News

A personal thank you Yesterday we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr Kawasaki, Supervisor for Yamaha Motor Co i-Pulse Sales Group, who made a special trip to see our new i-Pulse M20 in place and working and to give us his personal thanks for the order. From left to right: Peter Matthews, Quality and Technical Manager - Tenkay, Mr Kawasaki, Yamaha Motors and Robert Doick, Operations Manager - Tenkay.

November 2015 We were delighted with our recent customer scorecard ratings and have created this infographic to share with you. If you need a contractor who understands your supply chain needs, contact us today on 01903 855 455 to see what we can do for you.   We've been short-listed for 4 awards! Winners will be announced over the next few weeks, so watch this space and wish us luck! 1. Export Award Manufacturer of the Year 2. SME Manufacturing Company of the Year Manufacturing & Construction

We're proud to announce our new SMT line Our much-heralded new i-Pulse M20 SMT Placement Machine is now safely installed and commissioned in the Tenkay factory. Coming all the way from Japan, our M20 arrived on Thursday, August 13.   There’s no doubt the weather could have been kinder to us on the day, but the little matter of a torrential downpour wasn't going to hold us back. Through a great team effort, we succeeded with the delicate process of negotiating entry to the building through a side roller-door and manoeuvred the machine safely to its permanent site. The next morning saw the electrical installation and air-line links established. Completion of the set-up and sign-off followed on Saturday and we were able to trial our first real job that Monday, with the team receiving training throughout the day. We have now been processing jobs for a few weeks and already have a real feel for the efficiency we are achieving. Previously running a capacity of 5,000 components per hour (cph) on our i-Pulse M4e mounting centre, with the addition of the M20 and utilising optimisation software across the two, we are already realising in excess of 18,000 cph. Our increased efficiency and ability to handle complex PCB assemblies and board sizes, means we can improve production rates on almost any job. Contact us today for a discussion about your specific requirements. We'll be pleased to explain how we can help and arrange to show you around.

August 2015 Keeping pace with technology is important for any business, but for Tenkay it is crucial. That is why we invited Nick Clarke, Product Manager at Blundell Production Equipment, to recommend the best possible solution to meet our requirement for a new SMT Placement System that would take us into the future and keep us there. The answer came in the form of a new state-of-the-art M20 machine from leading Japanese manufacturer I-Pulse – part of the giant Yamaha Motor Co. – which we hope to have up and running by mid-August.  Measuring 1.75 metres x 1.75 metres, the M20 will greatly enhance our component handling capability with the M20’s ability to handle parts from 01005 up to 120 x 90 mm including 30 mm high parts, probably the best range in its class. The machine’s high feeder capacity... Read more At Tenkay, we pride ourselves on our quality manufacturing and customer service, so if you’re interested in seeing if we can work together, please give us a call today on 01903 855 455.

June 2015 At Tenkay we work hard to drive efficiencies in our manufacturing processes to provide our customers with the best possible quality, service and price. Here’s how we do it: Breaking jobs down to sub-assemblies We assess each of our customers’ products on a case by case basis to establish the best build process. Usually, the most efficient way is to break the product build down into sub-assemblies. This can lead to better engineering and allows us to maximise machining and shop floor capabilities, resulting in more flexibility around tight lead times. It also means that quality can be monitored at each stage to ensure the final product is right first time. Monitoring build efficiencies We continually monitor product builds for any variation in quality or efficiency. If a variation occurs, we drill down to understand what is happening and identify the necessary action. The result could be to employ a proven build technique used on another product or perhaps provide additional training. We are always looking to improve. Use of automation Wherever possible, we will automate sections of a product build. This not only improves time efficiencies, but also increases quality, by reducing variations. Zero Defects All Tenkay operatives are working towards becoming Certified IPC Specialists, part of our Zero Defects, Right First Time quality initiative. Right first time means less wastage, quicker output and reduced costs, which can all be passed on as benefits to our customers. At Tenkay, we pride ourselves on our quality manufacturing and customer service, so if you’re interested in seeing if we can work together, please give us a call today on 01903 855 455.

May 2015 Thanks to continued growth and demand, Tenkay has recently employed a number of new team members across its shop floors.   We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to (from left to right): Back row: Rory Slattery, WIRE01 Team Leader who rejoins Tenkay and Chris Crawford, WIRE03. Middle row: Katarzyna Okrzes, WIRE01, Julie Standing, PCB and Helen Lynn, PCB. Front row: Leanne Barratt, WIRE01 and Beverley Gray, PCB. Because of this expansion of our 50 strong team and the additional space required to hold our increased output (for both export and domestic product), we have had to make some changes to the layout of our premises. Thank you to the team for your help and patience as we make these improvements. With all this positive change for Tenkay, we were surprised by CBI’s new report which finds British manufacturing growth and exports has slowed in the last quarter. You can read the Insider Media article here. If you are thinking about outsourcing your electronics manufacturing, download our guide which explains the steps you need to consider when choosing your supplier. Download now.

America lead the way with US companies (if they file reports with the SEC under the Exchange Act) required to report on their supply chain purchasing for the first time in 2014. Since reviewing 100 of these submitted conflict minerals reports, Amnesty International have published its findings, Digging for Transparency. Nearly 80% are failing to meet the minimum requirements set out by the U.S. conflict minerals law, with some of America’s biggest corporations among those found to be submitting inadequate information. However there are growing calls to repeal or amend the US Dodd-Frank Act as there is evidence that “the SEC Dodd-Frank conflicts minerals law has had significant unintended consequences on the Congolese people and has been difficult to comply with.” (Business Law Prof Blog) In May, the full European parliament will be voting on the proposed conflict minerals legislation and consider the joint statement of recommendations issued by IPC and other associations. The principle difference between the US Dodd Frank Act and the joint statement is that the former requires companies at the end pf the supply chain (downstream users) to do all the due diligence and trace their mineral supply chain to source while the joint statement recommends “keeping the focus upstream” since “Beyond the pinch point of smelters/refiners, it  becomes exponentially more difficult to identify the origins of metals”. However it remains the case that while the Dodd Frank Act has no legal standing in the UK, UK companies that supply US companies are finding that they have to perform the due diligence under the Act as a contractual condition. Tenkay Electronics support the ideals of the existing and proposed Conflict minerals legislation and are committed to ensure that the products they manufacture are free, as far as is reasonably practicable, from conflict minerals.

Pyroban have used Tenkay Electronics for over 25 years, and have always found them to be extremely innovative and flexible in their approach. They are also able to respond to changing priorities at very short notice, and are remarkably easy to deal with. The latest audit shows no rejected items, and that on average they deliver our orders 1 day early. Mike Phelan Senior Buyer Pyroban Limited

March 2015 We recently undertook our renewal audits for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and we are pleased to announce that we have been recertified for both quality standards. Why is having a good audit, good? Our NQA Auditor conducts a renewal audit every year to confirm our ongoing compliance with the required quality standards. Being recertified demonstrates, not only our continuing commitment to the concept of continuous improvement as a requirement of the standards, but our commitment to maintaining these Quality and Environmental standards as evidence to our customers that we will continue to produce and supply products to the highest quality.