An electronic evolution
24 September 2007
Sue Brown, Marketing Manager at Tenkay Electronics talks to EMT about Tenkay’s 25 years of electronic evolution.
We all work so hard these days. Early starts, late finishes and what on earth is a tea break? What we all need is the return of the tea-lady, or tea-person as they would probably be titled now! Ah! those were the days, hot coffee; but were things really so different?
As we celebrate 25 years in the world of contract manufacturing, I thought now would be a good opportunity to reflect on the changes, and see how we at Tenkay Electronics in the South of the UK, have evolved with technology and adapted the company to deal with the needs of clients and ourselves.
Evolution or extinction? Neither are ever really noticed until someone asks a question, or takes time to reflect. We read so many publications about 'the next best thing' that by the time ' the next best thing' is out, it's out of fashion and are looking for the next, ' next best thing'! Have you ever wondered “ when did that happen”?
Life for Tenkay started as a dedicated component distributor to local sub-contract manufacturers, business was good and the need for expansion came fast. Our key customer, who had started life at about the same time, like us, was also looking for larger premises, and so the unity started. Two growing companies under one roof serving the same industry sectors. Electronic sub-contract manufacturer with component distribution. Perfect!
Strengths in both sections continued to grow and the name of Tenkay Electronics Ltd became a regular name to many buyers in the OEM sectors. Dealing directly with dedicated distribution desks within the mainline distributor houses, allowed Tenkay to expand its knowledge and expertise in this broad line sector. We were servicing a range of sub-contract manufacturers very successfully for many years until the ‘big boys’ of distribution really started to show their offshore buying strength. Due to the expansion of e-commerce and the familiarity of e-mail, offshore buying of components was becoming the ‘norm’ and one by one the smaller distributors were loosing their footings in the supply chain. This was one of the deciding factors to unite the distributor and contract manufacturer as one. After all the two had shared premises for many many years, and had already united in all but the formalities.
Having the key strengths of manufacturing, established skill levels and expert buying abilities was the key to developing Tenkay as we are now.
We’ve moved on a little since the first days of trading. We don’t use stock cards any more to monitor the movement and stock order levels. Designed and developed in-house, our own bespoke computer system is a very special part of Tenkay that will be continually evolving. Our in-house scanner system gives us the ability to trace every product through every part of its assembly life. All jobs are bar coded to allow us to do this. Reading live data gives us real time progress reports. Gone are the days of reams of computer print outs with someone sitting behind a desk trying to track a job through the system. Automated progress chasing!
But it's not just the invasion of the computer that has made life easier; our machinery has evolved too. Contract manufacturing is a funny old world. We're the silent middle man. The guy you depend on, but never mention their name. We don't wait at the corner of a darkened street in the rain under a lamppost, waiting for the right deal to come along. Our investment in technology makes us hungry and able to provide a service of excellence. Semi automation has released skilled wiremen to concentrate on their key areas, and has allowed us to streamline production to its utmost economical method. Commerciality is the key to successful manufacturing in the UK.
As electronic components get ever smaller, it would seem that the equipment required to place them into position just gets bigger! Printed circuit board population has become a very specialised area. Major capital investment into the iPulse M4e earlier in the year has taken Tenkay onto another level of development. Due to cost, many companies have moved this area of manufacturing offshore. The iPulse will allow us to look after low to medium volumes of pcb population right here in the UK and compliments our conventional through hole processes. Not all technology has evolved, and older skills can be married up with newer skills.
But what about offshore production? Everybody else is doing it! So are we. Four years ago the decision was made to ‘bite the bullet’ and two of our four partners started the search for facilities that could work in synergy to Tenkay. We didn't want to be just another box shifter, we wanted to be able to provide a Total Supply Chain Solution. Facilities were located. Our contact is English and speaks the local dialects. This immediately removes the communication barrier. So now we offer production by either UK manufacture or offshore, dependent on the style of product and the volume.
25 years ago communication was still conducted over the phone or telex or the fax machine. These days the world is a very small place. Thanks to e-mail, skype or the Internet, communication across the world is as easy as talking to your next door neighbour. Barriers! What barriers?
Like you, we’ve seen many companies come and go. As I said earlier, evolution or extinction? You don’t realise just how many have gone until you bump into someone. Field Sales Engineers, or Reps as they were once known, are still a valued if not a rare commodity. Their office has changed inline with the internal teams. Laptops are not for the trendy on the train, they’re an appendage to most lunch boxes. Pull into any motorway service area and these guys can be seen from a mile. Buttie in one hand, Bluetooth hooked onto the ear, coffee in other hand, trying to ‘relax’ and take a break whilst trying to catch up with the days paperwork and make appointments. But things have moved on even in the last year. Reps can now be found walking about with a ‘blackberry’! I’m sure this is not what the government mean as part of your ‘5 a day!’ Is there no peace? Inevitably, once at home, the home computer will go on, and it won’t be to do the grocery shopping!
So are we keeping up with technology or is technology trying to keep up with us? Sit back. Take a look around and you decide. High tech manufacturing equipment. Web based access to just about anyone you need in the world. Taylor made production facilities and price ranges. Multi currency trading options. International ordering. International shipping. The world is being driven by industrial demand, which is ultimately being driven by materialistic demands. Are we making life harder for ourselves or are we just trying to make life easier for ourselves? Will we ever be able to answer the question?
The world of e-commerce has become a standard way of life. Without realising it, we've all been assimilated. Machine dependent! So has technology really made life easier or just faster? Have the pressures of deadlines eased at all or are we really so used to working at a faster pace that we don’t notice anything anymore? Are we keeping up with technology or is technology just trying to keep up with us? One thing's for sure, without the technological evolution, good or bad, Tenkay would not be where we are today. The silent or not so silent middle man. Still serving industry with their electronic and electrical contract manufacturing requirement. From PCBS to harnesses to full panel and box build. Piece part or total assembly. Tested, packed and delivered. UK or overseas. Evolution or extinction? Evolution every time!
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