Altus Group, a leading distributor of electronics manufacturing equipment in the UK and Ireland, has expanded its Aftersales operation to its largest size to date with the appointment of new engineer, David Wissam, to bolster coverage across the South East of the UK. The appointment reflects the company’s continued investment in service capability as its customer base continues to grow. David brings with him a strong background in customer experience and manufacturing support. He most recently worked at Paxton Access, a well-established electronics manufacturer, giving him first-hand insight into the realities of production environments and the support expectations of electronics manufacturers.

Mike Todd, Aftersales Manager at Altus Group, said: “It is great to see David joining the team and bringing his experience and energy into the business. Having come from a significant UK manufacturer, he understands customer challenges first-hand and can apply that knowledge to ensure we continue to support our customers to the highest level. We are proud of the size and experience of our pre-sales and Aftersales teams, and David’s appointment further strengthens that capability.”

David Wissam said: “I am really pleased to be joining Altus and excited to begin my journey with the team. I have been a customer for many years and have always admired the company not just for its equipment portfolio, but for the strength and knowledge of its people. Altus has clear momentum, and I am looking forward to supporting both new projects and the existing customers the team works with.” David becomes the third team member to join the Aftersales department in the second half of the year, taking the team to its largest size to date. This expansion reflects Altus' focus on building engineers with experience across complete manufacturing lines, enabling more effective on-site support and practical, process-led problem solving.

The Aftersales team has grown in response to sustained business development over recent years. Altus has added more than 100 customers along the South Coast in the past five years, as manufacturers increasingly look for long-term partners offering both advanced equipment portfolios and dependable service. In response, Altus has prioritised local engineering coverage to deliver faster, more resilient support while reducing inefficiencies associated with extensive national travel. www.altusgroup.co.uk.

Incap Estonia has strengthened the quality of its production with the addition of a new high-precision flying probe system. The investment enhances the factory’s ability to meet the diverse needs of customers with a fast-evolving and diverse product portfolio.

The Managing Director of Incap Estonia, Margus Jakobson, said that the investment aligns with Incap’s ambition to continuously improve its operations and keep up with different technological developments. “We are making great efforts to stay ahead of industry trends and needs by investing in solutions that strengthen the quality and efficiency of our operations,” Jakobson said.

Keeping pace with technological advancements is essential for Incap, as he explained: “This new system supports our goal of delivering consistently high standards to our customers while remaining agile in a rapidly changing market.”

Jakobson added that the investment solidifies Incap’s role as a reliable and agile manufacturing partner. “By improving flexibility and responsiveness across the testing process, our new system supports diverse project expectations, including shorter lead times and consistently high quality, and reflects the company’s commitment to delivering electronics our partners can always rely on.”

In electronics manufacturing, a flying probe system is used in the testing process to verify the electrical functionality and quality of assembled circuit boards before they move to the next production stage. Incap’s new flying probe system shortens the test cycles in manufacturing and increases flexibility for both prototype and volume manufacturing. It also supports highly accurate, fixtureless testing, allowing the factory to adapt quickly to new designs and respond faster to changing customer requirements, without the cost or lead time of traditional test fixtures.

By modernising the testing stage of the production process, testing time is estimated to be up to twice as fast compared to previous solutions. Incap Estonia’s focus on operational efficiency and process innovation is supported by reducing the need for dedicated test fixtures, which simplifies testing workflows and improves responsiveness across projects. Automation and software-driven testing reduce manual work and support a more streamlined and efficient production process over the long term.

PORTO, Portugal, 17th December, 2025 – Critical Manufacturing, the Manufacturing Operations Platform company making Industry 4.0 a reality, today announced a new partnership with Canonical that combines Critical Manufacturing’s advanced Manufacturing Execution System (MES) expertise with Canonical’s trusted cloud infrastructure technologies. Together, the companies will help manufacturers move towards cloud native manufacturing platforms that scale smoothly and meet industrial security expectations.

Manufacturers across industries are pushing forward with digitalization, but many still struggle with practical hurdles. Production systems often need to run across different environments, grow alongside business demands and deliver real-time visibility without adding complexity or risk. Scaling manufacturing software across sites, supporting modern deployment models and staying aligned with security standards remain common challenges.

Through this partnership, Critical Manufacturing and Canonical aim to remove those obstacles by offering a unified approach. Canonical provides a secure, enterprise-grade Kubernetes platform, Canonical Kubernetes. These technologies integrate with Critical Manufacturing MES and enable flexible deployment across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. This gives manufacturers the freedom to choose the infrastructure model that fits their operations, without forcing trade-offs in stability or control.

“This partnership brings together two platforms that manufacturers rely on to modernize operations,” said Mark Lewis, VP Application Services at Canonical. “By validating Critical Manufacturing MES on Canonical Kubernetes, we are creating a strong foundation for manufacturers looking for secure, scalable deployment options across cloud, hybrid, or on-premises environments.”

The collaboration also allows Critical Manufacturing to broaden its deployment options for customers already using Canonical products. By working with Canonical’s Kubernetes and securely designed Linux environments, Critical Manufacturing can shorten ramp-up time and lower entry barriers for manufacturers moving to cloud-native execution platforms, while remaining competitive in environments where Canonical is already established.
Will Trogdon, VP Partner Ecosystem at Critical Manufacturing, said, “Driven by a shared ambition to accelerate cloud-native manufacturing, we partnered with Canonical to offer a seamless, secure, and scalable way to deploy Critical Manufacturing MES in the environments that suit their operations.”

For customers, the partnership delivers a combined platform that supports secure and reliable manufacturing 1/2 execution at scale. Manufacturers gain more alternatives for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployments, supporting operational flexibility and overall lower total cost of ownership over time. Customers will also benefit from access to Canonical’s wider ecosystem of certified infrastructure providers as they expand or standardize deployments globally.

Canonical noted that the partnership will allow Critical Manufacturing to test and validate its products with Canonical Kubernetes, with the goal of addressing a shared market vertical together.

José Pedro Silva, R&D Director at Critical Manufacturing, added, “This collaboration supports a practical path to connected manufacturing execution. Canonical Kubernetes gives our customers a reliable infrastructure layer that complements the flexibility of our MES, especially as they expand across sites and adopt new digital capabilities.”

The partnership applies across manufacturing industries and supports organizations at different stages of digital maturity. By combining Critical Manufacturing MES with Canonical’s cloud infrastructure technologies, both companies plan to help manufacturers build more responsive and secure production environments that grow with their needs.

SAN MARCOS, CA – Heller Industries becomes the latest partner to join THE SMT FUTURE EXPERIENCE, bringing reflow oven expertise to complete the technology chain for the venue's live SMT production line. With Heller now alongside founding partners Fuji America, Koh Young, and Creative Electron, the San Marcos, California venue can demonstrate fully integrated manufacturing processes from screen printing and placement through thermal processing to final inspection and verification.

"The electronics manufacturing industry has a collaboration problem, it has been siloed for too long" said Dave Heller, CEO and Owner of Heller Industries. "We've been selling equipment in isolation for decades, expecting customers to figure out the integration puzzle on their own. THE SMT FUTURE EXPERIENCE flips that model. Now we can show manufacturers how thermal processing works in concert with placement accuracy and inspection capability. We can optimize profiles based on actual inspection data. We can demonstrate how integrated process control delivers better quality and efficiency. This is the future of how equipment suppliers should work with their customers—and with each other."

THE SMT FUTURE EXPERIENCE is an independent collaborative venue where manufacturing leaders spend time experimenting with live equipment, collaborating with peers on real challenges, and developing strategic frameworks—not rushing through booth demos or collecting brochures. The venue launches February 11-12, 2026, with dual summits focused on operational excellence for EMS leaders and practical AI implementation strategies.

With Heller Industries joining the partnership, the venue's live SMT line now enables manufacturers to:

• Experiment with different thermal profiles in real-time
• See immediate impact of reflow parameters on inspection results
• Test process optimization strategies without production disruption
• Collaborate with thermal processing experts on specific challenges
• Benchmark their processes against demonstrated best practices

"Thermal processing is where many quality issues originate—and where many efficiency gains hide," said Philip Stoten, creator of THE SMT FUTURE EXPERIENCE. "Having Heller Industries as a partner means we can help manufacturers master this critical process in a collaborative environment. Dave's commitment to customer success and industry advancement aligns perfectly with our mission."

Registration for the February 11-12 launch event is now open at www.futureexperienced.com.