Europlacer Advances Seico's "One Intermediary" Vision

Founded in 1981, Seico provides customers with a complete range of electronics subcontracting services including design through to manufacture, box build and test as well as logistics. It also provides cable harness assembly as well as design of functional and in-circuit testers. Today, Seico has a staff of 120 for 10.4 million € turnover. It also has a subsidiary, SEG: "Société Electronique de Guérande," with significant space available for storage and future growth.

Seico's strengths lie in product design and design for the manufacture of electronic products, manufacture of electronic assemblies, cable assemblies and box build. In the test arena the company designs and manufactures both in-circuit and functional test benches. Seico develops and engineers products with subcontracting companies that specialise in what customers need. This solution has allowed the company to be close to its customers, especially in understanding individual needs. This allows Seico to be its customers' sole intermediary.

Being in the market for close to 30 years has allowed Seico to know the market, its customers and their needs. This experience gives the company a strong competitive advantage. Couple Seico's experience with its fast reactivity time and the company becomes a strong market leader. Having started working only on testing tools in 1994, Mr. Bourmaud, Seico's General Manager believes that customers need only one supplier - this is what Seico offers now for engineering, testing (test machine development), production, integration, assembly (electronics and mechanical products) and after sales support.

The company previously focused on local markets, however it has recently expanded to all of France with a strategy to focus on small to medium production companies. Mr. Bourmaud explains that today everybody is considered a competitor because most companies are also focusing on this small to medium  production range. This is where Europlacer's expertise comes into play; its technological advances can help Seico stand out among its many competitors.

Seico now runs 100 percent on Europlacer systems. Its most recent purchase is the iineo, which bring Seico's system total to three, including a Europlacer 928 and a Progress 6. With the Europlacer relationship in place, Seico is planning an investment program in testing and CMS. It also purchased a new Takaya test system in 2007 in order to be as technologically up-to-date as possible.

Before choosing the iineo Seico researched three manufacturers. For each, Seico visited the facility, received a product presentation and accepted proposals. It was difficult to make a decision due to the numerous parameters that had to be considered:

• Mydata emphasised quick changeover (feeders)
• Siemens provided a strong German image (reliability)
• Europlacer provided the ability to distribute and install a full line in addition to quick changeover and integrated intelligence capabilities. This fitted well into Seico's vision of having only one intermediary. The iineo was available with a wide range of configuration and options providing an investment for the future that is both up-datable and customisable with software, options and more. Additionally, the number of feeders and high level of support was what Seico was looking to find. While Europlacer's solution was marginally more expensive, the machine was the most competitive regarding the global solution it offers.

Mr. Bourmaud said that each of the companies was very aggressive in price and offers. However, in the end, Seico chose Europlacer and the iineo. The technology, price and support were good matches for Seico.  Also, Europlacer's reliable and flexible platform was a big draw. "We change our planning 6-7 times a day, and we didn't want to be guinea pig," continued Mr. Bourmaud. With Europlacer, Seico will receive the same reliability and flexibility they need and expect. Additionally, the purchased machine was recommended by Seico's technicians (as opposed to a buyer); this is significant because it shows that those "in the trenches" prefer the iineo's features, capabilities, etc.

Last year Seico invested in a 1.6 million € building and now runs three lines at two sites. Europlacer's systems play a part in this expansion.

The new system has far-reaching benefits for Seico, outside of the increased capability and support that Europlacer will provide. "It is important to invest regularly in new systems because subcontractors all know their competitors' resources," said Mr. Bourmaud. "It is also important for our big customers (namely Philips lighting) to know that we're continually updating and staying on top of technological advancements. Just as importantly, new systems help to motivate employees - if they are happy to work on new machines, their jobs become more interesting to them."