Clemsa, based in Spain and belonging to the Italy-headquartered FAAC Technology Group, has transformed its electronics production capabilities through installing a new Europlacer SMT placement line.
Facing the challenge of producing a wide variety of access control products in a competitive and fast-changing market, Clemsa looked for a solution that would increase flexibility, reduce production and inventory costs, and improve overall quality.
“We needed to expand our production capacity in terms of product diversity, not volume,” said Miguel Angel Lopez, CEO of Clemsa. “With Europlacer, we can produce exactly what we need at any time, without delays or extensive reconfiguration. That has helped us dramatically reduce both production and inventory costs while staying highly competitive.”
Clemsa manufactures electronics for access systems such as automatic doors, remote control units, RFID cards, and control boards. With 20 to 30 distinct products in active production, frequent changeovers and fast response times are essential.
The Europlacer platform supports this by delivering high component feeder capacity, allowing all components to remain loaded and ready. Changeovers only take 10 minutes, compared with 30 to 40 minutes with other brands, marking a 75% improvement.
“We simply switch programmes and adjust the conveyor width — the line is instantly ready,” said Luis Miguel, Production Manager, Clemsa. “This level of agility helps us maintain efficiency despite a complex product mix.”
One major advantage has been Europlacer’s integration of a bulk feeder for battery contactors,a component used across multiple Clemsa products. During the selection process, Clemsa requested as a prerequisite that the machine be capable of positioning battery clips, served in bulk in large bags.
This component needed to be fed from a hopper that, by means of vibration, would advance to the picking area, enabling the pick and place machine to position it from there. Unlike other systems that require separate handling or third-party solutions, Europlacer integrated this functionality directly into the machine, increasing accuracy and reliability during assembly, and was the only provider that Clemsa engaged with that could meet this requirement.
The hopper was sent to the Europlacer factory where it was revised and its feeding system improved. Importantly, it was converted into an intelligent hopper with connection to Europlacer’s RC software, thereby optimising the feeding process, efficiency, and reliability. Similar bespoke solutions have been developed by Europlacer for other customers, such as automatic feeding of LED lenses.
Clemsa also praised Europlacer’s support and training services.
“Their engineers have been knowledgeable and always available,” said Miguel. “From installation to training, the experience has been outstanding.”
When evaluating solutions, Clemsa compared multiple SMT equipment providers. Ultimately, Europlacer stood out for its flexibility, ease of use, and commitment to automation — all of which aligned perfectly with Clemsa’s manufacturing goals.
“If another manufacturer were considering their options, I’d simply invite them to visit us,” added Miguel. “They will see the speed, flexibility, and most importantly, the consistent quality we achieve with Europlacer. In my opinion, it is an easy decision.”
