By Tracey Bell

A privately held, veteran-owned company, EPE has been in operation since 1965. For more than five decades and three generations, the  company’s deep engineering expertise, strong financial position, and a dedication to quality and integrity have been at the foundation of an established infrastructure that supports customers in a range of diverse industries – including defense & aerospace, RF communications, medical, robotics, industrial, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Regardless of the industry, in order to succeed, a company needs a contract manufacturer it can trust, that is reliable and accountable. And those qualities are precisely what EPE stands for. Whether a customer’s specific requirements call for the exacting precision of the defense community, the absolute reliability of the medical industry, the cost-effective, high-performance of the industrial and communications markets, or the fast-growing demands of the Internet of Things, EPE can deliver with a solution that is optimized for manufacturability.

The SMT lines at EPE Corporation. The company’s manufacturing processes are flexible, scalable and cost-effective.

EPE Corporation is a leading contract manufacturer (CM) of high-reliability electronics manufacturing services (EMS) for the manufacture of electronic assemblies and integrated box-build systems. It offers a full range of EMS services from design and new product introduction (NPI) to sophisticated logistics solutions. EPE Corporation manufactures products for customers in a range of end markets, transforming their ideas into tangible products and enabling them to respond quickly and effectively to business opportunities and fluctuating market demands.

Headquartered in Manchester, NH, EPE Corporation’s 55,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility supports the electronics manufacturing needs of businesses of all sizes throughout North America and Europe from printed circuit assembly (PCA), backplane, electromechanical, flex circuit, system assembly, and logistics. EPE’s customers depend on the company to help them take advantage of business opportunities in a highly dynamic and demanding marketplace. Its cost-effective electronics manufacturing processes are scalable to support accelerated time-to-market targets, and are flexible to meet variable market demands. With a focus on complex assemblies for low- to medium-volume, high-mix products, EPE provides supply chain optimization for businesses that require speed of action, high levels of flexibility, configuration management, repair depot services and logistics solutions. Just as important, however, is EPE’s commitment to the customer and to exceeding expectations on every project.

EPE, its staff and its facility have earned multiple certifications and regulatory compliance approvals, including ISO 9001, ISO 13485, AS9100, ITAR registered, UL/CSA/TUV compliant, IPC-A-610 Class III Certified (workmanship). “EPE is an extension of our customers’ engineering and manufacturing operations, and we take that responsibility seriously,” said JD Bell, president. “Our sophisticated paperless process and quality systems and continuous improvement approach to manufacturing ensure that quality is built into every product we manufacture.”

To further its commitment to quality, EPE partners with other companies that share the same values: quality is king and customers always come first. One such partner, Nordson DAGE, has been involved with EPE since the purchase of its XD7600NT Ruby X-ray Inspection System with the X-Plane option in November 2015. The system has been up and running in EPE’s facility since December of that year. Bell said that the Ruby was chosen over competing systems because of its high-resolution capabilities and ease of use. He added that he knew the company was a good match with EPE because Nordson DAGE’s sales representatives were interested in EPE’s needs and willing to help them find the system that best fit its needs. EPE was able to work with a DAGE system in a local company during the evaluation process to ensure that it was the system that best addressed EPE’s needs.

EPE Corp.’s JD Bell said that the Nordson DAGE Ruby X-ray inspection system has provided numerous benefits, including improved accuracy in through-hole solder fill determination

It was, and EPE moved forward with the PO. Now, more than six months later, Bell stands by the decision. He said that the system consistently performs to expectations; however, its ease of use has far exceeded expectations. He added that it has been a successful sales tool for the company as well because high-resolution X-ray capability is becoming more and more a requirement and expectation among EMS companies of EPE’s size. Other benefits to the company include the Ruby’s diagnostic tool for test failures or field failures, process verification, and significantly improved accuracy in through-hole solder fill determination. Additionally, Bell said that the Ruby is an extremely complimentary tool to its Agilent 5DX X-ray system to truly diagnose the subtlest of defects.

The implementation of the XD7600NT Ruby X-ray also improves EPE’s troubleshooting and failure analysis efforts. The X-Plane® technology speeds up the detection of defects that previously were undetectable with conventional X-ray technology without damaging the board. Additionally, the X-Plane® software enables users to obtain a nondestructive, virtual cross-section of the area of interest.

EPE Corporations’ Eric Jurentkuff, Director of Quality, uses the Nordson DAGE Ruby to verify that the products the company manufactures are of the highest quality.

With the revolutionary X-Plane® option, the superior image quality that Nordson DAGE X-ray systems always provide now can be extended into separating individual layers at a level of excellence that the traditional laminography technique cannot achieve. X-Plane® uses a proprietary, patent applied for, tomosynthesis (or CT technique) to create 2-D X-ray slices in any plane of a PCB assembly without the need to cut or destroy the board.

EPE Corporation’s ability to produce high-reliability electronics products relies not only on its own internal expertise and capabilities, but also on a complex supply chain that provides the critical materials, components, and services that go into the manufacture and delivery of its products. From product design and NPI to volume manufacturing and logistics, EPE leverages a diverse network of strategic supply and distribution partners that add significant value to its range of electronics products and assemblies.

EPE is committed to helping its supplier partners succeed, and strives to build and strengthen these relationships continuously. As integral components to its operations and to its reputation for meeting and exceeding customer expectations, the company holds all of its suppliers to the same rigorous criteria for performance, quality, compliance, pricing, delivery, and flexibility that it holds itself to.

While the relationship between EPE Corporation and Nordson DAGE is relatively new, Bell said that Nordson DAGE will always be a part of future equipment evaluations. ”We go to market as a high-reliability EMS provider. The DAGE Ruby platform fits perfectly into that mission. We can say with a high degree of confidence that the products we manufacture will be of the highest quality, having been verified through our Ruby system,” said Bell.

He concluded, “In the end, it’s all about building partnerships with people you trust, and our customers trust us to get it right the first time. Our relationship with Nordson DAGE helps us do that every time.”

For more information about EPE Corporation, contact President JD Bell at 645 Harvey Rd., Manchester, NH 03103; 603-669-9181; E-mail: ; Web site: www.epecorp.com. To find out more about Nordson DAGE and the Ruby X-ray inspection system, contact Elaine Yeomans, Marketing Communications Manager, at 25 Faraday Rd., Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP19 8RY UK+44 (0) 1296 317800; E-mail: ; Web site: www.nordsondage.com.