BACK IN FULL PRODUCTION

Established since 1966, Southern Circuits, who specialise in small to medium volume high quality printed circuit boards, was bought by Doug Watson in 1999 and between then and 1 December 2000 some £3/4 million was invested in the company. He fully appreciates that his customers have become more sophisticated, demand more variety and greater service in terms of reliability and response times, and that to meet these requirements a continuous investment in technical and manufacturing equipment is essential. His hand was forced somewhat for since that fateful December date a further £1 million has been invested. 1 December 2000 is a date that sticks firmly in the memories of everyone at Southern Circuits, for in the early hours a fire broke out and swept through the plating area destroying all the equipment.

PAL and all the manufacturers whose equipment had, quite literally, gone up in smoke, did their best to get Southern Circuits back on their feet just as quickly as possible and the two PAL lines, an enclosed Compal Electroless PTH line with microvia capability, and a refurbished Pattern plate line are now in full production.

“We are grateful to everyone who worked so hard to ensure that we got back to normal just as quickly as possible,” explains Derek Watson, Southern Circuits’ Plant Manager. “Replacement PAL machines were obviously vital. We chose an enclosed Compal for health, environmental and safety reasons, for we are aiming for ISO 14000 certification in the not too distant future.

“The other PAL line is a refurbished machine. Needless to say, the insurance company was all in favour of a refurb rather than a costly brand new line. PAL worked with us to ensure it met all our criteria and very much became ‘our’ machine, it now incorporates the very latest software and auto load and unload. We are firm believers in establishing a strong relationship with our customers so it was good to find that PAL shared the same ethos and ensured that both machines were exactly what we needed. Just like us, they are a ‘solutions provider’.

“Installation was quick and efficient and both machines are working well, producing top quality results. Between them they provide us with increased capacity to meet future customer needs and thus help us achieve our own objectives. We aim to more than double our £3 million turnover during the course of the next few years.”