AROUND ASIA WITH PAL

A glimpse at some of the most recent orders and installations in Asia gives an idea of the differing requirements of PAL’s customers and the company’s ability to rise to challenges in plenty!

CHINA

PAL installed three plating lines in Spring 2003 for EPC’s new plant in Huizhou in China

• A pattern line with a monthly output of 25,480 m2, equipped with PAL’s state-of-the-art eductor system, enclosure and auto load/unload system

• A panel line with an output of 59,520 m2 per month ?once again this machine was equipped with the eductor system and has an environmental enclosure.

• PTH/Desmear line with a monthly output of 63,610m2

IBIDEN IN CHINA AND JAPAN

• November 2003 saw a new black oxide line being installed at Ibiden’s Beijing factory. This machine, with a monthly output of 27,000 m2, sits right next to two other PAL machines. "Repeat orders from existing customers speak volumes about their happiness with our machines, creative engineering ability and our all important after-sales service too," says Geoff Paterson

• November also saw a panel plating line with an output of 6,000 m2 per month installed at Ibiden in Japan. This
  machine was designed and built especially for plating thick panels and features PAL’s insoluble anode system, pulse rectification, OSSTjWin system and special racking system

MORE ORDERS FROM JAPAN

"We are delighted to have received several orders from Japan in recent months," says Geoff Paterson. "It is thanks to the hard work of our agent in Japan, Ken Tamba and his colleagues at Tamba Trading that we have made such positive inroads. We were able to able to announce our first Japanese success in Spring 2001 when Ibiden ordered a black oxide line, now thanks to Tamba Trading’s hard work the tally has risen to 28! We are delighted that Ibiden continue to order machines from us and that we are able to announce several orders from other Japanese companies for their factories in Japan and in China."

• In June 2003 PAL delivered the first reel-to-reel plating line to Furukawa’s new factory in Wuxi/Shanghai. This is used to plate copper and solder on the metal raw material. "This was a real challenge for us," explains Geoff Paterson. "It marked our first experience in building a horizontal type reel to reel plating line with rollers, and a giant learning curve! We worked closely with Furukawa’s engineers during the design and manufacture of the machine and learned a great deal from them – it was a true win:win partnership!"

In October we delivered the first of two fume scrubbers ordered by Furukawa to their factory in Japan.

• Sanno, the largest connector supplier in Japan has a new plant in Wuxi/Shanghai. PAL received two orders for making plating tanks and plating cells for their reel-toreel machine. One order was delivered in October and the second at the end of December. "We are optimistic that this order will lead to larger things with Sanno," says Geoff Paterson

• PAL is currently building two machines for their reel to reel technology partner, Hamada, in Japan, for machines destined for Kyocera’s new factory in Dongguan. The machines are for plating connectors. One is for nickel/gold and copper/tin plating and the other is for nickel and copper/tin plating. This marks PAL’s first project with Hamada.

KOREA

• Young Eak in Korea had their fourth PAL machine installed in August 2003. This new panel plating line has a monthly output of 20,500 m2. "Mr Yoon, the director of Young Eak, is planning for another PAL machine in 2004 to cope with the ever-increasing need for flexible PCBs," explains Stanley Cheung, PAL’s Regional Manager for East Asia.

THE PHILIPPINES

• As a result of the Lead Free electronics component directive, a Tin plating line for flexible PCBs was installed at FSCI’s plant in November 2003. This is the fourth PAL line in this factory. Mr Raul Sinocruz, the engineering manager of FSCI, is qualifying the plating quality of the machine. Their fifth machine - a Nickel/Gold plating line - is being installed at FSCI in February 2004.