Download Annual Report 2006 - Mühlbauer Group

COMPANY PROFILE13In times of extreme specialization, reliability is what counts – this applies not only to peoplebut also to components. This is why demand for the traceability of products is growing. WithTraceability, Mühlbauer employees make their contribution towards this area.TraceabilityOnly a few generations ago the components even of sophisticated devices were comprehensible.Now we deal quite naturally with complex products consisting of hundreds of components.At first glance no one can say how many and which manufacturers are involved in a final product.The fact that this level of anonymity bears risks was particularly rapidly shown with regardto electronic products – and these can since be found virtually anywhere. We use them and relyon them, not least when we are dealing with personal safety issues. A good example of thisis the automotive industry. But Traceability has become commonplace, even in completely otherareas, as is shown by the European directive on the traceability of groceries.Traceability can be of interest in two respects: as downstream tracing from manufacturers toconsumers and vice versa, as upstream tracing. The idea behind Traceability is to render processchains and flows of goods more transparent, to delimit errors, reduce liability risks and toincrease product safety in general. This is rendered possible by an unambiguous, machinereadablemarking that is applied via the inkjet process, labeling or laser technology. What mayinitially sound trivial, actually proves to be a sophisticated task. After all, the markingprocedure must not only be fast but also highly precise, so that the markingis easily legible, even on the most minute components. All markedcomponents can now be clearly allocated to the respective manufacturer,even if it has long become part of a device that has been installedin a car, for example.The Mühlbauer Group has specialists for the marking ofprinted circuit boards. While these are located at a separatesite, the concept of the provider of a complete solution is consistentlyrealized here as well. Laser marking, printing and labeling stations are onlyone of the many facets of Traceability, which is why Mühlbauer also offers scanningstations and data management systems, as well as a wide range of board handlingmachines. A technical milestone was reached in 2006 with the new CO2 laser markingsystem, a system that not only features the utmost in precision but also offers a range of technicalcharacteristics which ensure that the system leaves hardly anything to be desired with regardto handling, speed and reliability.These days, quality is no longer enough, it must be able to be proven in all its details. While ourtraceability systems contribute to the required product transparency, clear structures and opencommunication within the Mühlbauer Group are important prerequisites for our rapid and targetedmode of operation – a vital ingredient of customer satisfaction.