Premier Farnell, Sony, team up to move Raspberry PI manufacturing to the UK

From ENG





Premier Farnell partners with Sony UK Technology Centre to
manufacture the Raspberry Pi in the UK

6th September 2012 - London, UK, Premier Farnell plc (LSEfl), a
leading global high service electronics distributor, has agreed a
multi-million pound deal with Sony UK Technology Centre (UKTec) that
will see the revolutionary Raspberry Pi computer manufactured in the
UK for the first time.

This deal is a major coup for the UK manufacturing industry and
represents a return home for the innovative British-designed Raspberry
Pi, which to date has only been manufactured in China. Utilising Sony
UK Technology Centre's state of the art lean manufacturing techniques,
the site will be initially produce over 300,000 units for customers
across the world and is expected to create up to 30 additional jobs.

Premier Farnell has been selling the innovative device since February
this year through its brands of Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark
element14 in North America and element14 in Asia Pacific, and more
recently through subsidiaries CPC in the UK and MCM Electronics in the
US.

The product, which has been developed by the non-profit Raspberry Pi
Foundation, is a credit-card sized computer that aims to stimulate
young people's interest in computer programming. There is no sign of a
slowdown in demand for the revolutionary computer with the element14
Community, the world's largest online community for design engineers
and electronics enthusiasts, helping to bring together Raspberry Pi
fans to share ideas and further fuel innovation.

Mike Buffham, Global Head of EDE at Premier Farnell commented:
"When it came to reviewing our manufacturing strategy we were
always keen to bring the production of the Raspberry Pi to the UK.
From the outset Sony UK Technology Centre demonstrated its enthusiasm
for the product as well as its expertise in manufacturing. Their site
is highly impressive and I am very confident that the team in Wales
can deliver, providing us with a high-quality product, within our
designated timeframe, all within budget. The Sony brand is known for
its quality and to have its broadcast manufacturing site on board and
building the Raspberry Pi product, within the UK, is very exciting.

"Since the Raspberry Pi was launched globally in February 2012 it
has been a tremendous success story. The younger generation have been
fascinated in learning how to build and programme their own computer
device. As such we have had huge interest from educational
institutions in purchasing the product, innovative design engineers
who are using the computer for exciting new applications and also the
general public."

Eben Upton, Co-Founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation said: "When
Pete Lomas and I built the first Raspberry Pi's for testing last year,
we never dreamed it would become so popular so quickly. The Raspberry
Pi was built to develop young people's skills in computer programming
and electronic engineering; we had always intended and hoped that the
Raspberry Pi would also be manufactured within the UK. We're really
delighted that Premier Farnell has been able to find such a reliable
manufacturer as the Sony UK Technology Centre. By bringing the
production of a UK product back into the country alongside its
development and distribution, we can help support our economy and
demonstrate the capabilities the UK has in terms of technological
innovation, invention, and manufacturing.

"We look forward to continuing our work with Premier Farnell and
now, the Sony UK Technology Centre, in the Raspberry Pi Foundation's
next stage of growth."

In the assembly of the Raspberry Pi, Sony UKTec will be investing in
additional equipment to fulfil the order requirements, providing
flexibility and scalability to cater for potential increases in
demand. This will include additional automated circuit board equipment
and double side reflow machinery. Furthermore, the site will be
extending its manufacturing process capability to include a technique
called package-on-package (PoP). This process allows the processor and
memory to be stacked on top of each other, reducing the PCB footprint
and the distance that high-speed signals need to travel, improving
overall reliability.

Steve Dalton OBE, Managing Director of Sony UK Technology Centre,
stated; "We are now in our 20th year at the Pencoed site and we
have had to diversify our service offerings to ensure the site's
sustainability. As an organisation we are continually committed to
developing the site's offering and this is shown from our diverse
product portfolio through to the investment we make in machinery and
the development of the processes we use. By working with innovative
companies like Premier Farnell, we are able to extend our
manufacturing services offering for existing and potential customers.
We are also able to demonstrate our manufacturing capabilities,
delivering high-quality technology products for UK companies.

"Furthermore, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, encompasses our view
on developing young people's knowledge of the technology industry.
Organisations like this one help build the technologists of our future
by inspiring the next generation."