Pro-Active Engineering accelerates growth

The Wisconsin-based EMS, which has been on a major growth trajectory over the last 12 months, cites personalized service and unmatched quality as keys to its success, and notes that investing in a fast, scalable, technology-forward SMT line was vital to upholding these commitments as it takes on higher-volume, complex PCB assembly projects.

“Our staff has nearly doubled in just the last year,” shares Paul Schwanbeck, Pro-Active Engineering Vice-President, revealing that explosive growth led the business to explore a new placement equipment partner to support higher production volumes. “We have a long and successful history with DEK printers, so decided to evaluate ASM, alongside other vendors, for a placement solution. The decision to switch to a new supplier was a big leap – different programming, feeders, training, and a completely different mindset. Ultimately, ASM just felt like the right move and that has proven to be the case.”

Pro-Active Engineering, founded over 25 years ago, helps its customers manage the entire PCB assembly lifecycle – from challenging design engineering and DFM rules through to mass production. An operation that began as a small-volume, quick-turn business is now capable of servicing customers building as many as 50,000 boards per month. Applications range from industrial controls to aerospace to LED lighting and incorporate a broad spectrum of PCB architectures and componentry. The ASM line has accelerated Pro-Active Engineering’s growth beyond initial expectations, enabling the company to attract new high-end business and build increasingly more complex boards in greater volume.

“The three in-line SIPLACE TX machines are as fast as promised – maybe more so,” Schwanbeck says. “I just smile when I walk past them; the speed and precision are so impressive and they run reliably day-in and day-out. That quality, throughput and dependability go right to our customers’ product assurance and the bottom line.”

In addition to the DEK NeoHorizon printer and SIPLACE TX machines, which incorporate a combination of SpeedStar, MultiStar and TwinStar placement heads, Pro-Active Engineering tapped into online training via ASM Academy, allowing the manufacturing team to be up and running on the new line in five days. Since installation in its 4,000 sq. ft. expanded production space, Pro-Active Engineering estimates that the ASM equipment has enabled its business to increase by 20% (FY 2021), as it is almost twice as fast as its lower-volume, prototype lines. Even with this added production boost, the factory is not at capacity due to the line’s speed and efficiency.

“Pretty much everything has exceeded our expectations,” concludes Schwanbeck. “ASM service is excellent, the equipment is helping us win – and keep -- new customers and we would make the same decision if we had to do it all over again.” Learn more at www.asm-smt.com and www.proactivepcb.com.