Adopting new methods
07 October 2009
Tim Fryer spoke to Barry Clark, Managing Director of AdoptSMT UK, to find out about the services offered to its customers and how the company is coping with the recession.
Tim Fryer: You started off as an Austrian company 15 years ago – how big an organisation are you now and is your main focus still as a supplier of second user equipment?
Barry Clark: After it's founding in 1991 Adopt made the transition to second user SMTequipment, concentrating in this area since 1994. Since then the AdoptSMT Group has rapidly grown into one of the biggest enterprises for second user SMT globally. The group today comprises of it's headquarters in Grodig Austria with over 6500 square metres, AdoptSMT Germany GmbH based in Paderborn, with 2000 square meters specialising in Siemens Siplace overhauling and service, AdoptSMT Polska based in Gdansk, Poland, with a small Siplace service facility, AdoptSMT Romania, a sales office, and AdoptSMT UK with it's facilities in London (soon to be Redhill, Surrey) and Cumnock, Scotland.
Tim Fryer: Last year Adopt added a British arm to its organisation by adding AlternativeSMT to its portfolio. Is the new Adopt different from the old Alternative, and if so how?
Barry Clark: Since AdoptSMT UK, formerly AlternativeSMT, joined the AdoptSMT Group the major difference is the ability to offer customers a hugely expanded range of equipment for sale, feeders, service expertise, training, renting and leasing opportunities and maintenance contracts.
Tim Fryer: So what services and equipment are available from the site in London? Is it the same as the rest of the AdoptSMT group, in terms of available equipment, or are there any services unique to the UK?
Barry Clark: AdoptSMT UK has two sites; London specialises in Mydata machine sales, servicing, feeder sales and refurbishment and spare parts. Cumnock is our feeder overhaul and maintenance centre with numerous customer contracts in place as well as a general overhaul centre for our machines and also a specialist centre for Universal equipment.
Tim Fryer: I seem to remember a specialism of Alternative was in feeders for component placement machines, including an innovative testing jig. Is this still true?
Barry Clark: The FeederMaster, designed and built here in the UK is now about to release it's fifth generation model, the Digital FeederMaster, which will include a new digital camera system with embedded PC and software, CPK capability and electronic feeder current reading. It will follow on from it's very successful predecessors and enhance the range of products within the AdoptSMT Group.
Tim Fryer: I believe you have a new role as preferred supplier for Universal. Does this only cover the UK? Is it for servicing equipment in the field, as a refurbishing partner or even, now that Universal’s UK supplier Contax has gone into administration, as a distributor for new equipment?
Barry Clark: The AdoptSMT group signed a preferred partner agreement with Universal last year and part of this agreement is a spare parts distributor agreement. AdoptSMT UK has a great relationship with Universal and with three ex-employees of Universal in the UK bringing together over 30 years of experience in Spares and Service, they can offer our joint customers support that is now missing from the UK market place since the demise of Contax. Many Universal customers have already been in contact with us asking for support and we have been only too pleased to do so, sourcing spare parts and service. We are currently in talks with Universal in the US regarding other areas of co-operation.
Tim Fryer: A relocation service is just one of your new services – could you describe what you can do for companies on the move?
Barry Clark: The relocation service is the result of satisfied service customers asking us to help with their factory moves. Utilising our experience and expertise in the fields of project management, logistics, service and machine decommissioning/ commissioning and production line start ups we are able to offer customers a single point solution for factory or production line moves and relocations. Soundcraft in the UK contracted us to move their production lines up one floor in their building without a major impact on production or time. This was achieved in co-operation of some of the equipment manufacturers using specialised machine movers and AdoptSMT Group staff from the UK and Austria. The major benefit to Soundcraft was that they only needed to talk to one person, the AdoptSMT project manager, instead of seven separate machine manufacturers and transporters, so they could concentrate on their business.
Tim Fryer: What other services do you provide beyond those expected of a second-used equipment supplier? For example, I believe there is ‘Spare Parts Focus’ specifically tailored to the big EMS companies.
Barry Clark: Apart from the huge range of equipment available to customers, the AdoptSMTgroup has added other core competences to their portfolio recently, including replacement parts, feeders, accessories and consumables for electronic production. Replacement parts can be a large part of a customers’ annual spend, but by using our global purchasing experience and business contacts, AdoptSMT Group can offer savings to our customers with second source and original parts complete with full warranty. Customers currently have access to around 60,000 unique parts available from stock for short term delivery, with parts being added weekly. This is in addition to the 500,000 spare parts already in stock mainly original and unused.
Tim Fryer: Do you actually do the refurbishment in the UK?
Barry Clark: We refurbish equipment in both our facilities in the UK with the emphasis on Mydata in London and Universal in Cumnock.
Tim Fryer: Is most of the equipment for the UK sourced in the UK, or do you operate as a European/global group with an ‘equipment available’ list that covers all of the group?
Barry Clark: Equipment is sourced globally. One of the benefits of the group is the data base system used by everyone within the group. Categories give us access to machines available from stock, machines that customers have for sale and machines that are wanted. Customers who approach us to sell their machines are happy in the knowledge that by entering the machine details in our database the global exposure to customers looking for that exact piece of equipment is greatly enhanced and the chances of selling the equipment is far better than trying to sell on their own.
Tim Fryer: The last recession in 2001 was an interesting time for second-user equipment suppliers as there was a massive over-capacity issue, particularly in Western Europe, and so there was a huge influx of equipment ranging from old to nearly new flooding the market. I don’t imagine that this is the case during this recession, or is it? How would you describe the effects of the economic climate on your business?
Barry Clark: We have not seen the same influx of equipment this time. The year 2001 was a massive blow to our industry with huge players cutting back on an unprecedented scale. What we have seen during this recession is smaller companies taking production in-house so looking to buy equipment to start-up their own manufacturing facilities. The range of equipment we can offer lends itself to being able to fill the requirements from the company who knows exactly what they want to the small company starting up who knows what they want to do but do not know what is available to them within their budget constraints.
Contact Details and Archive...
Related Articles...
Most Viewed Articles...