Norcott Technologies Expand with Europlacer
Norcott Technologies, the Cheshire based contract electronics manufacturer, was formed in 1997 by the management team of Mosaic Technology with the aim to provide electronic design services to OEM manufacturers.
The longer term goal was to provide a full service, combining the design capabilities with the ability to also manufacture the products for the end user. So, in September 1999 a medium capacity SMT line was installed, the heart of which was the Europlacer EP400 system which even then offered the facility to place a range of devices from fine pitch QFP to µBGA devices.
MD Russ Magee comments: “Even back in 1999 we were utilising the full flexibility and intelligence of the Europlacer platform, which allowed us to assemble a wide range of PCBs. The machine was capable of a maximum of 4,000 cph, so we were not aiming at the higher volume business at that stage.”
Over the ensuing years the business model proved successful and volumes increased accordingly; Norcott invested in further SMT equipment more aimed at this higher volume section of the market with the purchase of Siemens and Juki equipment while increasing their capabilities with the addition of AOI and X-ray systems.
Norcott’s design and manufacturing centre resided in the picturesque area of Tarporley in a quite literally green field area with beautiful gardens and views of the surrounding Cheshire countryside, and while the location was quite idyllic in the early days, the amount of floor space available was becoming a challenge “we realised that we needed to relocate some time ago, but finding the 
right location which was right for the business, customers and for our employees was tough” said Russ Magee “after some time, we decided to move the business to its new location in Widnes. We were fortunate to find a large enough facility that had housed another high-tech business, and so a lot of the infrastructure was already in place.”
A decision was made to make an investment in a new manufacturing line, which would be installed in the Widnes building from day one.
While searching for the new building, Norcott began investigations into potential suppliers to 
provide this new line and Russ tasked his Technical Manager Martin Baker and Senior Engineer Paul Copeland with the job of evaluating the SMT market and to select which equipment manufacturer would be suitable.
Martin Baker commented “with 3 equipment types on already in use, we had to look at what best suited our business model. We re-evaluated all of these suppliers, and based upon needing a high feeder count, quick setup and change over and being able to build the high technology products that we assemble, we came to the conclusion that Europlacer was our preferred route”
Blakell Europlacer Distribution are able to provide complete line solutions, from their own manufactured pick and place systems (Europlacer) and stencil printers (Speedprint) through to other SMT products such as PCB handling, AOI systems, Reflow machines etc. 
So after some further evaluations on Blakell Europlacers general equipment offering, Norcott selected a full line comprising the Speedprint SP710AVi, Europlacer iineo I, TSM Reflow oven and PCB handling.
We also attended a Speedprint technology day at the MTC facility in Coventry, where Blakell Europlacer showed us the Speedprint SP710AVi machine and also demonstrated the Europlacer iineo in greater detail. We were convinced following that day, that the Speedprint and Europlacer route was the way to go – stated Martin Baker.
The new line was installed earlier this year and is now bedded in and in production.
Russ Magee concludes: “we are delighted to have partnered with Blakell Europlacer, we’re already seeing the benefits of the new line and are looking forward to offering our extended capabilities to our existing and potential clients”
