Our customers aren’t just buying Plasma Pro 100 from us, they're buying different processes. It’s my job to develop those processes. When they design their devices, they have to think about the equipment they’ll use to fabricate that device. Equipment like this can be costly, so we need to reassure them that the process will deliver their goals before they invest in a system.

Part of my role is working in the lab on product demos. Customers send their samples to us and we’ll look at their process requirements, and do a demo. We’ll send a process report back to the customer for them to evaluate and if they're happy with the results then our sales team will step in.

Our customers all have different requirements, so each product demo involves new challenges. This in turn drives innovation and new technologies, and that’s what’s really interesting about my job. I might have been here for 18 years, but every day is different.

Dr Ligang, Principle Applications Engineer

Yatton, UK

I was part of the project team that built the first alpha builds of Plasma Pro 100. I was a production technician, which meant I took the initial designs from engineering and built the actual tools. This included all the wiring for the power boxes, with loom cables around the source. We had to power up each tool to make sure it worked and feedback any issues we found. We then progressed onto beta builds which obviously have some improvements.

When it moved to the production side, I went along with the product and was there to help guide everyone else in the different processes of putting the system together. At that point, I became an electrical technician in that area. So I’ve been there from the very first build right up to the present day. Now I’m a test engineer and I test the systems before they go to the customer, so my experience up until now really helps. 

Pete, Test Engineer

Yatton, UK

I’ve been involved with Plasma Pro 100 for almost 20 years and my role has evolved almost beyond recognition during this time. Originally I started in Operations, then I moved into Project Management, Product Management/Development, and now I’m in a B2B sales development role.

As part of the Plasma Pro 100 project team, I helped to establish the market requirements and specifications for the next generation of the 100 platform. Because of the ‘platform’ nature of the product across a number of technologies, we needed to collaborate with internal teams from Technical, Applications and Operations, who have the real knowledge about how our customers’ processes are delivered by our systems. The 100 represents almost 70% of our system sales, so we all knew we had to get it right.

My latest Business Development role is much more about establishing and developing relationships with our leading target Production customers into growing market segments. It’s the diversity of the people I deal with on a daily basis, combined with the ‘customer element’, which makes my day-to-day work so interesting.

Ian, VP Sales and Business Development

Yatton, UK

Within my role in Finance I’m always trying to improve our own processes to become more efficient. With Plasma Pro 100, we’ve been running an Operational Excellence training course with Cardiff University. Different groups have been taking part and we’ve been looking at how to introduce ‘lean’ processes in to the factory environment, looking at how we can build systems faster and reduce our costs.

The course focuses on how by increasing the numbers of systems we get through to meet customer orders, the more revenue we can get into the business which in turn creates more cash. Some of this can then be invested in future designs of the system. It’s really all about creating a much smoother process as a manufacturing company. The course helped with team building too and it’s good for innovation. Sometimes if you’re within a certain area you don’t see things in the same way as someone who’s new and who brings fresh eyes, so having that collaboration across teams really helps the business.

Rachel, Manufacturing and Operations Controller

Yatton, UK