Oct 30, 2016 ASM Assembly Systems is the overall winner in the “Factory of the Year/Global Excellence in Operations” contest. Sponsored by Produktion magazine, one of the most prestigious German magazines, and consultancy A.T. Kearney, the award is considered the most coveted and respected in the manufacturing industry. In announcing the winners, the sponsors pointed out the exceptional flexibility of ASM's placement machine production. By consistently focusing on the value chain with concepts like lean manufacturing, lot size 1 and an innovative floor layout, ASM can accommodate order fluctuations of up to 60 percent — an important competitive factor for the supplier of production equipment for the volatile electronics industry. At the same time, ASM managed to implement many successful digital initiatives to make itself more productive: monitors display order-specific instructions, processing steps are being projected onto work surfaces, and smartly networked tools generate traceable quality data.
According to the panel of judges, ASM’s production of SIPLACE SMT placement solutions proves that flexibility and efficiency don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In their explanation for naming the ASM plant in Munich the overall winner of the “Factory of the Year/Global Excellence in Operations” contest, they point out that ASM shines with top ratings along the entire value chain.
“We won the Global Excellence in Operations Award in 2012, which was an incentive for us to keep making improvements in accordance with our motto of 'Together #1’. Being named ‘Factory of the Year’ for 2016 is proof that our team was able to push the limits even further in terms of efficiency and flexibility,” said Jörg Cwojdzinski, Head of Global Supply Chain Management at ASM. He sees the award as more than a recognition of classic improvements: “With our Smart Supply Chain program we are currently pushing digitalization and automation for a smart assembly process. We are still in the early stages, but the positive impact of these innovations on our quality and other important KPIs obviously impressed the panel of judges during their visits and deliberations. It shows that we are on the right path as we move toward the smart factory of the future.”
The annual “Factory of the Year/Global Excellence in Operations” awards have been presented for 25 years by Produktion magazine in cooperation with consultancy A.T. Kearney. In addition to an overall winner, awards are presented in various subcategories. The contest for the manufacturing industry is highly respected among plant and supply chain managers. The winners are determined by a team of auditors based on very extensive surveys, benchmark analyses and factory visits.
Since the acquisition of printing specialist DEK and its integration into ASM Pacific Technology (ASMPT) on July 2, 2014, ASM Assembly Systems has been operating as ASMPT's SMT Solutions segment consisting of the Printing Solutions Division (DEK) and the Placement Solutions Division (SIPLACE).
SMT Solutions develops and sells best-in-class DEK printers for the SMT, semiconductor and solar markets as well as best-in-class SIPLACE SMT placement solutions. Both divisions use the ASMPT organization to let their customers enjoy significant competitive benefits. ASMPT's SMT Solutions segment shares and expands its expertise with electronics manufacturers and partners all over the world. Its goal is to improve its customers' workflows and use new technologies to advance process integration in the industry. For more information about DEK and SIPLACE, visit www.asm-smt-solutions.com.
ASM Pacific Technology (ASMPT) has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1989. The ASMPT Group develops systems and solutions for semiconductor production and packaging as well as surface mount technology applications. The company has plants in China (incl. Hong Kong), Singapore, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
ASMPT is currently one of the constituent stocks on the Hang Seng HK MidCap Index under the Hang Seng Composite Index, the Hang Seng Information Technology Industry Index, the Hang Seng Hong Kong 35 index and the Hang Seng Global Composite Index. For more information about ASMPT visit www.asmpacific.com
