FROM CPCA - Seica – committed to all regions

At CPCA today, I finally caught up with Antonio Grassino, President of Seica S.p.A., who told me about the company’s investments in the US market as well as the Chinese market.Whilst the world was rushing to China, Seica showed its commitment to the North American market by making a substantial investment in terms of premises and staff. Last year the company was delighted to announce the opening of its first US office in Methuen, Mass. That office now has five people and is expected to grow further. In addition a second office has been opened in Santa Clara, California, bringing Seica’s US team to nine.Both offices offer sales and service for their respective sides of North America, with the ability to demonstrate equipment as well as provide technical support for users.Antonio told me "last year was a very good year for us in the USA, we sold many systems into the bare board and loaded board industries", "we are selling both new and used equipment throughout the world" Antonio added. It is refreshing to see that Seica is investing in the USA as well as committing to the Asian market and indeed its home market of Europe. Seica have enjoyed success in the US market partially because their product suits so well - flying probe test is suitable for lower volumes in a high mix environment, and as volume heads east, this is the majority of the business left in the USA. Seica were able to take advantage of some Italian government incentives to set up their operation in the USA. It is always good to see that governments are encouraging business to develop on an international stage.Seica’s activities in China began in 1996, when, with Chinese partners, they set up Smart Technology Ltd. The company also represents a number of other companies including Hi.q.S, a joint venture between Piergiacomi and Resco, both from Italy. Smart have four offices spread over China, with more then fifteen staff in sales and support. Newly launched in China this year is Seica China Ltd, 75% owned by Seica and 25% owned by Smart. The new business already has four staff. Seica offer volume test products that are suited well to the Chinese market."SEICA itself has grown, both physically and geographically and is now represented on four continents with offices or fully trained sales agents" explains Antonio Grassino.The theme for this year on all Seica booths reflects Seica’s focus on customer needs, with the slogan – "Your Success is the Measure of Ours…" New products and technologies on display at the CPCA (booth AS06), include:S22 Series Bare Board Test Solution – New The S22 Bare Board Tester (BBT) is part of the new generation of ‘flying probe’ test systems, created to solve the problem of testing printed circuit boards without having to build fixtures or mechanical adapters. The system utilizes four completely independent mobile test probes to carry out tests on both sides simultaneously (two on each side) and is particularly designed for testing prototypes, samples, and small to medium volume production runs.S24 Bare Board Tester –New The S24 Bare Board Tester (BBT) is a flying probe system designed to test any type of PCB, from simple single side circuits to complex multi-layers, inner-layers and ceramics, and the integrated, SMEMA-compatible automatic loader can be easily connected to external handlers for fully automated operation.The system is able to test very large boards and panels thanks to an extensive test area (610 mm x 610 mm or 24"x24") and the integrated repair software enables quick location of any defect found on the tested circuits. The Seica system is perhaps better known than the company name, it was originally sold as the GR Pilot, marketed by GenRad. Shortly after the acquisition of GenRad by Teradyne in 2001, the company began to sell its product direct to the market under the Seica name. Following independence Seica was able to broaden its product range adding bed-of-nails testers. Seica has an installed base of more than 570 systemsSeica employs nearly 100 people in Italy and is active in military and civil sectors of the bare board and loaded board test industry. The company, created in 1986, has built a reputation for developing a range of products and services to meet the diverse needs of the electronic manufacturing industry.