Sanmina-SCI is a leading electronics contract manufacturer serving the global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) market. Recognized as a technology leader, Sanmina-SCI provides end-to-end manufacturing solutions and takes pride in delivering quality products and support to large OEMs. The company has more than 100 facilities strategically located in key regions throughout the world.

     The Sanmina-SCI Enclosure Systems Division is one of four operating divisions and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. This division is a leading manufacturer of highly engineered products for the telecommunications and networking industries. It can provide design, manufacture, and testing of complex enclosure solutions and metal fabrication services to its customers. Sanmina-SCI Enclosure Systems Division's operations are vertically integrated to provide competitive products and quick turn delivery. Focused factories and dedicated manufacturing cells are utilized to ensure delivery as promised with uncompromising quality.

     The 300,000-square-foot Ontario facility opened in January 2001. This facility provides a full range of services including engineering, design, and manufacturing engineering, new product development, and both water ingress and EMI testing. The facility also has the metal fabricating capacity for punching, forming, manual or robotic welding, chromate conversion coating (on aluminum), and state of the art Wagner electrostatic powder coating in a custom-built dual line system. The facility also has one of the world's largest installations of Transair & Kaeser compressed air delivery systems.

     Sanmina's philosophy is to become integral partners in its customers' manufacturing operations. The company contends that its success is built on the development of long-term relationships with both customers and suppliers. One of the supplier relationships that was significant to the company's growth has been with Finn-Power International, Inc. According to Robert Bergey, senior vice president, Sanmina-SCI, Enclosures Systems Division, the enclosures production began in Toronto. "A sheet metal contract manufacturer called Devtek was acquired by Sanmina in 1999," explains Bergey. "Devtek had four Finn-Power turret punch presses and other fabricating equipment. As a result, we became the pilot plant that works out processes and then transplants them to other Sanmina plants throughout the world. This approach facilitates our 'build anywhere' philosophy."

Prior to its acquisition by Sanmina, Devtek purchased the first Finn-Power turret punch press in Canada. Today, the company has three Finn-Power stand alone turret punch presses.	The Shear Genius FMC automatically loads full-sized sheets, punches, forms, and unloads finished parts.

• Three Finn-Power stand alone turret punch presses
  
• An Express Flexible Manufacturing Unit (FMU), which is the first stage of automation with load/unload incorporated into a stand alone turret punch press.
  
• Two Shear Genius Flexible Manufacturing Cells (FMC) - a turret punch press and integrated right angle shear with load/unload.
  
• Two robotic press brakes.
  
• A Night Train FMS, which is a material management system that feeds raw material to the two Shear Genius FMCs and the Express FMU, and moves and stores the Work In Process to the robotic press brakes.
  

     Similar Finn-Power equipment is utilized in Sanmina-SCI's facilities in Europe and South America.

Changing the Fabrication Culture
     Tenuta explains that his company wanted to move away from the old "knife and fork" mentality in sheet metal fabrication. "Finn-Power management gave us their support and helped us with the learning curve to change the culture of what we were doing in sheet metal fabrication. We wanted to bring the fabrication technology up to the same level with everything else that was happening in the shop. We already had robotic welding and automation in assembly."

     Most recently, Sanmina-SCI has added two Finn-Power robotic press brakes. These units provide unmanned bending at maximum speeds, quicker setups and changeover times, and produce exceptionally consistent parts.

     The new automation has been well received by the employees in the fabrication department. "The guys on the shop floor are just thrilled," answers Tenuta. "We were doing a lot of cumbersome, oversized parts that required a two-man operation and a lot of material handling. The two robotic press brakes fit the bill well in that they could be fed through the Night Train and take the strain off our employees. We then put these employees to more value-added operations. The two employees who were doing the 2-man tandem manual press brake job are now programming and running the press brake robots."

Dramatic Increases in Production
     Tenuta estimates that prior to the Finn-Power equipment, his company may have put through approximately 100,000 lbs./month of metal in various alloys with one or two standard machines. "With the Finn-Power stand alone machines, the Express, and the Shear Genius FMCs we are putting through about 1 million lbs./month (as of June 2001). Almost all of it goes through the Finn-Power machines."

     With the integration of the two Shear Genius cells and the Express into the Night Train with approximately 300 cassettes, Sanmina-SCI was able to transform valuable space from material sitting on the shop floor into additional production space. "We are vertically integrating and using the height of this building," says Tenuta. With the Night Train, the floor space has been better utilized by at least 50%. The fact that we can store work-in-process in the Night Train and haul it down when we need it is an excellent feature." Tenuta states that he plans to purchase an additional Night Train cassettes in the near future to take further advantage of the inventory control capacity of the Night Train.

Two robotic press brakes have reduced material handling and eliminated the 2-man operations for cumbersome, over-sized parts.

     One of Sanmina-SCI's organizational goals is flexibility throughout its global fabricating company. Tenuta explains: "We want to be able to offer our customers 'seamless' supply of product and service. We need to standardize a culture and an equipment type so that in the event of one facility running late on a product, having manufacturing difficulties, overwhelmed by the volume of orders, encounters any natural disasters, or political unrest we can move that work to another facility that has similar equipment. It is not an accident that many of the Sanmina plants throughout the world have Finn-Power equipment. All the programming…all the software…has to be interchangeable and with as little difficulty as possible."

     "We like to have as many common procedures and equipment as possible within a given range of product," concludes senior vice president Bergey. "This allows us to build quality products anywhere our customers need them. Our ultimate goal is to have the latest in technology and equipment, allowing our company to deliver best in class service to our industry."

To obtain a copy of the complete Sanmina-SCI customer profile, contact Vicki Thoma at (847) 885 3200 or e-mail: victoria@finnpower.com

Sanmina will purchase additional Night Train cassettes in the near future to take advantage of the inventory control capacity of the Night Train.

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