EPIC a fitting home for microelectronic assembly company

Davies & Bell Ltd now operates its Assembly Solutions Company from the specialist labs in UK Electronics and Photonics Innovation Centre (EPIC).

Set up by ex-Nortel and Oclaro engineers Martyn Davies and Helena Bell, the company offers a full prototyping assembly service.

Davies & Bell Ltd are a reputable Assembly Engineering Consultancy and supplier of refurbished and reconfigured equipment. The company is also the UK & Ireland Business Development Agents for prestigious US Die and Wire Bonding manufacturer Palomar Technologies.

With over 25 years in the industry, Davies & Bell Ltd draw on their skills and experience of being part of the Torbay hi-tech cluster. The company focus on helping their customers accelerate their projects, improve their New Product Introduction deliverables and reduce product time to market.

Martyn Davies, Managing Director of Davies & Bell Ltd, said: “EPIC has been really supportive with customising our lab, to meet the needs of our business. Having access to the superb equipment in the Prototyping Suite, will enable us to offer key services to our customers, grow the company and concentrate in the areas we can add the most value.”

Martyn has worked for several years at Lucas / TRW, Palomar Technologies, Nortel / Bookham, Enfis, Kyocera, Oclaro / Lumentum and more recently Plessey. He now represents high profile US Original Equipment Manufacturer – Palomar Technologies. Palomar HQ is in Carlsbad – California with global facilities and Innovation Centres in Downey – LA, Singapore and Erlangen – Germany. Palomar is now proud to have a strategically positioned UK Demo Centre at EPIC, Paignton, one of the UK’s Photonic Hot Spots.

Davies & Bell Ltd supports local companies in this niche industry, including Plessey, Lumentum (formerly Oclaro), Gooch & Housego, Bay Photonics, EFFECT Photonics and II-VI Photonics to name a few. They are also working on projects with companies further afield in new emerging markets like Internet of Things, Smart City, Renewables, and cutting edge LED, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Display Tech Sectors.

Martyn has identified an opportunity to grow his business by utilising his engineering expertise, network of clients, contacts and the facilities available at EPIC. EPIC has supported the business by installing services such as three-phase electricity supply and compressed dry air. Nitrogen, Nitrogen Hydrogen Forming Gas and Argon are all available from the EPIC’s Gas Cylinder Store on site. These specialist gases are required to store piece parts correctly in a controlled environment, run Eutectic Die Attach Processes and enable Plasma Cleaning in preparation for Wire Bonding.

Wayne Loschi, EPIC Centre Director, said: “Davies & Bell are a great addition to the centre. Their networks and expertise within the global photonics sector will give EPIC even greater exposure. We have worked closely with Martyn to support him with the fit out of his dry laboratory. Davies & Bell have settled into EPIC really well and will undoubtedly look to collaborate with current and future tenants.”

Martyn Davies added: “Davies & Bell can offer a full range of die bonding and wire bonding services. Through local collaboration and key partnerships we will look to build on these capabilities and add further capacity. Palomar Technologies now also own SST Vacuum Reflow Systems, so this is another area where we plan to branch out and offer additional services. Through our partners we can also help with Product Design, Design For Manufacture and Assembly, Test and an array of other services to support microelectronics businesses. I invite businesses to come to EPIC to see the capabilities that Davies & Bell, Palomar Technologies and EPIC can offer.”

EPIC is partly funded by a £3m grant from the Heart of the South West LEP Growth Deal funding.

EPIC is a centre of excellence, supporting technological innovation and promoting collaborative activity between businesses and research institutions. It focuses on supporting high potential companies and encourages investment into Torbay’s microelectronics and photonics sector, and in the wider Heart of the South West. 

For more information on EPIC visit www.epic-centre.co.uk

Businesses in the electronics and photonics sectors interested in viewing the facilities at EPIC please contact [email protected]

For more information about Davies & Bell Ltd please contact Martyn at [email protected] or visit www.daviesandbellltd.co.uk

For more information about Palomar Technologies and SST, please visit https://www.palomartechnologies.com/