May 01, 2018 
he best-ever trading year for Blakell Europlacer worldwide has already led to tangible benefits for the business and its customers. The company is recruiting new staff in all its key territories across the globe.
Hot on the heels of the appointment of a new Director of Business Development in the US, the company’s UK operation welcomes two new people to its customer support and sales teams. Tony Wood joins the organisation to support the sales of Speedprint, Europlacer and Distribution products across the north of the UK, while Andy Lee takes on a new post in service support focussed on the Aleader product range country-wide.
Coincidentally, both Wood and Lee have backgrounds in AOI. Tony Wood has previously worked for Cyberoptics and Altus, and Andy Lee operated AOI systems in his former production engineering role. “The focus on AOI is a happy accident,” says Europlacer’s Business Development & UK Sales Manager, Andy Jones. “However, we most certainly will be capitalising on that expertise as Tony and Andy advance their new roles, with direct links to our distribution business.”
Europlacer and Speedprint are both recognised as premium brands for their respective placement and screen printing products. But the company’s distribution arm, Blakell Europlacer Distribution, is less well known for its partner product ranges and full line electronics assembly solutions. “These new appointments will immediately strengthen our distribution activities and provide more responsive on-site support,” claims Jones. “With the advantages of growth and strong results in 2017 comes an ability to invest in resources that have a positive impact on our customers. In particular, the new role for Andy Lee is a prime example as it lets us focus on a geographic area of the UK to provide more agile support.”
The Blakell Europlacer Group comprises the Speedprint Technologies, Europlacer, and Blakell Europlacer Distribution business units. All three are active and pre-eminent in the electronic circuit board assembly sector with advanced product and service solutions for electronics manufacturers in the UK and globally. Speedprint Technologies is a provider of screen printing equipment used in surface mount assembly processes. Europlacer is a provider of surface mount component placement equipment. Blakell Europlacer Distribution augments the provision of screen printing and pick & place platforms in the UK with a range of associated equipment, including AOI, reflow and PCB handling.
