With CIL’s financial year ending in June 2019, turnover grew by a further 27% to £18.39M, net profits by 100% and headcount by 15%. When compared to two years ago, turnover is now +77%, profits +400% and headcount +45%.
Through a strategy of concentrating on highly complex electronic and micro-electronic assemblies utilising heavily invested modern assembly equipment, we have managed to double our active customer base whilst at the same time achieve higher margins through assembly automation. In 2016 65% of all SMT assemblies at CIL transitioned to 0201 technology and by 2019 this is now 79%. Over 40% of our monthly shipments are now mixed SMT / Chip & wire modules and all of them are of a complex nature. We are now starting to assemble products using 01005 / Chip & wire which has resulted in CIL having to purchase an in-house Laser Depanelling system. These FR4 PCB and Flex/Flex rigid assemblies are now so small, we can no longer get them supplied as pre-routed/lasered bare boards and then commence assembly. Instead we have to assemble the entire product for both SMT and chip & wire and then laser it out from its support card on the completion of build. Throughout 2019/2020 we will move to laser removal of all assemblies, which currently run at >20,000/month
Equipment purchased in the last 12 months include
2 off MYDATA MY300 01005 capable SMT machines (we now have 6 SMT lines)
3 off DEK Horizon X3 solder printers (we now have 6 printers)
1off TAKAYA APT1400F flying probe tester (we now have 3 flying probe testers)
1 off DAGE Quadra5 X-Ray machine complete with CT Scan capability
2 off ASM Auto Aluminium wire bonders (We now have 4 Auto Al bonders)
2 off ASM Auto Gold wire bonders (We now have 3 off Auto Au bonders)
1 off LPKF Auto laser depaneler
1 off Asymtek Auto Ink Jet Glob top / BGA underfill in line system
Products that we manufacture and test include Scientific, Medical, Automotive, Oil & Gas and Optical products such as.
1. X-Ray sensors with 600 off 0201 SMT components and a silicon die which measures 150mm x 100mm and requires 550 – 850 wire bonds/device. This is low volume high margin that is 98% exported.
2. Silicon based DNA sequencing. This device contains 150 off 0201 components and a large area silicon die requiring 250 off bonds/device. But as with Item 1, these are not small die, they are large sampling die and are extremely complex. Quantities for this customer are increasing by 50% every 6 months and already we have had to purchase a new die bonder, two automatic wire bonders, a complete SMT line and flying probe tester in under 6 months with more to follow.
3. We have just won a manufacturing contract from a Canadian company for a single use life saving medical implant. It is a 4 layer Polyimide flex 160mm long and at one end it has 10 off 01005 passives, a bare die ASIC and bare die pressure sensor both of which is to be wire bonded, inert encapsulated and then laser routed completely. Customer expected quantities by year 5 are 250,000/annum at CIL.
4. Work still continues helping a customer in the development phase of a revolutionary new method of breast cancer screening. This equipment when deployed will diagnose breast cancer in less than 10 seconds/breast and yet emit very low-level RF emissions.
5. We have been manufacturing 150, 175 and 220 degC operating temperature PCBA’s for the Oil & Gas industry. When in use, they are exposed to 20G’s in 3 axis simultaneously for up to 4 years. All of these PCBA and “spine builds” are now exported directly to Houston, Malaysia and China.
6. Because of our 14 years’ experience in Oil & Gas high temperature PCBA, work began 12 months ago on 6oz heavy copper PCBA for EV and Hybrid vehicles. These PCBA assemblies which when housed are bolted directly to the very latest Hybrid vehicles engines. They are used as energy harvesters with up to 3 per engine and have to withstand up to 150 Deg C operating temperatures, 20G vibration in 3 axis for up to 15 years. These energy harvesters have upwards of 600 SMT components / device and as there are 3 per engine all 1800 components have to withstand the same environment.
7. The growth in these business areas has resulted in CIL constructing 65 SMT machine programs in 40 days!!
As well as all of this growth, we have successfully transitioned all of our quality standards to the latest revisions. We are now AS9100 Rev D (Aerospace), ISO13485:2016 (Medical) and ISO9001:2015 accredited.
We have also started a program of recruiting engineering graduates whilst at the same time sponsoring two existing employees to gain degree level qualifications.
The next financial year, we are forecasting another 20% growth, 75% increase in profits, headcount increase of 15% and a capital equipment spend of >£1.5M.
https://www.cil-uk.co.uk/