In a move to help customers speed time to market and reduce manufacturing costs, Dow Corning Corp. (Midland, MI) has launched the External Equipment Provider Alliance with nine companies from the electronics assembly and packaging industry. Under the new alliance—the first of its kind in this market—Dow Corning will work with member companies and customers to streamline the integration of materials and equipment used in board-level assembly and back-end packaging, resulting in standard equipment or customized solutions that help customers meet production goals more quickly and efficiently.

The network of member companies includes Asymtek (A Nordson Company), Bartec Dispensing Technology, DEK, Fluid Research Corp., Lambda Technologies, Liquid Control Corp., Precision Valve & Automation (PVA), Scheugenpflug AG and Sieghard Schiller GmbH & Co. KG. As providers of meter-mix, conformal coating, fluid delivery, rapid curing, stencil printing and robotic xyz positioning, these companies have all demonstrated expertise in applying and handling Dow Corning's silicone and organic materials.

Under the alliance, Dow Corning will leverage member companies' expertise to simplify the procurement, integration, start-up and optimization of materials and processing equipment. By working together, alliance members can help customers address any number of challenges—from choosing the right combination of equipment and materials for a new process to delivering turnkey production packages. The alliance will also provide a lead contact who will work directly with the customer, coordinating the alliance's resources to develop business solutions.

Tom Cook, Global Industry Executive Director, Electronics & Advanced Technologies Industries, Dow Corning, said, "Dow Corning will partner with customers to provide as little or as much assistance as they need, helping them achieve day-to-day objectives as well as key, long-term business goals. The beauty of an alliance like this is that it gives customers access to more resources than any single supplier could deliver alone."

The company has been organizing the alliance over the past year and has selected members based on its long-term relationships with these and other companies throughout the board-level assembly and back-end packaging industry. Dow Corning plans to expand the alliance to other electronics market segments, such as wafer-level and front-end packaging.

www.dowcorning.com/electronics

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