San Diego, CA January 22, 2002 - EKRA was awarded the SMT Magazine 2001 Vision Award for excellence in stencil printing technology development. The award was specifically targeted at EKRA's Auto Pin Guidance Tooling System. The Vision Award is a yearly award that is given at APEX for new products that were released in the previous year, with one award given for each major category of the SMT process.

EKRA's APG system combines the speed and dexterity of operators with the repeatability of the machine's vision gantry. It incorporates a vision-mounted laser pointing system for guiding where to place the pins for supporting double-sided assemblies. For process control feedback, it uses the vision system itself to recognize the pins and verify they are in the correct position. Pin locations can easily be taught via the vision system or off line using CAD data. The APG system provides cost, speed, and reliability advancements over competitive systems.

"We are very happy to receive the Vision Award for 2001. EKRA is 100% committed to being the leader in the development of printing technology and this is a direct measurement against that goal." Says Steven Hall, General Manager of EKRA America.