Calne, Witshire-based Kode International Plc has created a new company, Kamtronics Ltd, to co-ordinate its expanding high volume printed circuit board manufacturing operations in the Far East (CI No 2,126). The new division comprises the existing Printronics Chinese Allied Plant at Taijaing with additional manufacturing facilities in Seoul, Korea; Johar Bahru in Malaysia; and Taiwan. It will be responsible for production of single sided, high tech plated-through-hole and multi-layer boards. It will complement Kode’s UK-based printed circuit board company, Kam Circuits Ltd, which produces prototype and also small to medium high tech plated-through-hole and multilayer boards. Like its parent, the new entity will be run from Wiltshire. Former Kam Circuits sales director John Calvert is to serve as managing director and Kam Printronics general manager David McActear will be director. It is from this operational base that customers’ board designs and the necessary tooling will be prepared. The specifications will then be transmitted by modem over to the Far East for manufacture, and the final products shipped back, by air, to the UK for testing. Turn around time for single-sided boards is around three weeks from sample approval; is five weeks for more complex double-sided polymer silver through hole boards; and four weeks for plated through hole and multilayer boards comprising between four to eight layers. The Malaysian plant offers 65,400 square yard per month single-sided board, and 43,600 square yard double sided board capacity. The Chinese and Korean facilities jointly offer 21,800 square yard per month double sided capacity. A further 10,900 square yard per month high volume multilayer capacity is also available in China. Rush orders, can still be dealt with in the UK. Calvert reckons Kamtronics’ centrally controlled design together with the broad scope of design and manufacturing expertise it offers should prove very attractive to customers. Its commitment to standards will also be reflected the various impending ISO 9000 approvals planned for this year as a multilayer and plated through hole board supplier in May; as a single-sided board supplier in October; and as a services operation, in September. The firm, which will do boards for a whole range of products including computers, telecommunications and satellite receiver and industrial control system products is looking for further partnerships in Taiwan, Japan and the US and is three months away from announcing its next deal.
