PCB firm plans for growth with acquisitionChris DruceHampshire PCB firm Southern Circuits has saved Knopp Electronic Services (KES) from closure, swooping in to buy the firm at the eleventh hour.
In a statement the firm said: “This acquisition flies in the face of the general reduced business levels in the electronic market and adds support to recent comments regarding recovery.”
The purchase of Essex-based PCB manufacturer Knopp safeguards 14 jobs.
“The acquisition of Knopp Electronic Services will greatly add to the portfolio of manufacturing services that we can offer our customers,” said Peter Penfold, sales director for Southern Circuits.
He added: “The addition of the manufacturing ability of Knopp Electronic Services will allow us to economically satisfy a part of the electronics market that fits between European and Far East manufacture for the supply of volume single sided and plated through printed circuit boards.”
Knopp was founded in 1974 manufacturing single-sided high-volume PCBs for the consumer electronic market. Through R&D it perfected a plating process – etch before plate – which has been licensed by several PCB manufacturers in the UK and mainland Europe.
Southern Circuits also has a 22,000 square foot facility near Portsmouth where it has produced PCBs for more than 35 years.