Shanghai -- Assembléon, a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics, and Yamaha IM are extending their pick-and-place partnership for another three years. The agreement covers the global SMD placement market, and includes development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and service. 
 
The cooperation began in 1987, when Assembléon launched the companies' first mutual product, the CSM46. Since then, the partnership has been extended with continuous cooperation. 
 
Together, Assembléon and Yamaha have grown to be the top supplier of pick-and-place machines worldwide in terms of units.
 
"Together, our two companies have the economies-of-scale and technical expertise that electronics assembly operations worldwide can rely on," added Leon Husson, CEO of Assembléon. "With today's PCBs characterized by continued miniaturization and a widening component mix, the winners in the market will be the manufacturers who can make their machines future proof, while still delivering a cost-down, quality-up process."