Microlease appoints David Whitfield to drive sales

Microlease, the test and measurement specialist that ensures engineers have access to the best quality control instruments through rental, leasing and direct sales,has appointed David Whitfield to head its sales division. He joins from leadership consultancy Outsoar, where he has been a director since 2003.

Whitfield trained as an electronics engineer and spent a large part of his early career with Rohde & Schwarz, a world leader in test and measurement instrumentation, as well as broadcast and communications. During his time with the company he worked in the UK, from the head office in Munich and set up its Asia Pacific operations in Singapore. From 2000 to 2003, he was managing director with Acterna Inc, an American-owned specialist in communications testing.

At Outsoar, he used his management experience to provide senior level consultancy on leadership, teamwork and communication. Clients ranged from Rolls Royce to Sainsbury's, PricewaterhouseCoopers to Inmarsat.

"David has proved himself to be an inspirational leader and an excellent communicator," said Nigel Brown, managing director of Microlease. "Add that to his roots in test and measurement and he is the perfect candidate to take Microlease up to the next level. Everyone in the business is thrilled by his arrival."

Whitfield himself added, "Microlease is an exciting challenge, a business that is growing rapidly as our reliance on advanced technology becomes ever greater. We are in a unique position to tailor our service to the precise needs of each of our customers through sale, short-term hire and long-term leasing, and I am looking forward to getting out and about, meeting those customers, and working with them to ensure they hit their objectives."

Microlease is now organised into three business divisions: Rental, under Paul McCloskey; Asset Management led by Bill Coley; and Equipment Sales now with David Whitfield. Away from the world of business, Whitfield's interests include sailing, pets as therapy and taiko drumming.

Microlease in profile
Founded in 1979, Microlease is the number one test and measurement rental company in Europe and is the preferred rental partner of world leading manufacturer Agilent. Its customers include Alcatel Lucent, Ciena, EADS Astrium, Nortel, Sagem and Siemens. Microlease's range of services include rental, leasing, buying pre-owned equipment and selling a wide range of test and measurement equipment as well as a full range of services from calibration to full asset management. Its offerings allow customers to explore leasing and renting as a cost effective way of obtaining test and measurement equipment without stretching capital expenditure.

For further information, view website: www.microlease.com

High temperature electronics packaging solutions for 250ºC applications

Packaging and assembly systems that can withstand 250ºC for prolonged durations have been developed through the UPTEMP Technology Strategy Board project as part of a project to extend electronics into hostile high temperature environments.

There is a growing desire to install electronic power and control systems in high temperature environments to improve the accuracy of critical measurements and reduce the cost of cabling from remote and hostile locations. Typical applications include down-hole petroleum/gas/geothermal exploration and production operations and turbine engines for aircraft propulsion and power generation.

This requirement has posed a challenge to the traditional limit of 125ºC for high temperature exposure of electronics systems. The leap in operating temperature to above 200ºC in combination with high pressures, vibrations and potentially corrosive env ronments means that different semiconductors, passives, circuit boards and assembly processes are needed. 

The fundamental change required to enable this step change in packaging performance is to switch from traditional soldered surface mount or through-hole packaged devices assembled onto FR4 printed circuit board materials. Instead, designers and manufacturers should use bare dies mounted onto ceramic, insulated metal or polyimide based substrates with selected materials that are intrinsically more capable of withstanding high temperatures for long periods without degradation. 

Extensive testing of ceramic and insulated metal substrates and solder/adhesive interconnect materials at temperatures of 250ºC for durations of over 2,000 hours have been carried out. Thermal migration and other deterioration effects have been observed on several commercially available high temperature materials and commonly used assembly methods. An alternative set of materials and assembly processes have been developed with proven reliability at temperatures of up to 250ºC for the manufacture of active and passive electronic components, suitable for down-well, aero-engine and power generation applications.

This work formed part of the recently-completed UPTEMP project which was established with support from the UK Technology Strategy Board and the EPSRC. The project brought together a consortium of end-users (Sondex Wireline and Vibro-Meter UK), an electronic module manufacturer (GE Aviation Systems - Newmarket) and material suppliers (Gwent Electronic Materials and Thermastrate Ltd) with Oxford University's Materials Department, the leading UK high temperature electronics research centre.

Refer to pictures above: (Top) Electrical testing of high temperature electronic devices. (Centre) Inspection of high temperature electronic devices. (Bottom) Wire bonding of high temperature electronic devices.

For further information, e-mail: steve.riches@ge.com or view website: www.electroniccomponents.geaviationsystems.com

Micro-Epsilon lends its voice to the 'Make it in Manufacturing' Campaign

Precision sensor manufacturer Micro-Epsilon (UK) Ltd is supporting the Manufacturing Institute's Make It in Manufacturing campaign, in order to help attract more young people into manufacturing-related careers in the North West of England.

Recently expanded with funding from the NWDA (North West Development Agency) and the European Regional Development Fund, Make It in Manufacturing was set up to attract the brightest and best new talents into manufacturing, promoting manufacturing as an exciting and rewarding career for young people. 

The campaign, which was launched by The Manufacturing Institute in 2006, is trying to shake off the myths and negative perceptions that surround the manufacturing sector and to demonstrate to the outside world, particularly tomorrow's workforce and potential investors, just how much modern industry has to offer. As a result of the recent support from NWDA and ERDF, the campaign is growing to include extra planned events and activities for youngsters across the North West region, alongside a series of radio adverts featuring positive role models from the sector.

There are now great opportunities for young people going into manufacturing in the UK. Not all manufacturing is going overseas to lower labour cost countries.

A number of high profile manufacturing companies are already lending their support to the campaign, including BAE Systems, ENER-G, Jaguar Land Rover, Urenco, Aircelle, Siemens, Robert Wiseman Dairies and the Northwest Aerospace Alliance.

Micro-Epsilon has also pledged its support to the campaign. Company Managing Director, Chris Jones is one of the role models featured in the radio advertisements on Radio City, Merseyside and he is in no doubt about the importance of the campaign to the region and how young people are fundamental in helping UK manufacturing climb out of the economic recession. He commented: "The UK is suffering from a lack of youngsters wanting to move into manufacturing after leaving school or college. In the past, manufacturing firms have been poor in communicating to young people exactly what manufacturing as a career is all about and the opportunities it can offer."

"There are now great opportunities for young people going into manufacturing in the UK. Not all manufacturing is going overseas to lower labour cost countries. In fact a lot is now coming back to these shores. The UK still has many world leading companies that thrive on innovation and knowledge. What we need to do is bring together educational establishments, local media, training providers and employers, in order to work more closely through joined up thinking and communication," he added.

Nicola Eagleton-Crowther, head of the Make It in Manufacturing campaign agreed: "If you ask a teenager what they want from their ideal job, their wish list often includes decent pay, being creative, meeting people and traveling, early responsibility and promotion opportunities. Typically, these are all features of a manufacturing career, yet there's still this huge disconnect between the reality of working in manufacturing and the image that people have of the sector."

"The recession has demonstrated just how crucial manufacturing and engineering are to our economy and it is therefore essential that we attract the brightest young people to all types of jobs, from production and engineering through to HR, advertising and purchasing."

For more information on the Make It in Manufacturing campaign, view website: www.makeit.org.uk or telephone Nicola Eagleton-Crowther on 0161 875 2515.

For further information on Micro-Epsilon's expanded its range of non-contact infrared temperature sensors, email: info@micro-epsilon.co.uk  Refer to next page