Our recent investments into CNC milling equipment and laser technology have allowed us to expand our product offering to the SMT industry, but we are now also expanding into a far wider market.

Datum has supplied (and been number one) in the supply to the SMT industry for materials for a number of years. Now we are starting to develop markets outside of SMT. This change provides a new set of challenges and also puts us in a position we have not been for some time.

We are excited for the changes that will come.

As a group, we thrive on challenging ourselves technically and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This is what defines us as a company, and it finds its way into everything we do. This opportunity to branch into new markets and tackle new challenges allows us the chance to test ourselves and really see what we can do with the impressive people we have in our company.

Within our current industry there are requirements for milling multilevel sheets for SMT and laser-cutting border holes for SMT applications.

This “way of doing things” provided us with a catalyst for learning. We realized that companies weren’t being innovative, and because things had been done the same way for so long, there must be a better way of doing it. So we began to test new ideas, and try new things in order to find a better way of processing our materials.

Eventually, after focusing on our goal and trusting in our people, we developed a completely new milling strategy for processing thin metal foils and we also designed, and built, a completely new laser machine ourselves.

Developing each of these aspects was not an easy route. Machines are available on the market that are able to fulfill our current consumer needs, but we were looking toward the future. What would happen when our consumers’ needs change? What would we do if the machines that supply those services don’t work, or are inaccessible for some reason?

While it might not have been financially or productively reasonable, when we look back at this decision ten years from now, I am positive we will agree we made the right choice to innovate now, instead of after everyone else.

Our proprietary milling process and laser machine technology allows us to do unique things with the material that nobody else can do.

And we are still exploring the limits.