Here’s a sneak peak into Silizon’s manufacturing floor and its innovative electronics contract manufacturing services (ECMS)
By Baishakhi Dutta
Silizon offers complete solutions in EMS, ranging from SMT, SKD and CKD to in-house software programming and mobile manufacturing, with a focus on quality, competitiveness and timely execution.
How the journey started
Ronak Sonthalia, director, Silizon Technologies, relates a brief history of the company: “My father has been the main driving force behind this firm. It is his vision that has moulded the company into what it is today. He started off a decade back with his own company, named Raunak Electrovision, at Bhagirath Palace in Delhi. This firm primarily dealt with the trading of electronic components. Interestingly, before setting foot in Delhi, he had his own trading company in Assam. After shifting his base to Delhi, he first focused on importing components from China. Then, one day, we decided that it was a good time to set up our own manufacturing unit. That marked the beginning for the manufacture of components. And this year, in February, my brother and I opened our own EMS company at Noida, called Silizon Technologies LLP.”
PCB assembly
- Fully automatic SMT line
- SMD size 0201 components
- BGA, micro BGA, FBGA, QFPs, etc
- Package on Package (PoP)
- Ultra-fine pitch placement
- Conformal coating
- AOI inspection
- Through hole (PTH-THT)
- Box build
Manufacturing floor, at a glance
As a service provider, the company manages an inventory of a wide variety of products at its manufacturing plant. Silizon manufactures an impressive 300,000 mobile phones every month. Currently, it manufactures mobile phones for different brands, and plans to expand its reach to include yet more mobile manufacturing companies. Apart from being the only mobile PCB manufacturer in the Indian market, Silizon also develops PCBs for other high-demand consumer electronic products including LED TVs, set-top boxes and DTH. Components for signal meter cards and energy meters are also a part of the firm’s vast product portfolio. The company makes a significant contribution in the manufacture of radar system components, telecom units, solar charge controllers and solar drivers. Another interesting fact is that Silizon is presently manufacturing for certain government companies as well, details of which are confidential.
Machinery at the facility: Silizon possesses a fully-automatic SMT line comprising Juki (Japan) machinery. The SMT line includes:
- Solder paste printer
- Pick-and-place machine
- Reflow oven
- Wave soldering machine
- Air compressor
- Ultrasonic cleaning machine
- Loader
Manufacturing capacity: The company’s manufacturing facility is in Noida, India, and has a capacity of around 3.5 million mobile phones per annum and 200,000 – 300,000 EMS units per month.
Certifications achieved
Silizon Technologies LLP has been certified by:
- ISO 9001:2015 – This certification specifies requirements for a quality management system when an organisation needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
- BIS – Manufacturers and traders selling electronic goods have to get their wares certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Strengths
The company has built a reputation for itself, making it a strong competitor in today’s highly demanding market. Some of the firm’s strengths include:
- Six assembly lines
- BIS and ISO certification
- Six levels of quality checks
- Manufacturing capacity of 300,000 phones per month
- Team of highly experienced engineers
- Automated equipment for quality checks
- Well equipped R&D department
- World-class production facility with dust-free environment
Quality parameters
The company has experienced and trained manpower that has wide exposure in the design, production, quality assurance and testing processes. Detailed procedures and work instructions are irreplaceable constituents of a comprehensive quality management system, leading to well-defined functional and reliability testing. A few major quality parameters that Silizon follows are:
- Functional testing of individual handset units
- Visual testing of handset screens
- RF testing (Rohde & Schwarz)
- Battery and charger testers of handsets
- Barcode printers for IMEI. Maintains a complete record of IMEI numbers of individual handsets
- Fully automatic shrink wrapping
- In-house implemented ERP system to manage production
- ESD-safe working zone
- Use of ESD and clean-room products—air shower, dynamic pass box, dry chamber, etc.
Goals and the journey forward
The government’s ‘Make In India’ initiative has been a major reason behind Silizon jumpstarting its domestic manufacturing operations for the Indian market. In a market flooded with PCBs imported from China by mobile manufacturers, being the only company in India to locally manufacture PCBs is an impressive achievement. Today, Silizon aims to extend its mobile manufacturing business a step further. It plans to set up a complete mobile assembly unit. With the set-up phase now completed, Silizon is all set to manufacture PCBs for mobile phones in bulk.
With its state-of-art infrastructure and well thought-out business strategy, it is evident that Silizon is going to expand and flourish well in the electronics market. The company also has ambitious plans of offering mobile chip manufacturing services for smartphones after February 2017.