“Scale is vital for a company operating worldwide in the automation sector”, Baren says, “Prodel’s entry into the IPTE group strengthens our European market coverage”. In addition to its centers in Belgium and Germany, the company now has a technology center in France. This has a positive effect for existing IPTE clients in France, where the company will also become a stronger player. Prodel’s product range and expertise, focusing on mechanical automation, complements IPTE’s product and technology platform. “This enables us to offer a most extensive platform of products and technological solutions to both existing and new clients,” Huub Baren concludes. “The takeover gives us an opportunity to further extend know-how and experience within a strong European group. Combining the two companies’ staff, expertise and solutions enables us to offer a total package to our clients,” Prodel’s managing director Pascal Walter asserts.
Prodel was founded in 1958, to supply assembly solutions. The company specialized in automated transport systems and assembly technology for the automobile, consumer goods and electrical appliance industries. Prodel employs 80 people at its French headquarters (vicinity of Paris) and at its facilities in Dallas (USA) and Frankfurt (Germany). The group achieved sales of about €8m in 2002.
IPTE (Integrated Production and Test Engineering) founded in Belgium back in 1992 initially pursued a solution concept for the automation of board and product tests. Today, the group has a far larger position in electronics manufacturing, and employs a staff worldwide of more than 1,200. The idea of providing univer-sally applicable solutions has remained, but now the offering is the entire area of manufacturing automation. Since the acquisition of some EMS (electronics manufacturing services) companies, IPTE has become operational in this business.
“We will perform as the leading independent global automation partner for the electronics industry, and at the same time as a high-end subcontractor for professional prod-ucts,” underlines co-founder Huub Baren. In providing customized or application-specific equipment for the electronics industry, IPTE has reportedly become the market leader. From Europe, the business activities have been extended into the US. In the meantime, Asia also plays a decisive role in the group’s strategy. As a result, two offices opened in Shenzen and Shanghai. As Baren explains, “We accompany our customers to all their global production sites. Only this way can effective and optimized solutions be provided to the global players”. As a result, IPTE is present in about 20 countries at the moment. Currently, the group has its own offices or facilities respectively in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Germany, France, Sweden, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Romania, USA, China and Singapore.
The product portfolio consists mainly of turnkey solutions for the automated board test, of automation equipment for in-circuit and functional tests, of modules for board handling and configurations of production lines, as well as of customized application engineering tasks. The Optronics division is focused on equipment based on opto-electronics and highly precise mechanical systems. At the engineering and production center in Fürth, Germany, PCB depaneling machines, equipment for odd-form assembly as well as manufacturing cells for the cus-tomized production lines are found, as well as product design and prototype development. Solutions for the automated tests of PCBs and assemblies are being engineered in France, the specialist facility also for the test of wireless products. The Singapore division is concentrated on board handling, to deliver automated conveyors, loaders and magazines as well as complete end-of-line assembly configurations.
In the area of subcontracting, the offerings include the manufacture of glass fiber, coaxial, LAN and other communications cables of all kinds. Additionally, board assembly (SMD placement and manual insertion), soldering (wave and reflow) and automated tests (in-circuit and functional) are offered.
Taking into account this wealth of expertise in different but complementing areas of technology, Huub Baren resumes: “We have now more than 200 employees solely focused on engineering of manufacturing automation solutions. You would barely find another company in our business corner which can offer the same capacity in Europe, and on this basis we are able to efficiently provide application-specific solutions”. (gbw)
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