Just recently, Siemens’s Electronic Assembly Systems Division (EA) delivered the first Siplace machine made in Singapore to Jurong Technologies located in the city-state. Dr. Peter Drexel, board member of Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems, underlines, “Now, that we have set the global standard in the SMT industry, it is our declared goal to play a leadership position in Asia and set the standard here as well. I have no doubt that we will accomplish this very quickly, close to our customers, wherever they may be, and make sure that their requirements are integrated into the development of our products and services”.
The production facility was built in the short time span of only 14 months and will serve the clients globally, but especially in South-East Asia. The equipment assembly follows the Siplace strategy: by applying the global quality management processes developed in Germany, the company is able to ensure that its Singapore location will fully comply with its high quality standards. This move underscores once more the company’s commitment to the Asian market. To meet the rapidly changing demands of electronics production facilities, widening the Siplace supply chain is particularly important. To complement its German plants in Munich as well as its assembly centers in Norcross (USA) and Shanghai (China), Siplace now develops and builds new machines and refurbishes old machines at its factory in Singapore. This will reportedly allow the company to respond to the Asian market’s specific needs even better than before.
Hans-Dieter Bott, managing director of Siemens Singapore, welcomed many customers and partners, and pointed out the special role this site has as the hub of Siemens’ Asian business activities. As Tilo Brandis, head of EA, added, “Our production in Singapore is part of the global supply chain Siplace has built to service the entire SMT market worldwide. Our plants in Germany and Singapore are perfectly complemented by our assembly centers in America and China. Our international teams work closely together. Our international development teams know that they are part of a chain in which each link plays an important role”. Teo Ming Kian, chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, said thank you to the company on behalf of the government of the city-state for its commitment, and paid special tribute to his country’s good infrastructure and the high-quality supplier network.
Siemens selected Singapore as the development and manufacturing site for its Siplace activities in Asia because of the country’s ideal infrastructure and its highly educated and qualified workforce. These excellent conditions support the company’s staff in its endeavor to maximize delivery and response times. Siemens also plays an integral role in its partnership with leading Singapore universities in training highly qualified and experienced engineers, for whom there is an increasing need in Asia. Josef Ernst, managing the production facility since last year and instrumental in erecting the site, sad that the company currently employs about 130 people in design, manufacturing, quality control, production preparation, purchasing, logistics, product life cycle management, etc. He expects this number will rise quickly. “We currently manufacture Siplace HS machines, which have proven themselves in manufacturing facilities all over the world for quite some time”. In addition to this activity, Siemens is also committed in partnering with universities. So the company and representatives from Singapore’s Nanyang University signed a cooperation agreement that will further improve the training and continuing education activities in electronics production in the country for many years to come.
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