Switzerland is not only one of the best countries to go to when you want to relax or have a fun-filled vacation. It is also one of the best countries for electronic company owners who are looking for affordable and reliable parts for their electronic components.
The country is also one of the best places in the world to find Surface Mount Technology (SMT) assembly companies.
So, if you are looking for where to find some of the best manufacturers of SMT components, Switzerland is one of the countries to look for them.
In this guide, you will find out more about the top 10 SMT assembly companies, the services they offer, and some of the unique advantages they have over the other companies.
Criteria for Selecting the Best SMT Assembly Companies in Switzerland
It can be dicey to find the best SMT assembly companies in Switzerland. This is partly because of the several companies that offer the service and mainly because of the important factors that will help you narrow down the selection.
To avoid making mistakes that would end up hurting your SMT needs, these are some of the factors to consider:
1. Ratings and Recommendations
You are not the first person or company to buy SMT assembly companies from the manufacturers, neither will you be the last.
However, one factor that will separate you from the others is the amount of information you have at your disposal.
Ideally, one of the first things you want to consider is the ratings and recommendations of the SMT assembly service provided by the company.
First, the rating has to do with the different reviews from previous buyers, clients, and customers of the SMT assembly company you want to patronize. The reviews go a long way to help you understand how the previous clients of the companies feel about the services they obtained. This way, you will decide if you are pleased with their feedback (and want the same for yourself) or you are not satisfied with what the others are saying.
On the other hand, you also want to consider the recommendations of the previous customers. Reviews are different from recommendations. So, you need to have that in mind at all times so you don’t mix things up.
Recommendations have to do with the readiness of the previous customers or clients of the SMT assembly companies to recommend or ask others to patronize the company. Recommendations are more of express approval of the SMT board service offered by the SMT manufacturer.
Thus, check the number of previous customers of the SMT assembly companies that are willing to encourage other clients or intending customers to patronize the same.
The rule of thumb is to ensure that the recommendations are coming from trusted persons, such as your family members, friends, or acquaintances.
2. Background of the Company
The SMT assembly company you want to patronize should also have many positive attributes because these are some of the features that will set the company apart from the competition.
Usually, the SMT assembly company is expected to have many years of experience, as this is used to confirm the number of years they have been in the business. In most cases, the higher the number of years in the business, the higher the general perception that the company is worth its onion.
Another aspect of the background you want to check is the number of SMT assembly services the company offers. This way, you will have lots of options to select from.
It will not be a bad idea to confirm the costs or possible charges of using the SMT assembly services offered by the SMT manufacturer.
3. General State of the Equipment
This is no doubt, one of the most important factors to consider. The Surface Mount Technology (SMT) equipment is what you are looking to get from the SMT assembly company. Therefore, it is pertinent to be sure that the equipment is functioning as it should.
These are some of the metrics to confirm that:
4. Equipment Testing
The SMT assembly company should offer equipment testing of all kinds, ranging from inspection to the actual testing of the equipment to be sure that it works as it should.
5. Online Inventory
You also need to confirm if the SMT assembly company has an online inventory. This will go a long way to streamline the order process. You don’t need to wait for many hours or days before you get to know the availability of the SMT components or equipment you are looking to buy.
Instead, the online inventory system, which is available via the website of the SMT assembly company, allows you to instantly check the availability of the SMT equipment you want to buy.
6. Equipment Documentation
The SMT assembly company should also offer documentation or test results of the SMT components they manufactured.
This way, buyers will confirm the workability of the equipment, as well as have access to important information, including the factory condition of the component.
The Best SMT Assembly Companies You Can Find in Switzerland
We present to you, the top 10 SMT assembly companies you can find in Switzerland in 2021:
1. Adolfo Juri Elettronica Industriale SA
Adolfo Juri is one of the oldest Surface Mount Technology (SMT) assembly companies in Switzerland. The company was founded in 1965 by Mario Juri and his son, Adolfo, who currently serves as the Managing Director of the company.
This is a family-owned SMT assembly company that specializes in the production of cable assembly and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).
The company also specializes in the supply of advanced and sustainable solutions for the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry.
The company offers component procurement and management, ranging from the outsourcing process to the provision of customized options of purchasing.
The purchasing department of the company focuses on the availability of the components, the competitiveness of the prices, as well as the quality of the components. This way, you are sure of getting value for your money.
Worthy of mention is that Adolfo Juri Elettronica Industriale offers both the turnkey and consignment outsourcing processes.
The company is also willing to ship your SMT products when ready.
The SMT services the company offers includes:
- Component preparation
- Cable manufacturing
- Component engineering
- Electronic equipment assembly
- Prototyping
- Functional tests
- Component procurement and supply chain management
- Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI)
- Diagnostics
- Packaging
- Customized deliveries
- Turnkey manufacturing
- SMT components mounting
- Nitrogen wave soldering and reflow
2. Cicor Group
Cicor Group is a technology company that focuses on the production of hybrid circuits, Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), printed electronics, and electronic manufacturing services.
The company has been in the business for 5 decades and still counting. At the onset, in 1966, Cicor Group started with the production of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and high-end flex substrates. The company would later delve into the production of reel-to-reel technology in 1979. In 2005, Cicor Group started assembling PCBs, test engineering, box building, and engineering.
Cicor Group plays a big in many markets, including but not limited to watches and consumer, industrial, medical, aerospace & defense, communication, and automotive/transport.
The Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) provided by Cicor Group cut across Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Through-Hole Technology (THT).
These services include:
- Integrated circuits programming
- 3D solder paste inspection
- Selective soldering
- Laser marking
- Wave soldering
- Encapsulation of assemblies
- Reflow soldering
- Prototypes
- Surface Mount Device (SMD) of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)
- CNC milling
- Online traceability
Cicor Group also offers testing services for the circuit boards. That way, the consumers or buyers are confident that the circuit board components are working as they ought to.
Some of the testing methods used by the company include:
- X-ray inspection
- Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI)
- Cable test
- Flying-Probe Test
- High voltage test
- In-Circuit Test (ICT)
- Burn-in test/run-in test
- Functional test
3. Advanced Swiss Electronics
Advanced Swiss Electronics, otherwise called Asetronics AG, is a core supplier of Electronic Engineering & Manufacturing Services (EEMS) and LED-based lighting systems.
The company is committed to helping the customers every step of the way, by helping the customers to find the right SMT board assembly, as well as assembling and testing the board.
Asetronics AG is also a competent manufacturer of heat-dissipating Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) that would be used in the highest tolerances to meet the mechanical configurations.
The services of this company include but are not limited to:
- Component sourcing
- Calibration
- Logistics/delivery
- Global component sourcing at affordable costs
4. Valtronic
Valtronic has been in the business for 39 years – specializing in miniaturization, turnkey devices, and microelectronic assembly.
The company was launched in 1982, at a time that only a few companies had ventured into SMT assembly. That notwithstanding, Valtronic was driven by purposeful leadership, a move that led to the long-standing success of the company over the years.
Currently, the company has made a mark in terms of designing, developing, supply chain management, industrialization, and manufacturing.
Valtronic also offers a complete scope of service, which makes it a full-service Electronic Contract Manufacturer (ECM).
The manufacturing process used by the company includes making feasibility studies, designing the components, developing the components, industrialization, and manufacturing.
The company’s focus is on the production of medical devices using a plethora of solutions, including Surface Mount Technology (SMT). To that end, the company deploys a suite of solutions, ranging from automated, hybrid, and manual manufacturing processes.
Valtronic is also popular for the wide range of medical PCB assembly technologies and solutions, which include:
- Through-Hole Technology (THT)
- High-Density Interconnect (HDI) PCBs
- Conformal coating
- Chip on Board (CoB)
- Reflow soldering
- BGA with multi-die
- Flexible circuit boards
- Rigid-flex PCBs
- Selective soldering
- Flip-Chip (FC)
- Multi-Component Modules (MCM)
- Surface Mount Technology (SMT)
- Mini Surface Mount Technology (Mini SMT)
- Chip Scale Package (CSP)
- Chip-on-Chip (CoC)
The medical circuit boards manufactured via SMT assembly are applied in different use cases, such as:
- Neuromodulation
- Renal
- Imaging
- Blood processing
- Endoscopy
- Urology
- Drug delivery
5. Variosystems
Variosystems is an international electronics service company that specializes in the sourcing of end-to-end electronic component sourcing.
The history of the company dates back to 1993. In just 28 years of inception, Variosystems has grown in both jurisdiction and staff. At the last count, the company has a presence in over 5 locations in different parts of the world, with about 1,700 employees working for it.
The areas of specialization of the company include:
- Logistics so the globally sourced materials can be delivered to the doorstep of the customers in real-time.
- Electronics manufacturing using the highest quality standards.
- Project management
- Procurement
- Special processes
- Box build
- Development
- Cable assembly
- Testing
- After-sales services
The Electronics Manufacturing solution offered by Variosystems is done to ensure that the highest quality standards are used to manufacture your SMT assembly products. Also, the use of state-of-the-art equipment and identical machinery at the 4 electronics production sites go a long way to ensure that only the best materials and tools are used to meet the needs of the customers.
The additional services that come with the electronics manufacturing solution include:
- X-ray inspection
- 18 Surface Mount Device (SMD) lines
- Repair modification
- Validated processes
- Electrical testing of all variants and combinations
- Reflow soldering for Surface Mount Technology (SMT)
On the other hand, Variosystems offers full-scale SMT assembly by ensuring that the entire development process is streamlined, from the feasibility study to the product assessment and down to the industrialized or manufactured product.
Some of the processes here include:
- Approvals and conformity test
- Cooperation of the project managers and account managers
- Software design
- Software development
- Feasibility studies
- Software testing
- Circuit design and simulation
- Mechanics development
- Mechanics simulation
- Prototyping
6. Iftest
Iftest is one of the leading electronics service providers in Switzerland. The company specializes in the high-volume production, development, and industrialization of high-quality electronic devices and solutions.
The company was started in 1982 by five (5) test engineers, whose goal at the time was to use Iftest to provide electronic equipment testing.
The company has in the last 39 years, grown beyond just being an engineering agency for equipment testing. It is now one of the reputable companies that specialize in Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS).
Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Through-Hole Technology (THT) are two of the most popular and most used forms of assembling Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).
Iftest understands this and that is why the company continually invests in the advancement of its PCB assembly solutions. The company has also increased the number of manufacturing locations to 2 – one in Slovakia and the other in Switzerland. This way, the company can provide the customers with the best SMT assembly solutions they need.
The parallel manufacturing lines for the SMT assembly allow for high-volume production, quick prototyping, and parallel productions.
The estimate is that about 150 million Surface Mount Devices (SMDs) are manufactured by Iftest every year at an average of 55,000 components per line and hour.
Iftest also offers a complete SMT assembly, starting from the assembly of the circuit boards to the assembly of the cables, electronic sub-assemblies, and mechanical components into modules. After that, the devices would be tested and, in some cases, the electronic sub-assemblies would be encapsulated or coated before testing.
The industries served by Iftest are:
- Smart home
- Healthcare
- Consumer
- Metrology
- ICT
- Energy
- Transportation
7. LOCATIS Electronics
LOCATIS Electronics is your favorite Swiss partner in Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS). The history of the company dates back to 2002, when the parent company, BIWI SA, made a series of acquisitions.
The acquisitions would later lead to the formation of LOCATIS Electronics in 2007, following the independence of the Electronics Division of the parent company, BIWI SA.
LOCATIS Electronics has since become a major player in the subcontracting of electronics production and assembly, especially for the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
The complete range of services offered by the company cuts across the manufacture/production, development, and industrialization of circuit boards.
It doesn’t matter if you know what to look for or you are hoping that the manufacturer will make some valid suggestions. LOCATIS Electronics got you covered with the fully integrated solution that involves the overall development of your product, the packaging, the testing, and certification.
The success of your SMT assembly projects is not in doubt, considering the extensive network of Swiss and international partners that are always willing to help to ensure that your SMT assembly projects are worth the while.
The wide range of electronic technologies or areas of specialization by the company include:
- Interfacing man/machine
- Electronic measurement
- Interfacing to databases, and payment methods
- Electronic testing
- RFID, radio GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPRS connectivity
- Electronics onboarding
- Electronics control systems
8. Micro Systems Technologies
Micro Systems Technologies (MST) brings engineering to life and is committed to delivering the kind of exceptional SMT assembly service you need.
Some circuit board assembly solutions require advanced processes. And that is what Micro Systems Technologies (MST) implements by using a variety of assembly equipment and inspection technologies.
These assembly technologies facilitate the assembly of a wide range of components, such as Flip Chips, Surface Mount Devices (SMDs), Bare Dies, LGA, BGA, and CSP.
These components are used on and assembled on any board material to produce complex, miniaturized electronic modules.
In terms of the use of Surface Mount Technology (SMT), Micro Systems Technologies (MST) uses a fully automated Surface Mount Device (SMD) assembly process and MES control.
Encapsulation and die bonding is also used as one of the advanced assembly technologies. The processes used here include:
- Gluing for lids and covers
- Underfill
- Transfer molding
- Glop top
- Junction coating
The following are some of the industries that benefit from the wide range of SMT assembly solutions created by Micro Systems Technologies (MST):
- Aerospace & aviation
- Industrial & commercial
- Healthcare & life sciences
- Communications
9. Essemtec AG
Essemtec is an SMT assembly company in Switzerland that concentrates on the provision of smart, and highly flexible Surface Mount Technology (SMT) solutions. The company pinpoints its solutions around the assembly, dispensing, reflow and storage.
Essemtec AG also believes in the preservation of nature. Hence, a bulk of the SMT board services the company provides revolves around the preservation of nature, while providing the utmost SMT solutions to the customers.
This is not leaving out the fact that the manufacturer also focuses on the natural adaptiveness of the SMT assembly services. This way, the SMT assembly solutions can be easily and quickly adapted or replicated to a variety of other framework conditions.
The global SMT assembly services offered by Essemtec AG are designed in a way that each of the customers will get a tailored solution for whatever SMT needs they may have.
The globalized SMT assembly services but are not limited to:
- Used equipment
- Spare parts
- Component installation
- Component sourcing
- Repairs and corrective services
- Contractual service agreements
- Preventive maintenance
- Component upgrades
Essemtec AG also offers a larger component spectrum that is based on availability, placement accuracy, and speed. These components also come in different forms, such as Archerfish, Puma, Fox, Mineral Cast Chassis, and Combined Dispensing.
10. HybridSA
HybridSA has been in the business of providing a wide range of microelectronics assembly solutions for 42 years and counting. The company also specializes in the use of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) to place or mount electronic components on both the single and double-sided substrates.
In terms of the applications, the SMT assembly services it offers are used in many places, such as:
- Security
- Watchmaking
- Datacom
- Medical
- Scientific
- Sensor
- Aerospace
- Imagery
Conclusion
We are sure that you now know the importance of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) in today’s electronics manufacturing sector.
As an electronics consumer, you want to partner with some of the best SMT board service providers and manufacturers, because that is the best way to get the most out of the SMT services that your electronic devices need.
Also, the SMT assembly companies on the list have been tested and trusted over the years. The previous customers are pleased with the services these companies offered, and we are sure you will also find the services invaluable.
Above all, there are a couple of other top SMT assembly manufacturing companies that may not be based in Switzerland, but the services they offer are of good quality. Rayming Technology (Ray PCB) is one such company. With excellent customer support, lots of SMT assembly services to offer, and competitive prices, the company is one of the best out there.
Good luck with using any of these companies to advance your SMT needs!
