Competitive vendor landscape
The global SMT placement equipment market is highly competitive with the presence of well-diversified international and domestic vendors. The presence of many vendors has reduced the profit margins of existing vendors and made it difficult for new companies to enter the market. The need to continuously innovate with little turnaround time has led to vendors making heavy investments in R&D, thus reducing profits.
According to Bharath Kanniappan, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on automation, “Over the next few years, the competition in the market is expected to intensify due to growing product extensions and technological innovations, foreign collaborations, and increase in M&A. International players will grow inorganically by acquiring vendors operating in the market during the forecast period. For example, Yamaha concluded its acquisition of Hitachi’s SMT business in 2014.”
Top six SMT placement equipment market vendors
ASM Pacific Technology
ASMPT was founded in 1975, and is headquartered in Hong Kong. The company manufactures and markets semiconductor assembly equipment and materials, and caters to the independent IC assembly houses, consumer electronics manufacturers, and chip manufacturers. In 2014, the company generated USD 1.83 billion, and its R&D expenses stood at USD 150 million. The company operates in six R&D centers located in China, Singapore, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands.
ASM Assembly Systems provides SMT technology solutions for manufacturing electronic products. It also provides industrial printing and screen-printing systems for SMT and solar cell metallization production.
Assembléon
Assembléon is headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. The company provides assembly equipment and services for the SMT and backend semiconductor market. It serves automotive, military, medical, avionics, power, advanced packaging, consumer products, and module manufacturing market. The company operates in the US, Singapore, and China. It was formerly a part of Phillips Electronics Netherlands, and was acquired by the Singapore-based Kulicke & Soffa Industries in January 2015.
Fuji Machines
Fuji Machine was established in 1959, and is headquartered in Chiryu, Japan. The company manufactures and sells automatic mounters for electronic parts, automatic lathes, specialized machines, and control equipment. It also specializes in PCB designing, manufacturing, and software development.
Fuji Machines is planning to expand its customer base in Latin America. In November 2014, the company collaborated with PAC Mexico to open a new Regional Training Facility in Queretaro. This facility will provide an in-depth knowledge of all levels to operate FUJI SMT equipment to local customers, including operators, technicians, maintenance, and system training.
Panasonic
Panasonic was founded in 1918, and is headquartered in Kadoma, Japan. The company manufactures and distributes electronic and electric products in Japan and worldwide. The company provides various business solutions such as communication solutions, security systems, professional AV, terminal solutions, document and imaging solutions, IT solutions, and recording media. It has a strong presence in North America, Latin America, EMEA, China, and Oceania.
Panasonic’s automotive and industrial division manufactures and sells automotive-related products; industry-related devices such as electronic components, semiconductors; optical devices; primary and secondary batteries; battery appliances and components; manufacturing-related systems such as electronic component systems, welding and robot systems; and bicycle-related products.
Juki
Juki was established in 1938, and is headquartered in Japan. It manufactures and sells industrial and household sewing machines and SMT systems. The company has nine manufacturing and six development bases in Japan and global manufacturing and development bases in China and Vietnam.
Juki’s SMT systems provide pick-and-place electronic parts, such as capacitors, resistances, ICs, and other electronic parts, to different industrial markets, including mobile telephones, PCs, consumer electronics, and automobiles. The company’s SMT product portfolio comprises R-series, FX-series, KE-series and JX-series models. These models operate as chip mounters, flexible mounters, solder and paste printers, LED mounters, and inspection machines. The company also offers dispensers, component handling and feeders, production support systems, and intelligent storage management systems.
Yamaha
Yamaha was founded in 1897, and is headquartered in Shizuoka-ken, Japan. The company manufactures motorcycles, commuter and recreational vehicles, boats, multipurpose engines, generators, water pumps, and other control and component technologies.
Yamaha’s SMT equipment business division is organized under the industrial machinery and robots division. In FY2014, the division’s revenue increased by 12.89%, or USD 0.04 billion, compared to FY2013. This spike stemmed from high sales of surface mounters in China, Asia, and Europe, and the introduction of new medium-speed and high-speed mounters.
Other prominent vendors:
- Allen Organ Company
- Autotronik
- Electro Scientific Industries
- Essemtec
- Koh Young Technology
- Mirae
- Mycronic
- Nordson
- Speedline Technologies
- Samsung
- SMTmax
- Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology
- Universal Instruments