Russia's electronics market becoming more attractive

• Скачать статью "Russia's electronics market becoming more attractive" в формате .pdf (2МБ)

Thanks to Russia's continuing economic upswing, the country is experiencing a broad-based increase in the demand for electronics. RCM Group has recognized this trend and runs a successful electronics manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg.

The Russian market is large, and the country's economic growth rate has been stable around five percent for quite a few years now. In addition to oil and gas exports, the transportation and communication sectors have established themselves as major pillars of the country's economy, providing new opportunities for many other industries -including the electronics industry.

One of Russia's five largest electronics manufacturers is the RCM Group, which consists of three companies. Abris handles the project management and produces circuit boards, Aviton supplies the components, and Abris Technology does the manufacturing. This constellation enables the RCM Group to offer complete electronics services from a single source. To establish itself in the still relatively young Russian market, Abris Technology in particular must manufacture reliable electronics products with high quality.

SIPLACE stands for quality

For the RCM Group, it is therefore very important to use the best placement equipment available. That's why the company carefully analyzed machines from several major suppliers. About six months   after   its   first   contacts   with Siemens and DIAL-Electrolux, RCM Group decided in favor of the German conglomerate. Three machines from the SIPLACE Compact-Series were ordered, delivered and put into operation shortly thereafter.

Maxim Polyanichko, CEO of Abris, adds: "Siemens simply offered the best price-performance ratio. The factors that made the difference were the high reliability and flexibility of the SIPLACE machines. In addition, Siemens enjoys an excellent reputation for high quality in Russia, which our customers appreciate as well. We never regretted our decision to purchase the SIPLACE Compact-Series." RCM Group's financials 'confirm this. Its sales, which currently amount to US$ 15 million, more than doubled between 2004 and 2006.

Frequent product changeovers

Currently, RCM Group's customers order predominantly small to medium-sized production runs. Accordingly, fast product changeovers and easy operation are important. The SIPLACE Compact-Series machines meet these needs perfectly, but thanks to their modular design they also take advantage of some features which are usually reserved for high-end machines.

Abris Technology operates two placement lines. One uses the fast SIPLACE CS as a standalone machine, while the other combines a SIPLACE CS with a SIPLACE CF in order to provide speed paired with flexibility. Both machines can be equipped with 118 8-mm tracks and are able to handle circuit boards up to 508 x 460 mm.

SIPLACE Pro improves flexibility 

The SIPLACE CS features two gantries, each of which is equipped with a six-nozzle Collect & Place head and an integrated vision system. Arkady Gylov, Head of SMT, DIAL-Electrolux Ltd., explains: "With these features, the SIPLACE CS can place up to 20,000 components per hour with an accuracy of 68 um at 3 sigma - from small 0201s to components with sizes of up to 18.7x 18.7 mm."

The highly flexible SIPLACE CF sister machine is a single-gantry machine which features a Pick & Place head in addition to a 6-nozzle Collect & Place head. Equipped with a tray feeder or a waffle-pack changer, it can place up to 9,000 components per hour with an accuracy of up to 38 um at 3 sigma. The SIPLACE CF handles components ranging from 0201s to 55 x 55 mm as well as 92-mm connectors.

In this combination, the SIPLACE lines feature the kind of flexibility that is so important for Abris's business. The machines can be quickly reconfigured for a broad spectrum of products ranging from circuit boards for simple fire alarms and modules for home appliances to highly complex telecommunications and traffic management systems. Olga Komarova, Abris's marketing manager, knows: "We need this type of flexibility in order to operate economically. But let's not forget that the SIPLACE software is just as important as the SIPLACE hardware."
To program the machines, Abris uses SIPLACE Pro. Technically qualified employees learn programming with SIPLACE Pro within one week, even if they are complete novices. Head of production Alexander Dyogot is just as pleased with the software as with the machines and explains: "Our business requires frequent setup changes, and Siemens's software is ideal for such requirements. The graphical user interface makes the programmers' work much easier. They make fewer errors and work with enormous speed."

Online Support

Abris Technology's experience confirms its expectations. The quality, flexibility and availability of the SIPLACE machines meet or exceed the company's forecasts. To accomplish this, however, regular maintenance is important. Since most maintenance is performed by trained staff, the costs stay low and the time spent on such activities is a good investment, says Maxim Polyanichko: "Since we have no unscheduled downtimes, we always deliver our orders correctly and on time."

The RCM Group is particularly pleased with Siemens's support and with the support department of DIAL- Electrolux, which always responded with quick help and competent answers when needed. Alexander Grinevich explains: "We have always provided online support for Abris Technology and provided quick answers to any questions or technical challenges. To respond even more quickly we also opened a DIAL-Electrolux branch in St. Petersburg."

Thanks to the RCM Group's positive order situation, the company issued an optimistic forecast for 2007, with sales expected to increase by about 25 percent. At that point, additional placement lines will be needed, and the RCM Group's management has already expressed interest in the new SIPLACE D-Series.

The entire RCM Group team is proud of its operations 

St. Petersburg's RCM Group was founded in 2003 and has become one of Russia's largest electronics manufacturers. Group member Abris, which is in charge of circuit boards, had them made by contract manufacturers between 2001 and 2004. Since 2004, Abris manufactures all products for the RCM Group in-house on SIPLACE placement equipment. The holding combines three independently operating companies under a single roof: Abris, Aviton and Abris-Technology.

Abris handles the project management and produces circuit boards, Aviton supplies the components, and Abris Technology is in charge of manufacturing. Their customers operate in a broad spectrum of industries ranging from energy to security technology, telecommunications and automation. The RCM Group currently employs 160 people and generates annual sales of 15 million U.S. dollars.

The RCM Group currently specializes in small to medium-sized production runs. Accordingly, fast product changeovers and easy operation are critical requirements. The SIPLACE CF and CS placement machines in use at Abris Technology meet these needs perfectly.