Major investment continues with appointment of industry specialist

Cramlington-based, electronic assembly services specialist, Hindley Circuits, has announced the appointment of business development manager, Alistair Barnes

Alistair, 43, has over 20 years’ experience in the electronics sector and in his previous role was key account manager with components distributor, Rutronik. He was also 10 years with global electronics specialist, Avnet.

Hindley Circuits, which has just completed its first full year of trading with a £2.5 million turnover, invested £500,000 in capital equipment during 2017, the most recent purchase being a £150,000 Yamaha chip mounter, the first model of its type in Europe and the fastest chip mounter in its class.

Richard Whitehead, chief executive officer , Hindley Circuits, said: “We have a £2.6 million order book going into our new financial year and we are viewing other tremendous opportunities. To move forward at pace, we need to continue to bring in talented and experienced people at all levels and to support them by investing in world class technology and equipment.

“Alistair is a key appointment. He has vast experience in the electronics components sector and a very strong technical background, allowing him to forge watertight partnerships, built on mutual respect, with both technical and purchasing executives in client organisations. Alistair appreciates the challenges facing clients and can often offer an alternative solution, that either greatly enhances product performance or drives down cost.”

Alistair is one of a number of appointments made by Hindley, in a first year that has seen headcount rise from twenty three to thirty six, after its assets were bought following the collapse of its parent company, A-Belco. Investors, led by Andrew Lapping, Bim Sandhu, Chris Pennison and Sarah-Jane Moffat, purchased the assets of Opsol Limited, from the administrator, Deloitte LLP, in October 2016 and launched the business as Hindley Circuits.

Alistair, said: “I am delighted to join Hindley Circuits at this pivotal moment. The investment being made across the business sends a clear message that Hindley has very strong management and is highly resourced. Crucially, there is also a real sense of momentum and determination to succeed.

“My role is to identify clients on the cusp of new product development – in specialist niche markets such as life sciences, environmental, leisure, security and media – and to develop close relationships, that enables them to come to market as quickly as possible.

“Clients are seriously impressed by the technology that we have at our disposal, such as the Yamaha chip mounter, which is the first in the UK. Investment like this is a testament to our ambition, which is to take products from design through the full life cycle.  This opens up a vast range of opportunities, including assisting the many manufacturers committed to on-shoring as we can deliver high volume while driving the cost down.”

Amongst the array of technologies introduced to the business are the Z-Check Z100 3D pre-assembly solder paste inspection system, the Mantis Vision stereo microscopes with image capture, an Inspect digital viewing and image capture system, a Ersascope BGA inspection system, an Accuseal dry pack resealing and gas purge system for re-packaging moisture sensitive devices and a Blundell Cropmatic conventional lead cropping

Machine and a Koh Young top of the range 3D automatic optical inspection machine that was installed in October 2017.