously outsourced manufacturing model). A few years after starting, the selective Versaflow 3 machine was exchanged for the larger Versaflow 4 model with four solder pots and two flux heads (at that time, the first system of its kind in Belgium). The highly modular character of the large 4/55 machine offers a great deal of freedom of configuration and meets high process and qualitative productivity standards. This results in reliably repeatable solder joints, as well as complete documentation of all individual process parameters.
Another such system was installed at the end of February. This time, the company invested in a
Versaflow 4/55 with six solder pots with y/z-variable double crucible, power convection and automatic nozzle activation for processing PCBs with a maximum size of 508 x 508 mm. Just recently, a service technician from Ersa was on site at the company for three days to help to, as D´Handschotter put it, “breathe even more flexibility and speed into the machine – whether in soldering or through appropriate programming.” The machine operators, who are up to date on selective soldering technologies, took a lot away from this visit, learning from a technician who has accompanied the machine since the start of its development and knows it inside out, down to the smallest screw. “The ED&A team is really fit [regarding] the process and continuously wants to get even more out of the machine, which of course benefits the customer in the end,” says D´Handschotter.
“Factory of the Future”
This is something that has also been recognized externally by the “Factory of the Future” designation, which ED&A received for the third time this year (as well as in 2016 and 2019). The award, which stems from an initiative by the Belgian technology association Agoria & Sirris, evaluates “seven pillars of transformation” every three years.
“Of course, we make sure that our colleagues and engineers leave the manufacturing site once in a while in order to stay up to date, or to take a look at other productions,” says D´Handschotter. “For us, this is a fundamental part of it. We cannot stand still if we want to continue to be among the best in electronics manufacturing in Belgium and beyond.
“A ‘factory of the future’ is not created by a great machine park alone,” he adds. “This can only be realized with the outstanding commitment of highly motivated employees – and in cooperation with our business partners at home and abroad.”
When ED&A now looks back, ten years later, to the start of its own production, it is clear it has experienced a massive surge in development. Whereas, at that time, the company employed 25 to 30 people and generated five million in sales, today’s workforce numbers 110 and sales recently reached five times that amount. The fact that it manufacturers its own products means the company can respond to changes more quickly and flexibly from the development stage onwards. In the future, when new demands pop up and a renewed SMD line investment is on the cards once again, Ersa soldering systems will at the top of the list for ED&A decision-makers.
“After ten years, we have gotten to know each other well, have a stable business partnership and know what our teams and systems are capable of – we are looking forward to the next decade and a strong continued cooperation,” says D´Handschotter.
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