SMT007 Magazine

SMT007-Apr2019

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50 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2019 nology in manufacturing. What about manag- ing the software side of it? When you capture the data, are you capturing in your software or is that going into a third-party? Diament: We've explored different possibili- ties based on the end application. For more consumer-grade products, we often see that the manufacturer is interested in doing the processing on their own microprocessor. So, we'll just provide them with the front-end drive circuitry and the condition signal from our sensor. Other times, we do the post-processing onboard our microprocessor. One interesting opportunity that we've come across is because our sensors are so fast, they produce a huge amount of data that can be leveraged effectively as input to machine-learn- ing algorithms. An interesting application we came across is using the sensors for security in homes and buildings. Because they're so sensi- tive to low airflows, you can almost recognize unique airflow profiles of either a door open- ing or a person passing by; thus, you could use these sensors as a visual alternative to see the moving world through airflow profiles. Matties: That's very cool; sounds like spy stuff. Diament: Yes, sir! Matties: Since many companies are trying to become 4.0, there's a lot of legacy equipment in the marketplace that is not equipped with all of these sensors. In this industry, it's a lot of wet processing equipment with fluids, chemi- cals, acids, etc. Is there an opportunity for you to work with an OEM and come up with a retrofit kit that they could then sell? Diament: That's one of the advantages of our current stage is being small enough to work with OEMs and develop application-specific solutions versus a larger, more established sensor company that provides standardized off-the-shelf components, which can be hard to integrate. At Instrumems, we all come from strong fluid mechanic backgrounds, so we like to get to know the application and figure out ways to smartly package our sensors not to obstruct flow; we want to get the most accu- rate measurements possible. Matties: Thanks so much for spending time with us today, Jeffrey. Diament: Of course. Thank you. SMT007 Top 20 List of European-owned EMS Providers The German Zollner Group remained the leading European EMS provider based on global revenues with estimated sales of €1.25 billion in 2017, accord- ing to the Reed Electronics Research. Meanwhile, despite lower sales from its European operations, primarily in Germany, Asteelflash remained second with the Hungarian company Videoton, third. The top five all reported revenues over Euro 500 million in 2017 with the Dutch company Neways becoming the sixth European company to achieve this in 2018. Acquisitions continue to have an impact on the ranking. The most notable in 2018 was the acquisition of of Swiss company CCS Holdings by GPV. As a result, the Danish company has moved into the Top 10 with pro-forma revenues in 2017 of €344 million. Kitron, Elemaster, TT Electronics, and HANZA have also completed targeted acquisitions in 2018/2019, and it is expected that further acquisitions will take place over the next two to three years as companies look to strengthen their operations in both Europe and globally. (Source: Reed Electronics Research)

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