Released on: November 27, 2007, 2:53 am

Press Release Author: VIERLING Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Industry: Telecommunications

Press Release Summary: Installation completed in record time with a little ingenuity
and some help from the neighbors

Press Release Body: Ebermannstadt, Germany - November 21, 2007. Vierling recently
put a new soldering line into operation at its production facility. The company
invested more than EUR 150,000 into the reflow oven at the heart of the system. Some
smart thinking helped to complete the installation in record time, not to mention
the assistance provided by neighboring company Kennametal. The system has been in
daily use for one week now. This new soldering line will enable Vierling to
manufacture electronic modules more quickly while ensuring cost-effective production
with high quality and significantly lower energy consumption.

Installation in 1½ days
Vierling worked with employees of Dutch manufacturer Vitronics to install and get
the new soldering line up and running in only 1½ days. "We started out by moving an
existing line to another location in the production facility so we would have room
for the new system", according to Ralf Kraus, head of production at Vierling. "One
of our employees had the brilliant idea to simply lubricate the feet of the four
ton, roughly six meter long system with Vaseline. This made it possible to slide,
thereby saving a good deal of time. Getting the system into the building in the
first place required borrowing a heavy-duty fork lift from Kennametal."

The heart of the soldering process
Vierling uses two soldering lines to manufacture its own telecommunications products
as well as electronic equipment for other companies including Siemens, Fraunhofer
IZT and Rupp & Hubrach. The new soldering line is a replacement for one of the
existing production lines. At its heart is what is known as a reflow oven. Printed
circuit boards with soldering paste and electronic components pass through the
reflow oven at precisely controlled speeds and temperatures. "The soldering paste
melts when exposed to the heat of the oven to ensure reliable connections between
the components and the PCB", explained Kraus. "The end result is a high-performance
electronic module that we can install in aerial cameras, precision navigation
systems or failsafe telecommunications test equipment, to name a few examples."

Benefits in terms of quality, production costs and the environment
The new soldering line ensures high production quality while reducing unit costs and
reducing the burden on the environment. The most critical factor here involves the
low soldering temperatures which can be controlled with great precision. The maximum
value of 250°C is about 30°C lower than the old system. This places less stress on
the components and thus raises the production quality. The energy consumption is
also reduced, thereby lowering production costs and decreasing the burden on the
environment. The integrated automatic cleaning function also has a positive effect
on the maintenance costs. The reflow oven is capable of soldering modules with very
thick PCBs in a cost-effective manner, eliminating the need for the expensive
technologies used previously. When necessary, it is also possible to generate an
artificial nitrogen atmosphere in the oven so that the solder joints oxidize more
slowly. This leaves more time for further processing while increasing the production
quality.

Focusing on high-quality products
"Quality is everything at Vierling. Our aim is to use the new soldering line to
continue manufacturing electronic modules which fulfill the highest global standards
while keeping our prices competitive", noted Wolfgang Peter, managing director of
Vierling. "We have to compete against low-cost Asian suppliers every day. The only
way for us to succeed is by offering the highest possible quality at the lowest
feasible cost as part of a complete range of services including contract development
and comprehensive testing. This is why we are focusing on technically challenging
products where high quality is an absolute must, such as in the aviation, aerospace,
nuclear power and automotive industries."

(You can request images telephone or by e-mail at +49-(0)9194-97-305 or
marketing@vierling.de.)

Web Site: http://www.vierling-group.com

Contact Details: VIERLING Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Dr. Markus Diehl
Director Marketing
Pretzfelder Str. 21
91320 Ebermannstadt
Germany
Phone: +49 91 94 / 97 - 0
Fax: +49 91 94 / 97 - 105
E-mail: marketing@vierling.de
URL: www.vierling-group.com