News at Surtek

	LEAD-FREE WAVE SOLDER MACHINE 03 January, 2008 Late last year we completed the transition to accommodate two dedicated assembly lines, one for lead solder and one for lead-free solder.  With the formation of the two lines, the increased work in lead-free soldering required us to purchase a lead-free wave machine.  The new machine is a DEKTEC BEN-Z300 and will make a considerable impact into our efficiency and quality of lead-free soldering.
	MRP SOFTWARE 02 December, 2006 Over the past two years, Surtek has been evaluating numerous MRP software packages with a view to replacing the inventory management software in use since 2000.  The old software was fast becoming inadequate and could not keep up with the growth Surtek has experienced over recent years. In mid 2006, we found the system that will see  Surtek into the future - Exact Globe 2003 Enterprise. Exact was created by the Dutch company Exact Software, and is a complete MRP/ERP system which will ultimately run the entire business.   In November 2006, we began the transition from the old software to Exact starting with inventory management.  Stage 2 implementation is scheduled for mid 2007, and this will see the financial side of the system up & running.  The manufacturing module will be implemented in stage 3 which is planned for late 2007.  The final stage of the implementation is planned for early 2008.  This final module will give our customers and suppliers "portal" access into Exact which will allow them to obtain information such as an up-to-date progress of their jobs.
	INSPECTION MACHINE 11 November, 2006 In October 2006, we began a trial of the latest AOI (automatic optical inspection) machine to come out of SAKI, a Japanese company.  We were so impressed with the performance, ease of use and interaction with our Mydata pick & place machines, that we purchased the machine. The Saki BF18D-P40 Desktop AOI will be used to do SMD inspection of boards after they come off the pick and place lines to find faults such as missing components, incorrect orientation of components, tombstoning, unsoldered joints and bridging.  It is also capable of inspecting lead-free solder joints and component recognition.
	VAPOUR PHASE OVEN 15 July, 2006 With the increase in lead-free production required by our customers we have purchased a vapour phase reflow oven and created two dedicated SMT production lines, one for lead solder and one for lead-free solder.   The vapour phase oven has an advantage over the convection oven in that we can more accurately control the temperature of the circuit board being soldered.  This has a major impact on lead-free soldering because lead-free solder liquifies at a higher temperature than leaded solder.  By using the vapour phase oven we can limit the amount of excessively high temperatures that components will be subjected to during the soldering process.   In addition to the two dedicated SMT production lines we will also be creating two through-hole assembly lines, one for leaded and one for lead-free soldering. The leaded assembly line is already up & running, and the lead-free line is planned for 2007.
	ENERGEX SUPPLIER AWARD 07 April, 2005 Surtek was a finalist in the Energex Supplier Quality Awards 2004, in the category of Metering & Communication Service Providers. We were placed 1st runner-up, a great achievement considering we were the only manufacturing company in this category.
	THREE NEW MACHINES 07 April, 2005 Surtek has now increased production through-put with the purchase of our first multi-head Pick & Place machine, Selective Wave Soldering machine and the development of an automated board washing machine. The Mydata MY15 P&P machine contains 10 heads, 8 of which are dedicated for chip capacitors and resistors, it has 15 component bays which means it can place more parts quicker. The EBSO SPA 250 selective soldering machine gives us the capability of wave soldering through hole components on both sides of the pcb, even if there are SMD parts on both sides. This machine has also been purchased in mind of our customers growing requirement of lead-free soldering. We have developed and built an aqueous automated board washing machine. This machine is being used for washing of pcbs during the assembly process.
	3RD MACHINE FINDS A HOME 29 April, 2004 We have become so busy in the last month or so that we have installed another TP-9 Pick & Place machine. Of course, with the extra machine comes even more work for the assemblers, particularly in inspection, so we are also looking into obtaining an Inspection Machine to ease the load. The machine we are looking into will be able to inspect lead-free solder joints & will become a stepping-stone into this new world where we intend to be fully operational in 2005. Also, the increase in production and equipment means that we are looking for more assembly staff, interested parties should check out the employment page for details.
	SURTEK's GRAND OPENING, 31st MARCH 2004 7 April, 2004 The last day in March saw the Grand Opening of the Surtek's New Building. Over 100 of Surtek’s customers, suppliers and special guests came to check out the new building, & by all reports, were very impressed with the expansive production area, “quite a change from the rabbit warren in the previous building”. After the obligatory speech from Surtek’s MD, Ian Robertson, and the cutting of the ribbon, the afternoon really went off with a bang with the blowing of the raffle ticket balloons. Much food and drink was consumed as our guests continued to have a good time throughout the afternoon. Special thanks must go to all of the staff and all other helpers who did a fantastic job organising the day, making the food & generally helping in making the day run smoothly.
	CHANGE OF ADDRESS 22 December, 2003 The move into the new building was a successful one, except for a few teething problems early, namely no phones or water. We were able to move the production equipment on schedule and were up and running again within 2 days. We have now settled in our new home at 36 Murdoch Circuit, Acacia Ridge, and love it! Many thanks to our customers for their patience during this period, we hope to see you all at our Grand Opening in the early months of the New Year.
	FURTHER RECOGNITION FOR SURTEK FROM BOEING 22 December, 2003 Surtek has once again been recognised by Boeing as a preferred supplier at the recent annual Boeing Supplier reviews and presentation night. And for the second year running Surtek has been awarded Silver Supplier status. These awards place Surtek in the top 15% of global suppliers to the Boeing Company.
	NEW BUILDING NEARING COMPLETION 11 November, 2003 Over the past 6 months, Surtek has been involved in the ground up construction of a new purpose built building. The new building, at 36 Murdoch Court, Acacia Ridge, is only a stones throw away from our current location. The move is scheduled for the last week of November. With the exception of our address, all contact details will remain unchanged.
	SURTEK IS TO ADD DIE BONDING AND HIGH RELIABILITY SOLDERING TO ITS CAPABILITIES 11 November, 2003 Surtek is currently developing Die Bonding and Hi-Rel facilities. We intend to have these facilities operational in February 2004.
	SURTEK RECEIVES SILVER SUPPLIER STATUS FROM BOEING 14 November, 2002 The annual Boeing Supplier reviews and presentation night has just flown by, and Surtek has been accredited as an approved Boeing supplier. As well as receiving the approved supplier certification, Surtek was also awarded Silver Supplier Status in recognition of excellence for the work performed in their HF Modernisation Project. The Silver Supplier Status was the highest supplier honour awarded in this year’s review.
	SURTEK PURCHASES SECOND MYDATA PICK AND PLACE MACHINE 29 April, 2002 April saw the arrival of Surtek's second Mydata Pick and Place Machine - air freighted to Brisbane from a former life in the US. The TP11-UFP is a more advanced model of the TP9-2U Surface Mount Technology machine which has served us so well for the last five years and is still performing well. The TP9-2U has been exceptionally reliable and downtime has been minimal over the years. The flow-on effect of having two machines has been more work coming through the workshops and more workshop staff joining us to cope with that extra work.
	SURTEK LAUNCHES NEW-LOOK WEBSITE 13 February, 2002 After a rapid development schedule, Surtek is pleased to announce the launch of the new website which provides news, information, resources while facilitating direct channels of communication between Surtek and the outside world. Surtek looks forward to harnessing the new possibilities and opportunities an effective website provides, and welcomes comment or suggestions (email: webmaster@surtek.com.au) regarding how the website can further improve service to customers and the provision of information and resources.
	SURTEK IN EUROPE! 4 - 8 December, 2001 Surtek and Queensland were represented at the Federal Government's Department of Industry Science & Resources (DISR) mission to the Information Society and Technologies Event (IST 2001) held at Dusseldorf, Germany. Surtek nominated Dale Butler, an associate designer of Surtek, to attend as their delegate. He is known in Australia as a designer of Power Electronics control systems.
	FURTHER RECOGNITION FOR SURTEK BY CASA 15 October, 2001 Surtek became Australia's first supplier of electronic product to receive CASA approval to build aircraft transponders for a Customer. The CASA Australian Technical Standing Order (ATSO # 1C74c)) authorisation applied 'only for manufacturing operations at the above address' (Surtek's).
	CASA RECOGNITION OF SURTEK AS A SUPPLIER TO THE INDUSTRY 20 July, 2000 Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) audited and approved Surtek as having 'acceptable manufacturing quality control' to supply aviation product to a Customer in the aviation industry. The Customer was given Australian Parts Manufacturing Approval (APMA # E2000-004) to operate with Surtek as the supplier.