Speedboard Assembly Services, a Windsor based Contract Electronics Manufacturer, is pleased to announce that it has been shortlisted for the prestigious Elektra award under the category of ‘Manufacturer of the Year’. The award is in recognition of individual success stories and technical and business achievements which will be recognised and presented to an international audience in December.
Record Growth
Speedboard closed its 2014-15 financial year (ending 30th June 2015) with a turnover of £9.23 million. This was up 24% on the previous year and in a market that grew by only 4% over the same period (according to the Plimsoll Summary Analysis report on UK Contract Electronics Manufacturing). Moreover, Speedboard turned over £11.10m; up circa 20% on the previous FY.
Collaborative not transactional
Key to Speedboard’s success is that its customer engagements are increasingly ‘collaborative’ as opposed to ‘transactional’. Speedboard acts like a virtual shop floor for most customers and plays a far greater role in Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT) than is the case under a traditional outsourcing arrangement.
Award-winning NPI support
Collaborative engagements are particularly productive during New Product Introductions (NPIs), and in September 2015 Speedboard received an Outstanding Customer Service award from motion capture specialist Vicon Motion Systems Ltd in recognition of support given leading up to and during the launch of a range of high-tech cameras.
For that project, Speedboard employed its bespoke NPI assembly model, which extends beyond a typical build-to-print scenario by including an early review of the Bill of Material, the securing of long lead time items and considerable DFM and DFT guidance. The CEM also rose to both technical and logistical challenges. Specifically, the cameras’ circuit boards required leading-edge assembly techniques (including Vapour Phase and Selective Soldering) and, when demand for Vicon’s new camera far exceeded expectations, Speedboard coped with a last-minute 50% increase to already demanding launch quantities.
Dedicated Customer Support Teams
Also key to Speedboard’s collaborative CEM-customer engagements model is its formation of customer teams. Each has a Senior Account Manager, an Account Manager, a Production Engineer and a Buyer. Each customer also has an Account Director. This involvement of Speedboard’s directors is reflective of the CEM’s commitment to the success and strategic growth of its customers. Also, in January 2016, Speedboard appointed two additional directors, an Operations Director and a Supply Chain Director, for better serving the immediate and future needs of its customers.
Continuous quality improvements
Continuous quality improvement is also part of Speedboard’s success, and the CEM is just a little over a year into its journey to becoming certified under the SC21 supply-chain improvement programme. Though SC21 was developed and is managed by the trade organisation ADS for companies operating in the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, Speedboard is embracing the programme to demonstrate its capabilities in all industries in which efficiency provides a competitive edge.
High Customer Retention
Speedboard is a financially stable company and its owners were previously customers, which has instilled an extremely customer-focused approach to business and is reflected in the CEM’s high customer retention rate. Speedboard’s longest standing customer has now been working with the CEM for over 23 years.
About Speedboard
Speedboard was established in 1983, and serves customers in a variety of high-tech sectors, including Industrial, Defence, Medical, Communications and Security. The company offers a broad range of manufacturing services, ranging from traditional build-to-print through to full lifecycle; including DFM, prototyping, full production, packaging, delivery to end customer, repairs and after sales support.
It has five SMT lines (which between them comprise 15 Siemens SiPlace machines), a selective soldering line and a vapour-phase oven; enabling Speedboard to tackle increasingly complex PCBAs including a flex-rigid and HDI assemblies with areas of widely varying thermal mass. Test capabilities include Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI), X-ray, BGA Scope, Boundary-scan, In-Circuit Test (ICT – both flying probe and bed-of-nails), Functional Test and Soak Testing. The CEM offers Kanban stock holding and operates a Quality Management System which is BSI-certified as being compliant with ISO 9001: 2015.
For further information on Speedboard Assembly Services please visit: www.speedboard.co.uk
