ASMPT has acquired printer specialist DEK, which will be integrated into SIPLACE’s SMT placement machines business
Tuesday, December 03, 2013:
By Srabani Sen
ASM Pacific Technology Ltd (ASMPT), a leading supplier of surface mount technology (SMT) equipment, has entered into an agreement with Dover Printing & Identification Inc and Dover Corporation to acquire DEK, the printer specialist. DEK is one of the world’s leading suppliers of screen printing equipment for the SMT, semiconductor, solar cell and fuel cell metallisation industries. With this acquisition, ASMPT will have a better market share in India as DEK printers are popular here, with a higher number of installations than some of its competitors.
Soon after the anti-trust authorities approve the agreement, ASMPT will integrate DEK into its SMT business segment, which it had established in 2011 when it acquired SIPLACE’s SMT placement machine business from Siemens.
Impact on Indian market
This development will have a significant impact on the Indian market, besides other global markets. ASMPT’s vision is to become the leading equipment supplier in the world. Adding DEK’s printer division to its portfolio certainly takes ASMPT a step closer towards this goal, and is aligned to its strategy of expansion and becoming one of the market leaders in the SMT market.
“We hope that the deal will deliver new customer groups, more sales as well as synergies in the areas of development, sales, sourcing and production. The company is also looking forward to working more closely with electronics manufacturers in India, and to continue with the successful partnerships already established over the years,” says Jack Chua, CEO of ASM Assembly Systems Singapore Pte Ltd.
“Indian manufacturers are not just producing for domestic consumption but also competing with manufacturers from global markets. The synergy from this tie-up will provide technological advancement to the Indian market,” he adds.
How the industry will benefit
The tie-up will benefit the industry in two ways. First, it promises to deliver technical benefits for the critical interface among printing, inspection and placement, and the pre-placement and placement processes. With DEK being an innovation and technology leader in the printing segment, and SIPLACE, a market technology leader in the placement area, the merger has been the perfect development. By working together, both companies’ experienced teams will make rapid progress in the areas of process integration and optimisation. This also means that current and future customers of DEK and SIPLACE will enjoy substantial benefits.
Integration of printing and placement
Together, SIPLACE and DEK will develop and offer solutions for electronics manufacturers that deliver significant quality and efficiency by aligning the printing and placement processes.
The new pre placement division will be led by Michael Brianda, who is currently the CEO of DEK. Günter Schindler, currently COO of the SIPLACE team, will take over the management of the placement division, and Günter Lauber, the current SIPLACE head and CEO of ASM Assembly Systems, will be the CEO of the significantly bigger SMT business segment.
“With DEK, we will become even stronger for the benefit of our current and new customers. I am confident that DEK and SIPLACE will be able to create completely new approaches in the SMT business by working together under the leadership of Günter Lauber, CEO of our SMT business segment,” says W K Lee, CEO, ASMPT.
Günter Lauber, CEO of the SMT business segment, says, “By working together, the developers and applications engineers at SIPLACE and DEK will also be able to develop consistent and transparent process chains. This will allow us to generate quality and cost benefits for the electronics production industry that other suppliers cannot offer.”
“We are very pleased about this new step in our company’s development. It protects the future of the DEK team, and opens the door to extremely interesting prospects in the development and sale of integrated SMT solutions,” says Michael Brianda, CEO of DEK.
How will the channel structure work out?
ASMPT looks forward to welcoming DEK’s sales partners worldwide and in India. The intention is for the existing partnership contracts to remain in force, and DEK will continue with its partner and channel structure. “Over the coming months, we will talk with all the partners in order to evaluate the joint design and expansion of our future cooperation. Even if the improved integration of DEK printers into SIPLACE lines results in additional application benefits, DEK printers will continue to be usable as standalone solutions and in combination with other placement solutions,” says Jack Chua.
Electronics Bazaar, South Asia’s No.1 Electronics B2B magazine
