Integrated Technologies Ltd Chooses Blakell Europlacer

Integrated Technologies Ltd (ITL) was established in the UK 35 years ago, and has built a reputation as the market leader in the design and manufacture of medical diagnostic and analytical instruments.

Based in Ashford, Kent, ITL’s core business is contract design and manufacturing. Customers bring ITL concepts to prepare for market, and ITL deals with all stages of the process from design, building a prototype, obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals, and finally, manufacturing the actual product.

“Our clients come to us because we have years of experience, while many of our competitors are new to manufacturing these kinds of products,” commented Tom Cole, Managing Director of Integrated Technologies Ltd.

In the face of booming business, the company has recently opened a factory in China to supplement its UK manufacturing capability allowing it to take on more orders, cut costs and keep ahead of the competition.

“We have been using equipment from Blakell Europlacer for 20 years now and have been delighted with the performance of the equipment, as well as the relationship between our organizations,” commented Cole. “Therefore, when we looked at the new production requirements for our Ashford facility, we were more than happy to evaluate the new product offerings from Blakell Europlacer.”

After running evaluations and demonstrations of the various pieces of equipment involved in the new line, ITL settled upon a complete solution comprising of the following equipment:

• Speedprint SP210AVi
• Europlacer iineo I
• HEXI reflow system
• SAKI Voyager AOI
• Excel conveyors

“This investment represents a significant investment for the company and I believe it offers ITL a huge technological advantage for our clients, giving us the ability to place devices as small as 01005. With the Speedprint system, we have the ability to check for solder paste integrity using their 2D+ paste inspection system; the iineo machine increases our capability and capacity; and the SAKI Voyager helps us to ensure that we are delivering excellent quality at the end of the line,” stated Cole.

The new line is to be installed in the 30,000 square foot Ashford facility in July and is part of ITL’s five year plan to continue growth from £14.5 million in 2007 to £29 million.

“With manufacturing both in the UK and in China, we have complete control of the process rather than outsourcing. This allows us to protect our intellectual property and that of our clients. This is particularly important to us because China is so far from home and it could be difficult to prevent ‘copy-catting’ of our instruments,” said Cole.

Blakell Europlacer’s UK General Sales Manager, Andy Jones commented, “It has always been a pleasure working with ITL over the years and we are very pleased to have been selected to help in the development of their new manufacturing facility in Ashford. This further cements the iineo platform as one of the most flexible and capable systems in the market. I am particularly pleased that ITL have put their faith in us as a supplier of a complete line solution from printers through placement, reflow and AOI.”