COSTA MESA, CA — West-Tech Materials, a commercial partner to leading manufacturers specializing in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of medical products and electronic assemblies has entered into a sales agreement with Trans-Tec, a premier distributor of Yamaha SMT equipment. West-Tech was approached by Yamaha and Trans-Tec after being impressed by their synergistic line of products that allows them to provide a complete solution to their customers in the medical device and electronic assembly industries.

West-Tech Materials engineers assist clients with material selection, sampling, and evaluation of all types of soldering materials, supplies and equipment, thermal interface materials, adhesives, cleaning chemistries, conformal coatings, ESD Solutions, and many other needs. With access to a large array of specialized materials and manufacturers, the West-Tech team can offer specific solutions to address a variety of client needs.

“West Tech Materials can now supply turn-key solutions from consumables to solder paste, Yamaha screen printing, SMT placement, automated optical inspection, and conformal coating and dispensing.  With demonstration and training sites in Fremont CA, and Chandler AZ, Trans-Tec America and West Tech Materials are uniquely positioned to train and support customers in this territory.” John Stempfle, Trans-Tec America.

“We serve markets that expect extremely high product reliability, and flexibility to adapt quickly to requirement changes. With many of our customers serving the medical and defense industries, having a reliable commercial partner who specializes in SMT equipment is foundational to what we do. Our customers trust us to respond quickly to their needs and our relationship with Yamaha and Trans-Tec helps us maintain that reputation.” Explains Rick Campo, CEO.

From soldering equipment to ESD Solutions and specialized materials, West-Tech’s team of engineers is comprised of industry specialists, allowing them to guide customers in their design, development, engineering, and manufacturing processes.

Yamaha has recently introduced important new inline machines and major software updates with state-of-the-art graphics and data analytics. The latest generation of assembly equipment includes the YSP screen printer with fully automated stencil changeover, the YRM20 high-speed mounter with single high-speed rotary head and advanced motion control, and the YRi-V 3D AOI with enhanced optics and auto program generation. Connected together in the unique 1 STOP SMART SOLUTION that shares real-time process and diagnostic data for maximum productivity, and with YSUP factory software tools, Yamaha’s portfolio is continuously adding new features ready for customers to achieve their next manufacturing targets.

HERTFORDSHIRE, UK — The eighteenth annual survey of tin users carried out by the International Tin Association (ITA) estimated that refined tin use in 2021 increased 7.6% to 389,500 tonnes with a strong recovery to pre-trade war highs.

However, estimates showed expected 2022 growth stalling below previous forecasts of 3-4% towards -0.6%. High inflation unexpectedly impacted demand in H2.

One hundred twenty-eight companies took part in this year’s study, accounting for some 46% of estimated global refined tin use in 2021.

Provisional estimates of total global tin use, including refined and unrefined forms, totalled 436,100 tonnes in 2021, up 3.9% from 2020. The Recycling Input Rate (RIR) was calculated to be 28.2% in 2021 and is forecast to increase slightly to 28.5% in 2022.

Refined tin stocks held by surveyed companies at the end of 2021 amounted to the equivalent of 2.7 weeks’ supply. Extrapolating to global consumption implies that world consumer stock holdings were around 20,400 tonnes. Consumer stocks were lower through much of 2021, but more ample supply towards the end of the year enabled a recovery, giving a net slight decrease from 2.9 weeks in 2020. Forecasts for 2022 suggest that consumers are looking to destock as demand falters; held stock is forecast to fall to an estimated 2.2 weeks’ supply.

Solder still accounts for the largest global share of tin use, increasing slightly to 49% in 2021. Global average growth of refined tin use in this sector was 12.2%. 2022 forecasts reflect the impact of inflation on consumer segments: an average decrease of -3.7% is expected globally, with a larger effect in China. Solar ribbon now represents 10% of solder production and is emerging as a major new use. Respondents are still optimistic about longer-term prospects for increased use in solar, 5G, electric vehicles, and other new technologies.

The average proportion of lead-free solders in electronics grew to 86% globally in 2021, up from 80% in 2020. 65% of tin use globally in lead-free solders was specified at < 100ppm Pb, down from 82%. The trend toward higher-purity, lower-lead specifications in tinplate continued in 2021, as 95% of refined tin specified by reporting participants was < 50ppm Pb, a marked shift from 79% in 2020.

In chemicals, tin use by survey participants increased by 4.0% in 2021 and was forecast to grow by 4.9% in 2022. Market dynamics in this sector have been complex through the pandemic, with both positive and negative effects in different sectors. This data reflects broad recoveries continuing through 2022, with China markets weakened by its ongoing property crisis.

Pandemic-boosted tin use growth in tinplate markets continued through 2021 at 5.2%. Participants forecasted this higher baseline to be maintained with a modest 0.3% growth in 2022. Some turbulence can be expected with both positive and negative effects possible in relation to forecasted food market disruption.

Lead-acid battery tin use markets reflected a significant pandemic boost to e-bike use in China as well as some recovery in auto markets, growing by 6.9% in 2021 and forecast at 7.6% growth in 2022. Tin intensity increases in start-stop hybrid vehicles and other advanced batteries are also supporting growth. Markets will continue to grow steadily in the medium-term despite ongoing development of lithium-ion and other technologies.

Tin use in tin-copper markets increased significantly in 2021, with global growth of 15.8% reflecting pandemic recovery supported by new technology markets including electric vehicles and new electrical infrastructures. Negative growth forecasts for 2022 at -9.2% are mainly based on the cost-of-living crisis. Other traditional metal product markets averaged a -4.4% decline in 2021, largely rebalancing a large 2020 boost from float glass installations in China. Outside of China, markets showed some recovery. Markets are expected to resume a steady 1.2% growth in 2022. More information about tin use is available on the ITA website: www.internationaltin.org

FARNBOROUGH, UK — GEN3 recently celebrated, with all its staff, the 50th anniversary of the business founded by Arthur Naisbitt in 1969. The celebration had to be postponed by 3 years due to the Global Covid Pandemic.

Ex-marine engineer (1942 – 1947) and former officer of the Royal Artillery (1953 – 1963), Arthur Naisbitt (Generation 1) established the business representing the multi-national French heavy engineering company Fives Group. Turnkey manufacturing plants for cement, sugar, mines, quarries, mineral processing and steel, the original GEN1 Business had success around the world as far afield as Australia, India, Africa, Europe as well as the UK.

Generation 2, Graham Naisbitt, spent the first 30 years of his business career working in the same industrial sector both with Fives Group and later Babcock International subsidiary Claudius Peters in Germany (1980 – 1986). Graham then returned to the family business which had secured a new opportunity in the electronics industry on behalf of American group HumiSeal. This new part of the business, Concoat, helped develop the market for conformal coating products throughout Europe, ultimately manufacturing not only products under license from HumiSeal, but developing their own formulations.

Concoat was ultimately sold to HumiSeal in 2005. The company however retained their equipment manufacturing division that had benefited from the acquisition from Henkel of the former Multicore test equipment division in 2002 and became known as GEN3.

Third Generation Andrew Naisbitt joined the business full time in 2010 and assumed management from 2020 as the result of lockdown. The pandemic necessitated structural change and Andrew was then promoted to CEO and Graham taking the role of President (Chairman).

For almost 30 years GEN3 has worked closely with the British National Physical Laboratory (NPL). This unique relationship has helped in GEN3’s development of the MUST solderability tester, AutoSIR and AutoCAF insulation resistance measurement systems and CM Series ionic contamination test systems, as well as helping the company define new measurement techniques and equipment of which more will follow.

Through this relationship, and for almost 30 years, GEN3 has been engaged in international standards development with ISO, IEC as well as IPC in the USA.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL – Pillarhouse USA, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of David Leeper as Pillarhouse USA Service Manager, to spearhead and expand service offerings and customer machine support across the continental United States and Canada.

Jonathan Wol, President of Pillarhouse USA, Inc. stated “We are delighted to announce that David Leeper has joined the Pillarhouse USA service team, to strengthen the bond between sales and service and to lead our world-class customer service. His level of experience and knowledge makes for a fantastic addition to our management team.”

Mr. Leeper joins Pillarhouse with almost 20 years of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry. Initially, Mr. Leeper was a process engineer for an EMS company, managing their automated assemblies including SMT, wave, AOI and selective soldering. Following this, Mr. Leeper moved to a Tier 1 automotive supplier, responsible for DFM on new products, providing subject matter intel on PCB assemblies, as well as supplying engineering and manufacturing support at the company’s Mexico facility. Most recently, Mr. Leeper was Project Manager for Panasonic, building relationships with customers and coordinating installation and support for equipment and software.

Speaking upon his arrival, David stated, “I am very excited to join Pillarhouse USA and look forward to the new challenges this role will bring. My goal is to expand our service offerings, such as PillarCARE - our comprehensive after-sale and service program, available for all machines. We must maintain the superior level of support we provide, and are known for, as our North American market share continues to increase. This will include hiring regional field engineers, improving our self-help documentation, and streamlining our support line.”

Reflecting upon his prior Pillarhouse experiences, David said, “I encountered Pillarhouse at several of my previous customers, as well as at trade shows such as APEX and SMTA. Consensus was that Pillarhouse selective soldering equipment and customer service is unparalleled.” David believes strengthening the relationship between sales and service is key to maintaining and growing Pillarhouse’s presence, explaining, “If we can boost our standing in regions where we are currently a little underrepresented, Pillarhouse will improve our strong level of support which separates us from our competition.”