Despite the volatile and challenging market conditions throughout 2025 and the beginning of 2026, we continued investing in operational excellence and manufacturing efficiency.
To further strengthen our SMT capabilities, we extended the lifetime of our existing SMT1 line and significantly improved its integration into the overall SMT production flow. By utilizing reserve equipment from Vráble and Rohrbach, the original SMT1 line was successfully rebuilt into a modernized and refurbished production line.
The upgraded line has now been relocated and recommissioned in a new production area featuring next-generation equipment, including:
- New loader system
- Upgraded paste printer
- Modern reflow oven with nitrogen capability
These improvements increase process stability, placement accuracy, throughput, and overall product quality.
The newly installed nitrogen-capable reflow oven also enables advanced soldering processes and allows SMT1 to support sample and pilot production for EOP products, helping accelerate product introduction and design validation activities. At the same time, the line remains fully dedicated to reliable CAN product manufacturing.
To further strengthen quality assurance, a new AOI (Automated Optical Inspection) system has been integrated into the line. This enables earlier defect detection, improves yield, reduces risk, and further enhances product reliability.
In parallel, we optimized production flow and ergonomics across the factory:
- New buffer systems improve material flow and reduce micro-stoppages
- Improved line layouts optimize space utilization
- New pedestrian pathways around SMT3 reduce operator movement and improve responsiveness for high-volume production environments
For our customers, these investments mean:
- Higher and more stable product quality
- Improved time-to-market
- Increased manufacturing flexibility
- Enhanced support for new and complex products
- Stronger long-term production stability
A big thank you to all internal teams and external partners for their commitment and teamwork during the transition phase. Together, we have built an even stronger production setup for the future while maintaining uninterrupted customer support throughout the entire process.