EPP Europe P2.2022

Source: ED&A
The ED&A site in
Kalmthout, Belgium
Case study: Ersa soldering systems in practice
It all began with a coffee machine…
Manufacturer of soldering systems Kurtz Ersa chronicles the history of its
customer ED&A, a Belgian developer and manufacturer of custom-made
electronic controllers, and explains how the company came to rely on Ersa
systems once it started its own manufacturing operations in 2012.
For over 40 years, ED&A has been developing and
producing customized electronic controllers for
consumer and industrial applications. The company,
based in Kalmthout, Belgium, is more than just a supplier,
describing itself as the “in-house electronics
department” for its customers. As part of a recent expansion
of its production capacity, the developer has
expanded its machinery portfolio with the addition of
an Ersa Versaflow 4/55 selective soldering system.
Source: ED&A
ED&A has been awarded a Factory of the Future
designation by Agoria/Sirris for the third time
Background
ED&A was founded in 1981 by
Agnes Francken and her husband
Flor D´Handschotter, who
was at that point working as a
teacher of electronics. The idea
to start a company was sparked
after a student’s father asked
Flor to develop a controller for a
coffee machine. Not content
with simply saying, “yes, let’s do
it”, he seized the opportunity
and founded his own business. It
took four years before the enterprise
hired its first two employees
– and both are still
within the company. Fast forward 37 years and ED&A
employs 110 people (50 in production) and reported
a turnover of over 25 million Euros last year. 20% of
business takes place in Belgium, the rest is for export.
In 2009, Gert D´Handschotter took over management
of the business from his parents.
Centrally located in Kalmthout with a production
area totalling 5,000m 2 , the company’s current focus
is on the development and production of custommade
electronics for innovative machine and appliance
manufacturers, such as makers of washing
machines, ventilation systems, heat pumps, coffee,
and baked goods machines.
In-house production
On 8 October 2012, ED&A took the groundbreaking
step of opening its own production facility with the
help of various systems, including a number of Ersa
soldering machines. Having previously outsourced all
its manufacturing, mainly to Belgium and Romania,
the decision to manufacture its own designs inhouse
was made after intensive evaluation and research.
The quality of the outsourced electronic assemblies
did not always meet requirements and an
increasing number of bottlenecks was affecting
production capacity.
30 EPP Europe » 11 | 2022