The roots of PRECI-DIP can be traced back to1976 when Mr. GottfriedAeschbacher set up histurning shop, Durtal SA, in the town of Delémont,located in the very heart ofthe Swiss “Watch Valley”.Specialised in supplyingthe watch and heavy metalindustries, the businesscontinued to grow organi-cally over the followingyears. In 1998, the enter-prise was renamed Preci-Dip Durtal SA. Substantialrestructuring measures fol-lowed in 2005, when the

company was incorporatedinto the Caxel Holding. In 2006, it was renamedPRECI-DIP SA. “Today,PRECI-DIP has embarkedupon a proactive businessstrategy in order to boostits performance in theglobal market”, as Mr.Alain Bourderau, Directorof Sales and Marketing &Logistics, tells us in our interview.

Mr. Bourderau continues:“Between 2005 and 2006,we experienced growth ofaround 21%. 2006 was a

very good year for the entire electronics industry,and we have greatly bene-fited from the upward trendin that industrial niche.”Today, with 250 membersof staff on our payroll, thecompany generates an an-nual turnover of 70 millionSwiss Francs.

PRECI-DIP is amongthe world’s leading pro-ducers of high-precisionscrew-machining contactsbased on clip technology.Its core portfolio, whichcomprises more than20,000 different products,is divided into threeranges: standard products,screw-machined contactsand custom-designed prod-ucts. “Standard productsinclude spring-loaded con-nectors, board-to-boardconnectors, DIL/SIL sock-ets, and PGA/BGA/PLCCsockets”, lists our interviewpartner. “Screw-machinedcontacts are supplied toother connector manufac-turers and resellers.”

The PCB connectorportfolio, which is made up of socket connectors,

pin connectors, square pin connectors, headers andjumpers, generates asmuch as 30% of theturnover. “The lion’s share,namely 60%, of the con-nectors is standard prod-ucts, while the remainderare customised solutions”,says Mr. Bourderau. Whenit comes to the develop-ment of customised prod-ucts, teamwork is crucial,in fact, when faced withnew challenges, PRECI-DIP’s highly skilled engi-neers work in close collab-oration with the customer.Customised design is basedon excellent material know-how and good access tomaterial resources. Further-

Swiss Quality at its Best

MANUFACTURING & SUPPLY

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The headquarters house the entire development andproduction departments as well as high-tech inspection labs

Mr. Alain BourderauDirector of Sales and Marketing & Logistics

more, experienced devel-opers are able to adaptstandard products to meetspecific demands.

Combining Swiss pre-cision with internationalservice, PRECI-DIP offersreliability, trust and inno-vation, and the PRECI-DIPbrand represents quality,loyalty and strength. Theenterprise is a leading sup-plier to some of the mostdemanding markets aroundthe world, the most im-portant of which aretelecommunication (28%)and industry automation(22%). Other target mar-kets include the military-aerospace, transportation,medical, data processing,IT, and consumer electronicsegments. “Fifty-five per-cent of our sales activities

is carried out directly toOEM customers, while theremaining 45% is carriedout through a distributornetwork”, explains thesales director. “We are wellconnected on worldwide

level, collaborating withpartners in 50 countries. Intotal, our products areavailable at more than 250points of sales worldwide.Our excellent market pres-ence makes us one of thetop players in the screw-machining and intercon-nected components marketin the world.”

Committed to the cus-tomers’ requirements and

striving to satisfy the ever-growing demands of itscore markets, PRECI-DIPhas an impressive output of more than 150 millionparts per week. Every week,36 tons of raw material areprocessed. For this pur-pose, the company has setup powerful machinery inits various production de-partments. In the com-pany’s screw-machiningdepartment, more than 300automatic high-speed turn-ing machines are deployed.They are used for the production of cylindricalparts, and boast a capacityof 150 million pieces perweek. The clip stampingdepartment is equippedwith 10 high-speed stamp-ing presses which have an output of 130 millionclips per week. Made fromheat-treated and deburredBeCU, the clips are avail-able as more than 40 multi-finger clip references withthree, four, six and eightfingers. Six fully automat-

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The screw-machining department is equipped with more than 300automatic high-speed turning machines

State-of-the-art machines are used for the final assembly of connectors, sockets and contacts

ed plating lines of the vi-bratory basket type havebeen installed in the plat-ing department. Here, layerdeposition is carried outfor electro nickel, chemicalnickel, tin lead, lead-freetin and gold, and is re-sponsible for processing180 million parts everyweek. Moreover, this de-partment operates a state-of-the-art chemical lab forplating baths analysis, aswell as a waste water treat-ment installation with ISO14001-certified ultra-fil-tration systems. The injec-tion department, which isequipped with 25 powerfulmachines, processes thermo-plastic PBT, PCT, PA andLCP, and produces morethan two million parts aweek. In the assembly department, 300 machinesare used to assemble con-nectors, sockets and con-tacts.

All finished parts aresubject to a thorough in-spection that is performedin-house and covers di-mensional, mechanical,

electrical and environmen-tal testing. Our interviewpartner continues. “Thanksto our outstanding expertiseregarding machine con-struction, we are very flexible. In fact, we are in a position to upgrade andre-tool production ma-chines within a very shortspace of time.” All design,production, tooling andtesting are performed withmeticulous care.

PRECI-DIP’s involvementin construction stretches fromresearch and product devel-opment through stamping,secondary operations, in-jection, to final assembly.“Operating a single pro-duction site, which coversan area of 25,000-m², wecarry out entire productionprocesses quickly and effi-ciently”, points out Mr.Bourderau. “As a one-stop-shop for screw-machiningcontacts, we have adopteda vertical production struc-ture. This basically meansthat we are not involved incollaborating with subcon-tractors which gives us

full control over the wholeprocess, from material procurement, through de-velopment, engineering andmanufacture, to logisticsand distribution.”

New projects are al-ready in the pipeline, as Mr.Bourderau elaborates: “For2007, we have planned thelaunch of several screw-

machined components ofthe new generation. One ofour major concerns whendeveloping new products isto make sure they adhere toenvironmental protectionregulations.” PRECI-DIPbelieves that respect for theenvironment is critical forthe success of its businessand therefore strives tocontinuously improve en-vironmental performance.Consequently, the enter-prise uses advanced filtersystems that reduce air pollution and operates aclosed-water circuit thatprotects the ground water,thus saving valuable re-sources. The company’sdedication was recognisedwhen it was awarded thebest company of “SwissRomande” by the SwissVenture Club in 2006.

The company’s devel-opment and manufacturingprocesses are supported bya proactive marketing drivewhich helps to demonstrateto the customers how screw-machining products can be a benefit to them. In

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Screw-machined interconnect components by PRECI-DIP SA

3D modelling is just one part of development process

addition to publications inthe trade press, the enter-prise also presents its prod-uct range at trade fairs such as Automaticon Fairin Warsaw, MD&M WestTrade Fair in California,and Electronica in Munich.

The client group in-cludes the industry giantsNokia, Laird Technologies,Siemens, Panasonic, Bosch,Philips, Miele, Sony Erics-son, Alcatel, IBM, CiscoSystems, Airbus, Celestica,Jabil, Solectron, SchneiderElectric, EADS, Boeing,SAAB, BMW, Audi, Re-nault, Johnson Controls,Xyratex and Valeo, toname but a few.

PRECI-DIP is a dy-namic, medium-sized or-ganisation that operates

across all four corners ofthe globe. Since 2006, theenterprise has been repre-sented with its own sub-sidiary in Shanghai, thusstrengthening its positionin that part of the world.“We generate 15% of ourturnover in China, which isturning into our fastest-growing market. As far asthe Far East is concerned,we expect India to gain inimportance as a dynamicmarket of the future”,stresses our interview part-ner. “Nevertheless, Europehas remained our coremarket. The USA also of-fers great potential forgrowth, especially in themilitary sector. In Europe,our key export markets areGermany and Hungary.”PRECI-DIP is also activein Italy, France, Scandi-

navia, Spain and the UK,as well as South America,Japan and the Asian-Pacificregion. As many as 10 languages are spoken bythe highly qualified key account managers andsales assistants employedat the company’s sales de-partment; thus, communi-cation with customers andpartners abroad is greatlyfacilitated and all exportactivities, including sup-port and after-sales ser-vice, are carried out in asmooth and trouble-freemanner. When collaborat-ing with PRECI-DIP, cus-tomers can rest assuredthey receive the very bestin consultancy and tech-nical solutions.

Looking back at its history of success, PRECI-DIP expects to maintain itsupward trend in the future.Our interview partner con-cludes: “The communica-tion segment is very stableand is not likely to changein the future. Therefore, weanticipate further growthmainly in other sectors. Weexpect to strengthen ourposition by supplying high-performance military andaerospace applications.”

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The finished products are subject to thorough tests and quality control at the

in-house inspection laboratory

Preci-Dip Durtal SA obtained theEntrepreneur of the Year Award for

Western Switzerland in 2006

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