MST company DYCONEX is celebrating its 25th anniversary and looking back upon more than 50 years of experience in the fabrication of printed circuit boards.
In 1964, a new division within Oerlikon-Contraves devoted to the manufacturing of circuit boards was established. Brought about by the transition from the electronic tube to the transistor, printed circuits became necessary, but only limited supplies were available on the market.
This situation led to Contraves developing a technology on its own. At the end of the 1970s, the division had already grown to more than 200 employees and was manufacturing at three Swiss locations in Seebach, Lenzburg, and Gams.
Dr. Walter Schmidt, who joined Contraves in 1979, said: "It was an exciting and fascinating time.
"There was only a scarce supply of manufacturing machinery and materials, so we had to find solutions on our own."
In 1991, at the end of the Cold War, Contraves decided to concentrate on its core businesses, which led to a management buyout. Together with a small team, Dr. Walter Schmidt founded DYCONEX in Seebach and served as its CEO until 1999.
From the very beginning, DYCONEX has focused on technologies enabling the miniaturisation of end-user applications. For instance, the DYCOstrate® process was developed and introduced to the public in 1992 and was a revolutionary technology for printed circuit board fabrication. A process based on plasma etching, this enabled the fabrication of thousands of microvias simultaneously and opened the door for entering into new markets such as for hearing aids.
As a result of this boom, it was necessary to look for new manufacturing facilities. This led to a move from Seebach to Bassersdorf in 2001/2002. By July 2002, a new fabrication facility running two shifts and with a significantly higher level of automation started operation at the current site in Bassersdorf.
The 21st century, with the new challenges it brings to this industry segment, has also led DYCONEX to make some strategic realignments. In 2008 the decision was made to become part of the Micro Systems Technologies (MST) Group, part of a unit that makes it possible for the company to position itself as a strong global player.
Skilled employees, continuous technological developments, and investments in the latest fabrication processes make DYCONEX the leading manufacturer of highly complex circuit boards, which are used in a variety of industries. Among them are applications in medical technology, telecommunications, industrial electronics plus aeronautics and aerospace.
CEO of DYCONEX Dr. Hubert Zimmermann says: "Our goal is to remain the world’s leading supplier of complex, miniaturised solutions with extreme reliability in interconnect technology and further expand our position over the next 25 years.