Mar 08, 2016 
Pick & Place equipment manufacturer, Europlacer, has picked up its third award from renowned global analyst and growth specialist Frost & Sullivan. The latest accolade: 2016 Company of the Year in the Flexible SMT Pick and Place Equipment sector, is the second successive such award, with the last awarded in 2014 as the category is evaluated every two years by Frost & Sullivan.
In the intervening year, 2015, Europlacer also received a Growth Excellence Leadership Award from Frost & Sullivan. This recognised the company as the leading global supplier to EMS providers active in the hotly-contested Aerospace and Defence industry – a sector where Europlacer grew its market share and returned 20% overall growth in the year.
“It’s no distortion of the truth to claim that we have scored a hat trick,” says Group Business Development Manager, Rod Evans. “To receive one Company of the Year Award judged by an independent company of renowned analysts is pleasing. To receive two in succession against our competitors in the industry is more than significant and shows consistently superior performance, which is exactly what we strive to deliver to our customers. So we are delighted about it,” he adds.
To win a Frost & Sullivan Global Company of the Year Award a company must demonstrate excellence in growth, innovation, and leadership. Frost & Sullivan points out that this kind of excellence typically translates into superior performance in three key areas: demand generation, brand development, and competitive positioning. These are the measures the firm uses to assess companies in the sector.
Frost & Sullivan cites Europlacer as an impressive player in the flexible SMT pick and place equipment market for the last 40 years, and one that has emerged as a one-stop SMT solution provider for customers. Key metrics in F&S awarding Europlacer its top position is the recognition that the company’s platform products and services significantly reduce the ownership costs for its customers, thereby increasing their ROI. Elements highlighted that help achieve this include the compatibility of new products with older accessories, feeders, and customers’ own feeder trolleys (some developed over 20 years ago), which F&S deemed to be a strategy that makes Europlacer placement platform solutions future proof.
“As well as identifying the performance of our products, we are pleased to see F&S including our notable financial performance, growth rate and service-level business factors in its analysis: metrics like the fact that 10% of our current employees have been with the company for 30 years and more than 20% for the last 20 years,” says Evans. “We know that this experience and accumulated knowledge helps forge stronger personal relationships with clients and improves our understanding of their requirements. It’s something that competitors find hard to match, so it’s good to see this recognised in the award.”
Frost & Sullivan concluded that Europlacer has proved its mettle time and again “as an innovative trendsetter” in the flexible SMT pick and place equipment market. And that the company possesses “a thorough understanding of market dynamics and customer requirements,” that allows it to emerge as a market leader. “With its strong overall performance, Europlacer has earned the 2016 Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award,” states the organisation’s analyst team.
The Blakell Europlacer Group comprises the Speedprint Technologies, Europlacer, and Blakell Europlacer Distribution business units. All three are active and pre-eminent in the electronic circuit board assembly sector with advanced product and service solutions for electronics manufacturers in the UK and globally. Speedprint Technologies is a provider of screen printing equipment used in surface mount assembly processes. Europlacer is a provider of surface mount component placement equipment. Blakell Europlacer Distribution augments the provision of screen printing and pick & place platforms in the UK with a range of associated equipment, including AOI, reflow and PCB handling.
