Publication date: 22 September 2011
Before joining Europlacer, Steve headed up Automation Group EMEA for Tyco Electronics as General Manager, who had acquired Quad Europe Ltd where he was Managing Director. During his years at Quad Europe, Steve and his team successfully established a very strong distribution network around Europe and built a world-class showroom/demonstration facility that was unsurpassed by the competition.
Steve Farragher joined Europlacer in September 2005 as International Sales Manager. The primary task of this role was revitalising the existing Distributor network, identifying and subsequently appointing additional channels to market in other countries with a focus on Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltics. Europlacer now have sales channels in all major countries in Europe, with excellent results and installations in several tier one accounts.
A. Of course, like everyone else the economic downturn has affected us but we have reacted by making sure that both potential and existing customers are entirely familiar with the benefits of our systems, thereby ensuring that they can maximise capability.
A. Ultimate flexibility. No other SMT system can provide the same level of feeder capacity, board handling size, component range/type and flexibility within a single platform.
A. I would say that this has been a major factor in our success; backward compatibility has always taken precedence, particularly where feeders are concerned. We recognise that often the cost of a feeder package is a significant part of the investment, so we want to make sure that our Customers can utilise existing inventory when they purchase new machines. Similarly we make sure that our software is compatible throughout the range and will interface with older machines.
A. That’s an easy one: Complete Customer Satisfaction.
A. Not only selecting the equipment that suits their particular purpose, but cost of ownership once they have made the investment.
A. By providing a complete system that is flexible, easy to use, is backward & forward compatible, is stable and low maintenance.
A. Well fortunately 2010 was a good year for us, but the first half of 2011 has exceeded our expectations. So far it is great and we hope that it continues for the remainder of the year; it sure looks like it will.
A. We are seeing a slow but gradual recovery almost across the globe, with the possible exception of the “warmer countries” in Europe where the local economy is stalling investment.
A. My job is to find the right distribution partners throughout EMEA primarily and my colleagues in USA and Asia are doing likewise. We believe that without professional and capable distribution partners we cannot support our customers in the way they both expect and deserve. Consequently make sure all or sales channels thoroughly understand the benefits of our systems and therefore seek out the type of customer who will really appreciate and utilise the strengths of our products.
A. Productronica is the biggest and best exhibition in our Industry; anyone who is looking to find the most flexible pick and pace platform should be heading straight for our booth. Existing customers will benefit from seeing our latest hardware and software investments; new customers will see what they have been missing!
A. To see the most innovative and flexible pick and place solution available that provide great return on investment and low cost ownership. We will be focusing on our iineo-VLB (Very Long Board) platform that not only provides a great solution for those “oversize” PCB’s (up to 1600mm x 600mm) suitable for such as LED placement on tube strips; but also has massive feeder capacity (maximum 264 x 8mm Tape Feeders) together with other process solutions such as: glue/paste dispense, POP (Package on Package), short tape handling (as little as 100mm of tape without any component loss), multiple types of tray handling, special nozzles (for those oversize or odd shaped components) and electrical test. All of this providing the “ultimate in flexibility” combined with “integrated intelligence”, unique to Europlacer. All of our team will be pleased to explain the real benefits of being a Europlacer owner and how it will improve your business.
A. Continued success, growth across the globe, further product development and most importantly; lots of happy and satisfied customers!
