Optoelectronics specialist celebrates 40 years of excellence

One of the longest-established specialist optoelectronics manufacturers in Europe, the Cornwall-headquartered company is a pioneer in the design and manufacture of industrial fibre optic datalinks, discrete optoelectronic components, and solid-state/LED lighting devices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company focused on innovation – across product, process, and workplace – to ensure it emerged stronger, healthier, and better-placed to serve its customers’ needs.

This work has been recognised in a recent accolade, with OMC shortlisted as a Finalist for Manufacturer of the Year in the prestigious Elektra Awards for the electronics industry.

Explains William Heath, Director, OMC: “Continuous innovation has been key to our company’s success over the last 40 years. Our innovations span both technological and environmental improvements – and can be grouped into three broad categories: product, process, and workplace.”

Product

OMC places a strong emphasis on R&D and is constantly improving its designs to meet the demands of an ever-evolving marketplace. Recent innovations include development of the company’s Fibre Optic Arduino Shield, which enables users to easily incorporate fibre-optic data communications into microprocessor-based designs, facilitating its use in applications such as IIoT/Industry 4.0, smart equipment and buildings, medical devices, and motor controls – particularly in applications where data integrity is key or operating environments are challenging.

Process

OMC has implemented a vast range of process innovations, engineering cost out of its production processes. The company has upgraded its CNC facilities with more versatile tooling slots, and overhauled every programme, optimising to reduce cycle times and reduce waste. Cumulatively, this has improved average parts production speed by 57% and increased yields by 19%.

Workplace

OMC believes that long-term organisational success requires a workplace culture that fosters innovation while maintaining an unwavering focus on sustainability. The company recently commissioned automated scanning systems to keep track of work phases throughout production and quality inspection, helping teams and departments coordinate much more efficiently.

OMC manufactures as much as possible from raw materials in-house – buying semiconductor wafer, drums of extruded fibre, and bars of metal stock, and then completing the manufacturing process on-site, including die and wire-bonding and semiconductor encapsulation. This enables complete control over every aspect of its products – and customers therefore don’t have to gamble with ‘typical’ performance figures that aren’t quite relevant to specific application conditions. OMC also uses recycled materials wherever possible within its products, routinely recycling waste material from one process to feed another.

The company has installed almost 200kWp of on-site solar generation – and is now a net exporter of electricity – using a three-phase battery storage system to power its CNC machines overnight from solar energy stored during the day. It has also upgraded its entire facility with new energy-saving technologies to further reduce power requirements.

OMC has a strong track record in beating industry trends. Post-pandemic inflation led to raw material costs increasing by between 50% and 100% – and many in the market responded to these pressures by raising prices by 70% or more. OMC refused to accept hiking prices as the solution to these challenges. Instead, the company drew upon the fruits of its prudent long-term financial management, deploying significant reserve capital into cost-reduction measures and technologies, as well as enhanced buffer stocks of key materials, reducing cost, and safeguarding supply. As a result of this innovative approach, the company’s average sell prices remain within 10–15% of pre-pandemic levels.

OMC technologies are found in many diverse applications where long-term performance and reliability are key. From transportation, aerospace and defence, research and instrumentation, medical, and power distribution to industrial and consumer electronics, signage, commercial or domestic buildings, and leisure, OMC products are used daily and globally by millions of people, making their everyday lives safer and easier without them even realising it. With a strong focus on export, OMC’s wide-ranging, global end-user base includes, among many others, GE, Rolls-Royce, Alstom, CERN, Fermilab, Siemens, National Grid and the NHS, as well as numerous leading universities, public sector and research institutions.