Electronics Manufacturer of the Year
Custom Interconnect Ltd (CIL) is an advanced contract electronics manufacturer (CEM) specializing in complex, mission critical electronic assemblies. Technologies used are surface mount PCB assembly, bare die and wire bonding and full mechanical assembly of products for a range of industries that include
Medical, Aerospace, Automotive, Communications, Homeland Security, Animal Conservation, Instrumentation, Scientific, Transportation, Oil & Gas and IOT
Customers include
BMW, McLaren, Halliburton, GE Oil & Gas, Renishaw, Rapiscan, Federal Mogul, Gooch & Housego PLC, AIRBUS and BAe.
135 staff
37,000 sq ft manufacturing area
The whole period has obviously been badly affected by Covid-19 however
Turnover for the period 30/04/20 – 30/04/21 will only be down 2% of the previous record year
Net profit for the period 30/04/20 – 30/04/21 will only be down 12% of the previous record year
Considering Covid-19 has affected 7 months of this 12-month period we consider our numbers quite an achievement, but we did more than this. When Covid-19 broke, CIL was immediately given “Key Worker” status for the whole company for 3 different reasons.
- We manufacture DNA sensors used globally to investigate Covid-19 mutation
- We were the electronics manufacturer for UK Ventilator programs for the F1 consortiums involving Red Bull, Renault and McLaren manufacturing 6,000 systems
- We were the electronics manufacturer for UK Ventilator program for the OxVent consortium involving Oxford and Kings College Universities and Smith + Nephew PLC manufacturing 7,200 systems
- So we manufactured 13,200 Ventilator systems PCBA from a standing start in just over 14 weeks
- At the very height of the first COVID19 outbreak, CIL found itself working over the entire Easter break on the very first 10 Ventilator systems. The urgency of said systems was deemed so important the UK Government made available the use of Her Majesties personal helicopter to transport the first units from CIL to another UK location
- Involved on not one but three separate Covid-19 related life-saving programs. Two were for the UK (UK Ventilator program) and the DNA sequencing equipment is used globally and even though the requirement for ventilator systems has ceased the DNA requirement doubled every 12 weeks as Covid-19 is still tracked for mutations on a global level using the systems/sensors that CIL manufactures.
- In addition to this we also supported all of our existing customers whose demand only dropped by 15%.
All of the above was achieved during Covid-19 and keeping the entire CIL staff safe and well we believe qualifies CIL to be “Manufacturer of the Year” as all of it was manufactured by CIL and not subcontracted. When everyone else shifted to a working from home/furloughed basis, CIL production and engineering departments carried on to provide critical electronics assembly.
On top of all of the above we were working on a project for the future of Automotive drivetrain battery electric vehicles (BEV) to be manufactured in the UK and helping the UK drive towards a zero emissions future. This project was successful and we are now a part of a project called APC15@FutureBEV with BMW, McLaren and others for BMW to manufacture its future BEV systems in the UK. This is massive for the future of BEV systems in the UK as to date all BMW BEV systems are being manufactured in Munich Germany. The project with BMW this year has taken and will take CIL to a completely different level of company. A Tier 1 German auto manufacturer selected CIL to be its manufacturer of electronics BEV systems for all BMW UK manufactured cars which includes Rolls Royce, MINI and other BMW drivetrains.
This award is for “Manufacturer of the Year” and CIL has remained fully operational throughout the entire 12-month period. CIL has demonstrated in this period what is required of a UK manufacturer in the current age. It has to look after its staff’s welfare and constantly train them for the future. It has to adapt very quickly to its changing market as demonstrated during Covid-19 outbreak when it was involved in two separate UK Ventilator programs and manufactured 13,200 Ventilator electronics systems totaling 32,400 PCB assemblies from a standing start to completed in 14 weeks, whilst also at the same time look after its existing customer base. And it also has to look to its future, changing direction from technology derived from its Oil & Gas business for high temperature PCBA assembly and transferring it for use in future BEV systems for Tier 1 Automotive company BMW. And ultimately securing its future with the @FutureBEV program working with BMW, McLaren, Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, Lyra Electronics and University of Warwick.