Germany: Europe's technical powerhouse; Fourteen profiles of German PWB suppliers reveal a long and distinguished history in electronics. Read how Germany is gearing up for future manufacturing requirements.(printed wiring board)(Industry Overview)

During Productronica 2001, I had the chance to talk to many German PWB industry suppliers. I met with several suppliers to gather background information on these companies for CircuiTree readers. I want to familiarize our readers with this unique supplier base by profiling a randomly selected, but representative, group of suppliers.

"Familiarize" is probably not the right term, because these companies are household names around most of the world. Most likely, I have omitted some well-known companies that should have been included in this survey, an inevitable shortcoming of such an endeavor for which I apologize in advance. This momentous undertaking was largely facilitated by friends and contacts I have established over the years, and by wonderful people in these companies who responded to my "cold calls." I have created a list of companies that include addresses, Web sites, and contacts, which can be found on our web site www.circuitree.com. For lack of a better grouping rationale, I am introducing them in alphabetical order.

As I look at the names and addresses of these companies, most of them are located in the south of Germany, more specifically in the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. This state is something of an artificial entity created after World War II from the historic regions of Baden, Wuerttemberg, and Hohenzollem, which includes the former duchy of Swabia. The "Schwaben" of Swabia are an industrious tribe of tinkerers who not only build cuckoo clocks, but also excel in metal, ceramic, and wood-processing skills from which small and medium-sized companies emerged. It is therefore not surprising that many of the suppliers to the PWB industry have a long business history, based on traditional crafts before electronics emerged as their primary focus. In fact, several companies still continue business in their traditional fields.

1. atg test systems GmbH & Co. KG

atg test systems specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of grid test systems, flying probe test systems, fixture solutions and repair systems for bare PCBs. The company is located in the scenic town of Wertheim, east of Frankfurt, on the river Main, and employs about 80 people. The management team includes Managing Director Uwe Rothaug, General Sales Manager Sven Fleischer, CFO Mathias Wagner, R&D Manager Eckart Schuhmacher, and Production Manager Christian Dorfmueller.

atg electronic GmbH (Automatische) Test Gerate) was founded in 1979 in the town of Reicholzheim, in humble quarters consisting of an apartment with a garage. The first products were cable and wiring test systems. In 1980, atg introduced the first grid bare board test system, designed with patented pad contacts. This project also marked the beginning of a successful cooperation with Riba, a manufacturer of mechanical components.

By 1985, atg had obtained a dominant market position in the U.S. Its TR1000 used the first computer for calculating fixtures. A couple of years later, atg introduced the first bare board test system with two universal fields for the simultaneous, double-sided test of boards at sizes of up to 650 mm x 914 mm. This kind of performance led the company to open up a Japanese subsidiary in 1988, atg far east Ltd., and introduced the mixed grid to that market.