Clamason’s precision pressings wrap up digital TV decoder market for Canal+
The world-class Franco-American digital set-top box producers Thomson have chosen Clamason Industries to manufacture the top and bottom pressed metal enclosure components for their new European “top up TV” digital decoder box. This contract of almost £1m in value was won in the face of aggressive competition from Far Eastern manufacturers, who for all that are becoming less attractive as their shipping and other essential purchases on the international market steadily increase in cost, outweighing the commonly regarded benefit of cheap labour.

The digital decoder will initially be assembled by Thomson in their large facility at Genlis near Dijon, France, whilst the precision pressings will be made on a transfer press line at Clamason’s satellite plant in Nitra, Slovakia. A total quantity of 300,000 decoder boxes are scheduled for production in the 12 months from July 2008 to June 2009.

Underlining its global approach to project management, Clamason is supervising the manufacture in Taiwan of the press tools necessary for the contract. The top cover is made from pre-painted black, grade DX51D mild steel on the outside, whilst the inside features anti-fingerprint Zintec zinc coating. The base is simply anti-fingerprint Zintec but also includes, to finish it off, the attachment of four rubber feet and screen-printing detailing the connection requirements. For home entertainments products, aesthetic quality in the lounge environment is valued by the consumer as highly as technical excellence.

Clamason’s business relationship with Thomson took off two years ago with the demise of Corus Europressings of Cardiff, major pressworkers and subcontractors to Thomson when set-top boxes were made at Llantrisant. At the time Thomson’s original equipment manufacturing had been largely transferred to the Far East, leaving behind only a spares supply capability. However, those replacement covers in fact numbered thousands per week and still continue to be required by Europe’s largest aftersales provider in this field, the €323 million turnover A-Novo group, whose UK operation is located at Warrington.

The fresh Thomson top covers for refurbished Sky Digital set-top boxes are manufactured on a transfer press line at Clamason’s principal factory in Kingswinford, West Midlands, along with similar digital TV and DVR products for Panasonic and Pioneer, who also use A-Novo’s UK facility.

In addition to meeting refurbishment needs, having taken over a contract from Amtek in Hungary, Clamason is already producing at Nitra the current “top up TV” chassis, being assembled under licence by one of the world’s principal electronics manufacturing subcontractors, the US $30 billion turnover, Singapore-based group Flextronics.

So Clamason’s new £1m contract to make the top and bottom pressed metal enclosure components for Thomson’s new European “top up TV” digital decoder box will be superseding this project from July 2008 on. Clamason also continues to manufacture, for assembly at Flextronics, Sky Plus covers and chassis for original equipment.

In the final analysis the burgeoning market for home entertainments products will always offer a broad spectrum of opportunities for companies capable of fulfilling the exacting demands of projects sourced and managed on a global scale.