A n
U p d a t e
o n
U n i v e r s a l
P e o p l e
a n d
E v e n t s
Universal Unveils New Polaris, Enhanced GSM
Platform at Assembly Technology Expo
by Carol Gorenflo
through promotional efforts. This
included pre-show
emails, a large
lobby sign inviting
attendees to visit
our exhibits, and
an on-site press
conference where
we announced
our latest
advancements
to the GSM®
Platform (A+) and
the new Polaris®
Multi-Process
Assembly Cell.
Stan Earley (far right) shows the Polaris® Multi-Process machine’s capability to many new contacts in September at ATE.
Visiting the Assembly Technology Expo
(ATE) in Chicago is somewhat like visiting a trade show within a trade show.
There is the Electronic Assembly
Solutions Pavilion, featuring assembly
equipment from companies such as
Panasonic Factory Automation, Siemens
Dematic, and Juki. Then, there is the
Robotics Pavilion, where you can find
robots that can perform just about any
task from welding and coating to parts
feeding and material handling.
Companies such as JOT Automation,
Adept Technologies, Bosch Rexroth, and
Simplimatic exhibited in this section.
Universal Instruments was among the
more than 700 exhibitors and 14,000
attendees at this year’s show, held
September 24-26. We exhibited conservatively in both pavilions (each booth
was only 8 square meters/90 square
feet), preferring to show our strength
To highlight the
Polaris MultiProcess machine’s
ability to dispense, place, inspect, and
screw drive; John Kukowski, Adam
Brown, Stan Earley, and Sean Murphy
designed a pen and pencil holder that
was assembled on the show floor. The
demonstration included dispensing glue
into grooves to form the word “Polaris,”
inspecting the glue, picking and placing
letters to spell the
machine’s name, and
screw driving four
screws to create the
pencil holder.
In addition to the
Multi-Process
machine, we exhibited our Polaris Odd
Form Assembly Cell in a
booth belonging to component manufacturer Autosplice. Autosplice
featured placement of its continuous
header pins on a demonstration board
N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r
I n
T h i s
2 0 0 2
I s s u e
2
VIEWPOINT
3
WORLD TOUR: MEXICO
6
FRED CARVER BENEFIT
8
UEA CALENDAR
using our machine. In this manner,
Autosplice had the opportunity to present its components and feeders in action,
while Universal Instruments was able to
capture leads from customers looking for
equipment that places such odd components.
ATE also gave Universal Instruments
the forum to present our latest enhancements to the GSM Platform. In the
booth, Chris Fletcher showed existing
customers who aren’t able yet to buy
new machines but still need to increase
productivity, how they can take their current machine and upgrade it to significantly increase their production yields.
All this for the cost of a retrofit!
The trade show also featured a technical
conference sponsored by the Surface
Mount Technology Association
(SMTA) International. At this conference, Jim Hauss presented a
paper on automated optical
inspection (AOI) along with Andy
Yates of CyberOptics (an AOI
equipment manufacturer).
Manufacturers are increasingly finding value in implementing AOI systems
into their lines, but there is still a great
deal to learn about the systems available
and where in the process the system
should be implemented.
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
1
Viewpoint:
Where Are
We Now?
by Ian deSouza
Where are we
now? That’s an
interesting question,
and so relevant given
the latest change to our
organization. While the actions we’ve
taken are devastating on the personnel
and personal side, the answer to the
question of where we are should be positive. The answers are:
1. Universal has the lowest cost platformbased surface mount machine on the
market
2. Universal has the most aggressive
product development schedule in the
industry
3. Universal has arguably the strongest
operations base and offers the greatest flexibility in the industry
4. Universal is the only one in the industry still developing through hole (albeit
in a limited way)
5. Universal still has the most available,
best trained field support organization
in the industry
There is a sixth part of the answer to the
question, “Where are we now?” that can
only come from each of you. I’ve said it
before: We have a world-class workforce, one composed of varied people
and skills, each of the highest caliber.
You need to answer for yourself, but for
me, I remain convinced of Universal’s
viability and renewed commitment to
succeed over our competitors. Our
future growth is in the best hands, and is
a legacy we owe to the spirit, integrity,
and courage demonstrated throughout
our history.
We’d like to begin including
viewpoints from staff members in
upcoming issues of News & Views.
European Service Meeting Held in September
by Michelle Crowch
This is the report of a middle-aged
woman who spent two days with 50
members of our European field
engineering team in darkest Essex in
England — lucky or not!
First, may I say what a charming, polite,
and entertaining group we have here in
Europe? Also, a big thank you to Bill
Matthews and John Shaffer, who did a
tremendous job updating our laptops
over the two-day period; and Dawn
Stovell for looking after the laptops and
transporting them to Essex.
The first day of the meeting opened with
a presentation from Barry Clark, who
introduced the meeting and how to sell
service. Next up was Andreas Holtmann,
who followed with an impressive presentation on the Polaris® Assembly Cell.
Then, Ferdinando Bindi gave a very
entertaining presentation on the GSM®
On the second day there were a series
of team-building exercises held to
improve communication across languages and cultural differences. These
successful exercises were followed by
several activities, still performed in a
team format. The two-day event closed
with a barbecue.
I’m certain this event reinforced several
friendships and served as the beginning
of others. Names were finally put to faces
and the strength of an already strong
team was enhanced.
Universal Newsbriefs
Employees Have Technical Articles Published
We'd like to congratulate Dave Farrell, Jim Hauss, and Tony Primavera on having their
technical articles published recently. Universal Instruments strongly encourages this
activity to further enhance our market image.
UPS+ 2.0 Training Held in Singapore
Several of our field engineers from Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, and Taiwan recently
participated in a four-day training workshop
on the latest version of Universal Platform
Software, the UPS+ 2.0 upgrade. The session was held at the Singapore Institute of
Manufacturing Technology (SIMT) and was
taught by Brian Kovalchick, a technical specialist from Binghamton. During the session,
attendees went through the upgrade procedure and discussed improvement opportunities.
Attendees walked away equipped with additional
knowledge and skills that will help them meet customers’ needs more effectively.
If you have something to share with
your colleagues, please submit this to
News & Views (contact information is
on the back cover). Submissions will
be reviewed by the Editorial Review
Board and printed as space allows.
Whatever your viewpoint is, consider
sharing it with us!
2
Platform Retrofit Tool. Dave Jex, who
presented the new generation GSM
Platforms, followed Ferdinando. Next,
Chris Herd gave an overview of UPS+,
Anders Beijner and Derek Hopgood
enlightened us all on software upgrades,
and Joerg Pieper closed the meeting
with a business review.
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
Shekou Manufacturing Produces
First GSM Platform
Working together, the USA-China
Manufacturing Team proudly shows off the
first GSM® Platform built at our new manufacturing facility in Shekou.
Universal Instruments’ World Tour: A Visit to Mexico
by Carlos Takahashi and Natalie Blando-George
Each issue, News & Views visits a different Universal Instruments office, so we
can all learn more about one another.
This issue we’re visiting Mexico, where
we’ll learn about Universal de México’s
staff, customers, and business. In addition, we’ll find out about Mexico’s Día de
Muertos or “Day of the Dead” holiday,
celebrated throughout much of the country in November.
About Universal de México
The main Universal de México office is
located in Guadalajara, in the western central part of Mexico. Universal de México is
a subsidiary company, and as such has all
the functions of a complete, integrated
Mexican company. Personnel in that office
provide field service, sales support, product training, and spare parts; and staff also
perform management, finance, and
administration duties.
Our customer base in
Mexico performs almost
all types of electronics
assembly — telecommunications, industrial,
commercial, automotive, consumer, appliance, and aerospace.
While our main customers in Mexico include
Jabil Circuit, Thomson,
Delphi, Motorola, Solectron,
Flextronics, Sanmina-SCI, Visteon,
Rockwell, and Honeywell, Universal de
México has a portfolio of approximately 110 customers, in
more than 16 cities
throughout the country.
Not unlike Universal
Instruments customers
elsewhere in the world,
our customers in
Mexico look to us for
immediate response
time, short time to debug
and solve machine problems,
immediate attention to their
spare parts and training needs, and good
proposals for machines and applications.
However, according to Carlos Takahashi,
director of operations in Mexico and
Latin America, many people don’t speak
English in Mexico, so often our customers need us to present information in
plain “Spanish-English.” He adds, “What
our customers like the most is that
Universal de México has a network of
field support personnel who give them
access to highly specialized technical and
support assistance, and that these people
are able to speak with them in Spanish.”
Since Mexico shares such a large border
with the United States, the influence from
U.S. companies makes business
practices very similar between
the two countries. When
companies from countries other than the
USA settle in Mexico,
our Universal de
México staff notice
some differences in
corporate cultures. For
example, in Mexico,
written statements are a
common business practice,
so the team spends a great deal
of time writing out the details of a proposal and then has one or more meetings
to discuss those details until an
agreement is reached.
About Día de Muertos
As with other ancient
cultures, Mexico has
several traditions. One
such tradition is Día de
Muertos, a celebration
honoring the dead,
held each November 2.
Most popular among
Catholics, the Día de
Muertos celebration is not sanctioned by, but is endorsed by the Catholic
Church. But, since Mexico’s population is
80% Catholic, Día de Muertos is almost a
nationwide commemoration.
During this celebration, people go to
graveyards or “camposanto” (Holy Land)
to clean tombstones, leave flowers, and
pray for the dead. Many of those who
celebrate Dia de Muertos prepare
“ofrenda” (made from fruit) and other
food for the spirits of the dead. The
ofrenda is normally set up at home, usually on a table with multicolored items,
candles, and Catholic icons. The ofrenda
has become a tradition itself, and often
seen are sugar skulls (calaveritas), sugar
skeletons, and sugar bread (pan de
muertos) symbolizing gifts from the living
to the dead. In many places, there are
contests to find the best ofrenda, and the
families who prepare the best ofrenda
receive recognition for their efforts.
About Mexico
Officially known as the United States of
Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos),
Mexico shares a common border
throughout its northern extent with the
United States. The country is bounded on
the west and south by the Pacific Ocean,
to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by
Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular
in shape, Mexico covers an area of
1,958,201 square kilometers/756,066
square miles and is home to more than
100 million people. The official language
in Mexico is Spanish.
Mexico is a combination of several climates, and those are different as you
travel from one city to another. In the
north, Universal Instruments has customers in the middle of the desert, and
often they battle with winds up to 100
kilometers/162 miles, an hour, creating
sandstorms that put Hollywood movies
to shame. In the south of Mexico there is
continued on page 8
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
3
Customer Service Skills are Critical to our Success
by Chris Powers
I’ve recently been delivering a class to
Universal Instruments’ employees titled,
“Customer Service Skills: Common
Sense / Awareness / the Golden Rule.”
Often people think customer service skills
are something only those involved in
sales or service must be concerned with.
However, this material is critically important for all employees worldwide. Clearly,
employees who interact directly with our
external customers must demonstrate
the highest, most effective levels of customer service. Yet every employee,
regardless of his or her position, has customers and should be aware of the
importance of delivering exceptional customer service.
If we tried to boil down the key points of
the class into a few paragraphs, there
are a few main concepts that come out.
The first, and most important, is the
need for maintaining a total customer
focus. We must ask ourselves, “What
can we do to absolutely exceed our
customers’ expectations?”
that this will go unnoticed. Customers will
recognize your efforts and appreciate the
sincere, personal concern you show for
their situation.
The final points would probably
A second trait that
Once we begin to
be follow-through and followsends the message
up. That is, be sure you do
to our customers
think from the
what you said you would do,
that we are totally
customers’ point of
and for extra insurance, followfocused on their
view, we can react in
up with customers after the
needs is empathy
a more sensitive and
transaction to be sure every— the ability
thing is going well.
to consider a
appropriate way to
situation from the
their concerns.
It can be a challenge to differencustomers’ point
tiate our company from the
of view. We should
competition. One powerful way to do this
ask, “How would I want to be treated?
in the eyes of our customers is to ensure
How would I feel in this situation?” Once
that each employee is aware of the
we begin to think from the customers’
importance of maintaining a total focus
point of view, we can react in a more
on delivering the best possible customer
sensitive and appropriate way to their
service in all transactions.
concerns. And, don’t think for a minute
Universal Instruments Lends a Hand
by Natalie Blando-George
While Universal Instruments is
committed to helping its
customers get their products
to market faster and keep
them there longer, every
employee throughout the
worldwide corporation
believes that helping people,
being good citizens, and being
good neighbors are also
important responsibilities.
Whether it is building a
playground, donating baby
clothing, sponsoring a bicycle
trek to benefit childrens’
charities, or participating in a
race to raise funds for
childrens’ programs, Universal
Instruments is committed to
giving back in each of the
communities where the
company does business.
Here are some details about
recent events where Universal
Instruments took part to help
our neighbors:
• Building a playground:
Universal Instruments
employees participated in
the United Way of Broome
County’s Day of Caring, held
September 11. During the
event, Universal staff laid
gravel and leveled land for a
playground being built at the
4
Universal employees volunteered their time to help build a playground at the YMCA in
Johnson City as part of the United Way’s Day of Caring activities held September 11.
YMCA on Main Street in
Johnson City, NY. Team
members also painted four
background colors upon
which the Y’s motto, “Caring,
Respect, Responsibility, and
Honesty” will be painted on a
wall facing the playground.
• Clothing babies: Universal
Instruments donated more
than 200 baby onesies and
baby bibs to the United Way
of Broome County to be dispersed among member agencies that work with infants.
• Helping children with
special needs/children in
hospitals: Universal
Instruments sponsored five
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
riders who cycled the
152 km/95 mile West
Highland Way in
Scotland to raise money
for the Parent to Parent
(Borders) charity and
Yorkhill Childrens’
Hospital, both in
Scotland. The event
raised more than $10,000.
• Raising funds for
childrens’ programs: More
than 20 Universal Instruments
employees in Binghamton
recently took part in the
Broome County YMCA’s
annual Corporate Challenge
to raise money for the
Y’s childrens’ programs.
Universal Instruments donated more than
200 baby items to the United Way for
member agencies that work with infants.
Universal Shows Appreciation
for Binghamton Employees with
Chicken BBQ
On September 18, Universal Instruments honored its
Binghamton, NY-based employees with a chicken barbecue held at several Universal locations in the area.
The food was delicious, the weather was cooperative,
and everyone had an enjoyable time!
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
5
Fred Carver Benefit Raises
$7,000+
by Butch Kenyon
On September 12, friends of Fred Carver held a benefit
at the Elks Club in Kirkwood. As many people know, Fred
experienced a seizure on the surface mount manufacturing
floor in May, and was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Remembering the “old Universal family spirit” that in 1985
helped my family and me when I had a car accident, I mentioned
to Gene Heiser that the company should somehow support
Fred, an employee of almost 18 years. Gene agreed and with
the support of the Executive Staff, I began working on the event.
Knowing I couldn’t tackle this on my own, I pulled together a
benefit team that included Mary Jo Homanich, Ellen O’Hara,
Dan Livermore, Joe Naro, Chuck Schilling, and Kerry Zemek.
We agreed that the benefit should include a spaghetti dinner,
raffles, 50/50 drawings, and a dunk tank. The team got
donations from almost 70 companies, businesses, and many
from our own employees at Universal. Having the door prizes
covered for the raffles, we now needed “contributions” for
the dunk tank!
Following a benefit meeting held at Kirkwood South, I ran into
Koen Gieskes and remembered that he sat in a dunk tank a few
years back at a corporate carnival to benefit the United Way
campaign. I asked Koen if he would do this again at Fred’s benefit, and he agreed. Then, I spoke with other managers and
members of the Executive Staff, telling them that if Koen
was willing to do it, they had to, too. They all agreed
and the dunk tank schedule was filled!
The night of the benefit was better than any of
us could have imagined. The Elks Club was
packed, going through 90 pounds of
spaghetti and four cases of spaghetti sauce.
From that amount of food we estimate that
600 people came to Fred’s benefit. Through
the raffles we collected more than $1,700,
the 50/50 raffle brought in more than $800,
and the dunk tank drew almost $800 (Ian
McEvoy brought in the most). When the event
was over, we had collected $7,193! While some of
the money came from the public, most of it came from
the “Universal family” we talk about. Fred’s brother Bob and
his family were present at the benefit, and they were overwhelmed by the turnout.
A few of us visited Fred four days after the benefit.
He smiled when we showed him the money and
explained how it was raised to help support
his son’s education. He wanted to be sure
everyone knows how much he appreciates
what we did and how much it means to him,
his son, and the rest of his family. We told
Fred we wished we could give him back his
health, but we can’t. But, what we did do
was let Fred know how much we care about
him, and that he has a lot of friends who will
always remember him and his life.
6
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
Congratulations! Glückwünsche! ¡Felicitaciones!
Happy Birthday, Goran!
Best wishes go out to Göran Karlsson on his
60th birthday, which was September 1. Goran
celebrated his birthday at the European
Service Meeting!
Welcome to the
Family, Carolina!
Rogerio Marques
and his wife, Patricia,
welcomed a daughter,
Carolina, to the family in September. Carolina
Marques was born September 26 while her dad
was in Binghamton for the Americas Service
Meeting.
Happy Birth Day, Amber!
Universal’s Michelle Adams proudly shows
off her new baby, a daughter, named Amber,
born in September. These two were the center of attention when they visited the New
Product Development group, where Michelle
is an electrical
engineer.
Heartfelt Thanks
Universal Instruments employees:
Thank you for all the work, love, and
kindness you’ve shown to Fred and for the
money raised at the benefit on September 12.
We have set up an education fund for his son,
Ben, who is a junior in high school. Fred
enjoyed the pictures so much, as well as all
the cards and visits from you. He is in Lourdes
Hospice care here in our home. Keep him in
your prayers. Your friendship will be remembered at this most difficult time for us.
Fred, Elma, and Fred C. Carver
My children and I want to thank all the
wonderful people of Universal for their
support visits, cards, and prayers they gave
to Norm and me during Norm’s illness.
Thanks to the 20-Year Club for the lovely
plant you sent us in Norm’s memory. He will
be sadly missed, but loved forever by his
family and friends. Thank you all.
Marion Hess and Family
Service Salutes
30 Years
Mike Snyder
Advanced Engineering
Manager, R&D, Binghamton
25 Years
John Avery
Precision Machinist, FAB,
Binghamton
Sam Brown
Materials, FAB, Binghamton
20 Years
Lloyd Campbell
Programmer/Systems
Analyst, IT, Binghamton
Rob Donahue
Engineering Project Manager,
R&D, Binghamton
John Rosenberger
Software Engineer, R&D,
Binghamton
5 Years
Richard Boulanger
Vice President, ASA,
Binghamton
Cheryl Warnecke
Customer Service
Administrator, Midwest USA
Chuck Schilling
Manufacturing Manager, SM,
Binghamton
Mario Cota
Field Engineering District
Manager, Mexico
Laura Woodruff
Customer Support Center,
Binghamton
Robert Smacher
Engineering, IM, Binghamton
Moises Dizon
Field Engineer, Taiwan
Richard Woolman
Field Engineer, Western USA
Doug Smith
Projects, IT, Binghamton
Robert Eadie
HR/TQ Generalist,
Hong Kong
15 Years
Jim Novak
Materials Distribution
Specialist, WPSD,
Binghamton
Don Franklin
Software Engineer, SM,
Binghamton
10 Years
Roger Ashworth
Sheet Metal Fabricator, FAB,
Binghamton
Jan Hartman
Systems Engineering
Technician, SM, Binghamton
Kim Cannon
Project Manager, China
Operations, Binghamton
Tom Foster
Business Unit Controller,
Finance, Binghamton
Scot Ladd
Electrical Engineer, SM,
Binghamton
Alain Lavigne
Field Engineer, Canada
New Hires
Peng Tao (Joe) Jing
Field Engineer, Suzhou
Adam Stroud
Software Engineering
Technician, Binghamton
Ming Wen Wang
Field Engineer, Suzhou
Lyndon Ralston
Production Technician, SM,
Binghamton
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
7
20-Year Club
Have news on 20-Year Club members?
If you have any information you'd like to share
about 20-Year Club members, please forward
it to the club’s officers.
Barbara Marko
6 Rugby Road
Binghamton, NY 13905
Ready, Aim, Fire!
Universal’s Chris Powers, Dave Rossi, Ian McEvoy, Bill Francis, and Joe Naro
(pictured from left to right) represented the company at a shoot benefiting the
Boy Scouts of America. The privately sponsored five-person team competed
against shooters from across the region. The benefit shoot was held in
October at the Binghamton Gun Club.
Universal Remembers
Dick Havich
Universal Instruments
PO Box 825
Binghamton, NY, 13902-0825
World Tour: Mexico
continued from page 3
Universal sends condolences to the family of retiree Charlotte Johnson, who died
October 3. Charlotte joined Universal in 1974 and retired in 1986. Our thoughts
and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.
20-Year Club Member and Universal retiree Don Morrison died October 14.
A resident of Port Crane, NY, Don joined Universal Instruments in 1975 and
retired in 2001. He was a sheet metal fabricator. Our sympathies go to his
family and friends.
UEA Calendar
Following are Universal Employee Association events scheduled for the next two months. Any event
with a date of “TBA” (to be announced) has not been finalized yet. Also, note that any event marked
with a “*” designates it as a “Reservation Line” event — reservations are accepted only via the UEA
Reservation Line number (extension 1018), accessible only to internal Universal phones. Outside calls
must go directly to the chairperson.
Month/Date
November
Event
Chairperson
16
“Miracle of Christmas”
and Dinner at Miller’s
in Lancaster, PA
P. Hill, 607-779-4589
TBA
Turkey Raffle
E. O’Hara, 607-779-7522
TBA
Roberson Home for
the Holidays
TBD
8
Childrens' Christmas Party
E. O’Hara, 607-779-7522
14
Adult Christmas Party
K. Blaha, 607-779-7609
E. O’Hara, 607-779-7522
December
TBA
“A Christmas Carol” at
Cider Mill Playhouse
TBD
Please continue to watch the UEA Calendar for updates on coming events. The Calendar will be
featured in News & Views, on your location’s UEA bulletin board, and in the UEA database on Lotus
Notes. If you have any questions regarding any of these events, please contact that event’s chairperson.
8
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
a tropical climate where the weather is mild,
with winters never colder than 15°C/59°F
and rainstorms many months of the year.
Unfortunately, Carlos says that few Universal
Instruments customers set up their plants near
Mexico’s beautiful beaches, so staff have
almost no business opportunity to visit Puerto
Vallarta, Cancun, or Acapulco!
November/
December
2002
News & Views
An Update on Universal People and Events
Editor, Natalie Blando-George
Editorial Assistant, Karoline Pignatelli
Designer, Martha Terry
Printer, Creative Printing
Editorial Review Board
Ian McEvoy, Martha Terry, Denise Varsik,
David Beard, James Silkworth, Jeanne Correll,
William Oltmer, Carol Gorenflo, Carlos Takahashi,
Jane Chong, and Angelika Mueller
Binghamton-Area Photographers
Conklin South, Daniel Dunn, x4598
Kirkwood North, Chris Powers, x4967 or
David Beard, x4653
Kirkwood South, Mike Snyder, x7595
Lawson, John Kessler, x5268
Ely Street, Bob Billings, x5024
To submit news or comments, write to:
Karoline Pignatelli
Universal Instruments
PO Box 825
Binghamton, NY 13902-0825
pignatek@uic.com
©2002 Universal Instruments. All rights reserved.
Universal, the Universal logo, GSM, and Polaris are
registered trademarks for products and services of
Universal Instruments Corporation.
MC-3540 1.5M 11/02 CP