A "Major" Success Story

Based in Hoogeveen in The Netherlands, electronics manufacturing services provider Major is the brainchild of Marthijn Hoojer, Production and Technical Manager, and Klaas Shaper, Business Manager. Marthijn and Klaas turned a new millennium with hopes of a bright future, creating their own company in 2000 with a team of 12 dynamic individuals. Together they have taken the company forward to more than double the workforce in just eight years. Major set its sights on the Dutch OEM market, manufacturing prototypes for a broad spectrum of industry sectors such as security, energy and automotive. To keep the drive for quality in the business, Major made it policy to source only the best possible components on the market and its success has meant the majority of its business still comes from the Dutch OEM market.

"Our customers demand the highest level of quality," explains Hoojer. "And we would expect nothing less as this is our own philosophy for the business and therefore what our customers have come to rely on. We follow a set manufacturing process from A to Z - from the optimisation and purchasing of the components to the manufacturing of the PCBs that build in the quality and reliability of our products. While at the same time we keep the closest attention to streamlining our own costs to be able to pass these savings on to our customers."

"Eight years on and we continue to have strong ambitions for Major," added Shaper. "We have always ensured a stable growth pattern and are currently working to extend the number of customers we have in the mid-size category to, in turn, double the turnover of the business. This will p rovide an opportunity for more jobs locally, something we are very proud of; however people are only part of the process. They, in turn, need the best possible equipment for the job and that is why we began our partnership with Europlacer."

Smans, Europlacer's local distributor in Belgium, has been working with Major since the company's inception in 2001.  "We had an excellent rapport with our local Europlacer distributor from the word go", added Hoojer. "Through the set up of the company to today they have provided us with excellent local support, with most problems being solved with just a phone call. They also continue training to upgrade their expert team of technicians."

Major researched the history of Europlacer and its products, which led the company to want to find out more when it came to the selection of the component placement element of the business. Citing the flexibility of the Europlacer machines and quick set up time as vital ingredients for its process, Major also was impressed with the operation of Europlacer's intelligent feeders and innovative trolley system.

In line with its business plan to increase the customer base with mid-sized companies and, in turn, double turnover, in 2007 Major looked again at investing in the future with further placement solutions. "We needed to be able to react quickly to our customers' needs as we increased production volumes but we would not compromise on the high level of quality and flexibility we were currently able to offer while we went through this growth transition," explains Shaper. "And, of course, we needed to continue streamlining our own process to ensure reduced costs for our customers."

In 2007 and 2008 Major looked to make investments in its placement equipment, but Europlacer was not the only placement equipment vendor in the running. Indeed, Major looked closely into the product offerings of two other major brands in the industry. Placement equipment is central to the success of the whole line and Major conducted research over a two-month period to ensure it selected the best possible solution. "In the end, the longevity of the excellent relationship with Europlacer and its local distributor played a big part in our decision," added Hoojer. "More than that though, I go back to the high level of local technical support they can offer, both over the phone and on site. They can be in our facility very quickly and this is paramount to keeping our production process flowing."

Major started with two, Access 4 machines in 2000 and in 2007 invested in the Finesse. This year Major purchased a brand new iineo machine, and with the Finesse and iineo machines combined, they have ensured four times more volume and turnover. The iineo was delivered just one month after the contract was signed. "We were very surprised by the ease of installation of both systems," summarised Hoojer. "Only two days were needed to start the production, so it was quite literally a ‘plug and play' process."

In the prototyping market, Major must quickly respond to customers' needs and the new iineo machine has provided more flexibility than ever and the fastest changeover. "The ease of use, reliability and fast set up of the trolleys and feeders are a significant part of the reason why iineo was our system of choice," said Shaper. "This endorses our decision to choose Europlacer and the result, for us is that we can react more quickly to our customers' requirements and continue to keep a handle on costs. This makes us more competitive in this global marketplace and will help us meet our goal to increase market share."