'Inspiration to innovate': the annual awards programs offer motivation for excellence, entrants say.

The 2008 edition of CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY'S Service Excellence Awards was as notable for the continuing dominance of Aegis Industrial Software as for the ascent of several previously under-the-radar EMS companies that made their mark for the first time.

More than 130 participants, guests and industry leaders turned out for a special awards ceremony in Las Vegas on March 31, just prior to the opening of the Apex trade show.

The event was commingled with the premiere of the New Product Introduction Award, recognizing leading new products for electronics assembly during the past 12 months. An independent panel of practicing engineers selected the recipients.

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The SEAs, now in their 16th year, recognize EMS providers and electronics assembly equipment, materials and software suppliers for service, as judged by their own customers.

Among the EMS entrants, overall winners were Mack Technologies (revenues over $100 million), Key Electronics (revenues of $20 million to $100 million) and Krypton Solutions (revenues under $20 million).

The EMS companies with the highest scores in each of five individual service categories also received awards. (Overall winners were excluded from winning individual categories.) In the small-company category, South Bay Circuits grabbed the top spot for dependability/timely delivery and responsiveness, while Screaming Circuits and Synchronized Manufacturing tied for manufacturing quality. South Bay Circuits and Screaming Circuits tied in the technology category, while Synchronized Manufacturing swept the value category.

In the medium-company category, The Morey Corp. took top honors for manufacturing quality, responsiveness and value. Applied Technical Services won for dependability/timely delivery and technology.

Electronics assembly equipment award winners were Asymtek for dispensing; Assembleon for pick-and-place; BPM Microsystems for device programming equipment; DEK for screen printing; Kyzen for cleaning/processing materials; YES-Tech for test and inspection, and KIC for soldering equipment; OK International and BEST Inc. tied for rework/repair. Aegis received top honors in the manufacturing/supply chain management software category, a feat it has achieved each year for nearly a decade.

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Each participating company was provided a comprehensive package of completed customer surveys and overall rankings compared to their peers. "This year's SEA survey comments really confirmed that our brand positioning matches the service, quality and price level our business is trying to achieve," said back-to-back winner Bob Wettermann, president of BEST, citing what he referred to as the "overarching comment" he heard from each company participating.

This year's turnout was a notable balance between returning parties and up-and-comers, making the competition exciting and unpredictable. With overall winners like the promising Krypton Solutions--an outfit began by four brothers and which is expanding to a larger facility next fall--the SEA program has reached a new level of diversity.

"There can be no greater honor than to win an award because your customers believe you deserve it," said Scott Morey, president of The Morey Corp. Martin Stone, Asymtek's VP of operations added, "Winning the SEA award validates our efforts in meeting and exceeding customer expectations."

Winners of the inaugural NPI program were Inovaxe, in the area of automation tools, for InoCart-MSD; Aqueous Technologies' Trident, in the category of cleaning equipment; Kyzen for cleaning materials, with the Aquanox A4625B; Siemens, in the category of high-speed component placement, for SIPLACE X4i; Europlacer's iineo for multi-function component placement; BPM Microsystems' Flashstream, for device programming; Ovation Products, in the area of dispensing equipment, with its Stinger; Polyonics in the labeling category, for Thermal Transfer Printable White Polyimide Label Stock; Nihon Superior for flux materials, with NS-F850; ECD's Megam.o.l.e. 20 Thermal Profiler, in the category of process control tools; R & D Technical Services' Vapor Works 24 for rework/repair; ICON Technologies, in the area of screen/stencil printing, for ICON i8; Optimal's Optel for management software; DEK's Instinctiv V9, in the area of process control software, and Juki for OPASS (production software) and Juki 350 (selective soldering).

For materials soldering, the foursome of Nihon Superior, Balver-Zinn, DKL Metals and FCT Assembly won for SN100C; Speedline Technologies, in the category of reflow soldering, was recognized for Electrovert IFC; EVS International won general soldering with its EVS 1000 Solder Recovery System, while VJ Electronix, in the area of test and inspection-AXI, was awarded for Vertex Series "A"; Everett Charles Technologies' Gemini Spring Pin won for ICT, while Mirtec's MV-7L was recognized for AOI, and Henkel for underfills, with Loctite 3508.

"I like the NPI Award methodologies; particularly, the criteria specifically focus on market priorities and the objective panel of industry experts that CA employed for judging. That has value to our industry," said John Perotta of Europlacer.

"We are glad CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazine chose to recognize Flashstream with its first New Product Introduction award and hope it inspires all suppliers to continue to create innovate products for the electronics assembly industry," said Tim Nolte of BPM Microsystems.

A donation of $5,000 was made on the SEA participants' behalf to the Surface Mount Technology Association's Charles Hutchins Educational Grant. In addition, a donation of $1,000 was made on the NPI participants' behalf to the SMTA's Atlanta Chapter's Ron Daniels Scholarship (atlantasmta.com/scholar-ship.html). Daniels was a longtime editor and publisher of CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY. For information about next year's SEAs and NPI Award programs, contact Chelsey Drysdale at [e-mail].

Chelsey Drysdale is senior editor at CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY.