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Cimnet Systems Inc., A Made2Manage Systems Business Unit |
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In the spotlight this month is Mehul Davé, general manager of Cimnet Systems, a Made2Manage Systems business unit. Before joining Made2Manage Systems, Davé was founder, president, and CEO of Cimnet Systems Inc. He played a key role in all aspects of the business, including product development, marketing and sales, finance and accounting, and administration and was instrumental in delivering systems to more than 200 companies around the world.
In this interview with Connections, Mehul explains how the printed circuit board (PCB) industry has changed during the past two years and highlights some of the key products and services Cimnet Systems has developed to respond to the changing market conditions and demands of their customers. Read Mehul Davé’s interview.   Northrop Grumman Interconnect Technologies recently selected Cimnet Systems to streamline its business processes, and support its growth strategy. Springfield, Mo.-based Northrop Grumman Interconnect Technologies purchased Cimnet Systems’; comprehensive suite of PCB-specific ERP solutions, including i-Quote™, Paradigm®, Engenix®, and Navipoint™.Steve Vetter, director of engineering, stated that Northrop Grumman Interconnect Technologies chose the Cimnet Systems suite of solutions because “Cimnet Systems’ existing capabilities are the best fit for our current needs and future expansion.” According to Mike Davis of Northrop Grumman Interconnect Technologies’ engineering team, "Cimnet Systems’ Engenix job module will greatly speed up the process of creating stack-ups, bills of material, and routers for basic, as well as complex, sequentially laminated jobs. These improvements will result in reduced front-end tooling time and costs, as well as improved accuracy of the job planning process." Read full press release. Other New Customers With mainland China's PCB market forecasted to increase by about 10 percent year-on-year and reach $12 billion by end-2006 (see Industry News below), Cimnet Systems has added several new customers in the region. Gainbase Industrial (Holding) Limited was established in Hong Kong with vast manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China. The factory was first established in 1988 and presently has a new 200,000 square feet manufacturing facility, fully equipped with the latest equipment for the production of single-sided, double-sided and multi-layer printed circuit boards. In April 2006, Gainbase purchased Cimnet Systems’ Paradigm Pro Package with additional modules, including Job Costing, Financial Interface, Sales Forecast, Statistical Process Control, Capacity Requirements Planning, and Web Tracking. Part of the Danish GPV Group, GPV Printed Circuits (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. in Suzhou, China, is a specialist in the manufacture of small batches of PCBs in up to eight layers with standard technology. In February of this year, GPV purchased the Paradigm Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Module. Founded in June 2003, Jing Cheng DA Electric Circuit Company (JCD) has 230 employees located in a modern facility in Shenzhen, one of China's three leading high-tech development centers. In July 2006, JCD purchased Cimnet Systems’ Paradigm LT Package with additional modules, including Statistical Process Control, Financial Interface, and Web Tracking. Back to top  
Founded in 1980, Coretec, Inc. is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of PCBs for the prototype and quick-turn production segments of the North American and European markets. Coretec distinguishes itself from its competitors by providing complete PCB service solutions, including advanced design, consulting, education and rapid-response manufacturing.Recently, Coretec expanded its use of i-Quote, Cimnet Systems’ quotation system that combines web-based inputs, a rules-based costing engine, workflows and quote analysis all in one application. Coretec’s facility in Toronto, Canada has been using i-Quote since September 2005, and in April of this year its Denver facility completed their implementation. The plan is to install i-Quote in Coretec’s Cleveland, Ohio facility later this year. “We are implementing i-Quote at all of our sites to solve two issues: standardization of our quoting methods and consolidation of data,” said Michael Schumacher, director of marketing and business development at Coretec. “Prior to i-Quote, our Denver plant was using manual spreadsheet tools to deliver quotes, and we were unable to efficiently execute a corporate pricing strategy across all sites, including Denver. Now, Denver is using the same tool as Toronto. In addition, i-Quote gives us quote win/loss data for all customers across all sites, which is critical to our global sales team that is servicing all Coretec plants.” i-Quote’s versatility has passed a difficult test across three diverse Coretec plants. While the Toronto site implemented i-Quote to meet large volumes of quick turnaround commercial quotes, the Denver site required a solution focused on specialty prototype quotes for the military/aerospace industry. A set of custom rules, using similar but different pricing logic, was implemented at each site. The end result has been a consistent end-quote product to customers across all Coretec plants. Since Coretec built its reputation on fast response and delivery, i-Quote has helped the company respond to customer requests faster, with a more responsive and intelligent quotation process. Back to top   Cimnet Systems (I) Pvt. Limited, an offshore development center of Cimnet Systems, has attained ISO 9001:2000 certification, the global quality standards set forth for software companies by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). To achieve ISO certification, the Cimnet Systems staff underwent a complicated certification process, including an audit. Under the direction of Mr. D. R. Mukunda, director of products and services, the Cimnet team created detailed documentation for more than 40 business processes and procedures, including addressing customization requests, incorporating product enhancements, fixing product issues, and testing for quality. “Implementing ISO standards certainly adds increased time and resources to our development cycle, but the benefits outweigh the costs in the long run,” said Mukunda. “These processes will ensure that we are achieving the highest possible quality in the solutions we deliver to our customers and, in our business model, ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty is priority number one.” “We now develop our products and services according to quality specifications that have wide acceptance across the software industry,” said Mehul Davé, general manager of Cimnet Systems. “These standards will enhance our ability to serve some of the largest PCB manufacturers in the world.” Back to top   China PCB Market to Grow to $12B by Year-EndMainland China's PCB market is forecasted to increase by about 10% year-on-year and reach $12 billion by the end of 2006, according to the Ministry of Information Industry. Last year, the region’s PCB sales jumped by more than 30 percent to $10.83 billion from 2004 sales, and accounted for 25.8 percent of the global PCB market. As to production output, mainland China turned out a total of about 100 million square meters—half of which are multilayer boards. Read more. Back to top   The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to expand, but at a slowing pace, as higher interest rates and energy costs limit business and consumer spending. In their Market Outlook column published in CircuiTree magazine, industry analysts Walt Custer and Jonathan Custer-Topai predict that the PCB industry can expect a seasonal upturn beginning in late summer, but also expect 2007 to be a year of muted growth, due to rising costs and interest rates. Read complete article.Back to top  Over the next seven months, Cimnet Systems will be attending many important trade shows. Stop by our booth and talk with one of our industry experts about your PCB problems, learn about Cimnet Systems’ products and services, and see if we can help.
Held in the Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center, Houjie, Dongguan, Guangdong, China, for the fifth-year running, HKPCA & IPC Show has been recognized as the leading international annual flagship event for the PCB and electronics manufacturing industries in Southern China. The event takes place December 6-8, 2006.
The IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit takes place in Los Angeles, CA, on February 20-22, 2007. Cimnet Systems will be located at booth #338 in the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The 16th CPCA Show (International Electronic Circuits Exhibition) will take place March 21-23, 2007 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.Back to top   AutomationMedia.com article
In this article, entitled “New Process Changes Automation: Printed Circuit Board Technology Solutions” and published in the September issue of Automation Media.com, Contributing Editor Thomas Cutler examines some of the key issues facing the PCB industry today. Cimnet Systems’ Mehul Davé is widely quoted, expressing his views on the current state of the industry and the future trends in the PCB market worldwide. Automation Media.com is an online publication focusing on Automation and Controls Engineering with an emphasis on important new technologies. Read complete article. Back to top 
If you would like more information on Cimnet Systems’ products and services or would like to talk with a representative, please click on the link below. |
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