COBO SPA Tackles Growing Product Mix with FUJI’s all-rounder platform AIMEXR
Integrated Systems Manufacturer for the Automotive Sector Reduces Cycle Times with New Placement Machine
Kelsterbach, August 20th, 2025 – COBO SPA manufactures over 70,000 different product variants for industrial and automotive applications – and the number continues to rise. Many of these products, such as dashboards, light switches or headlights, incorporate at least one equipped PCB. To maintain precision and efficiency as volumes grow, the company has upgraded its SMT line. At its headquarters in Leno, Italy, COBO now relies on the all-rounder platform AIMEXR from FUJI. The result: significantly reduced setup and cycle times – even in the face of increasing product diversity.
Founded in 1952, COBO employs more than 1,500 people worldwide and operates eleven manufacturing facilities. The company supplies a broad range of hardware, software, and mechatronics solutions to manufacturers of industrial and specialty vehicles – including those in the construction, agriculture, and logistics sectors – across more than 75 countries. A core part of COBO’s portfolio: complex electronic components such as PCBs for lighting systems, control panels, and ECUs.
“We expect production volumes to continue rising in the coming years. At the same time, product variation is increasing significantly – which puts high demands on our production processes,” says Luigi Massarotto at COBO. “In SMT placement, we need systems that enable fast product changeovers, consistent quality, and high throughput – even for small batch sizes.”
Together with technology partner ALGAR S.p.a. of the FENWICK Group, COBO defined the key requirements for a future-proof SMT environment. Two priorities stood out: drastically reduced setup times and significantly improved equipment availability – both essential for agile and competitive electronics production.
Higher Throughput, Lower Energy Use: New all-rounder platform
Based on this assessment, COBO expanded its existing SMT line with two new FUJI systems – including the AIMEXR all-rounder platform. This marks the first time the AIMEXR has been installed in Europe.
The high-end platform combines newly developed placement heads with integrated real-time sensor technology, enabling high-speed, high-precision component placement.
The new front-end line, made up of the AIMEXR and the AIMEXIII, forms the backbone of COBO’s upgraded electronics production. The new setup is complemented by proven technology solutions for transport, solder paste printing, solder paste inspection (SPI), reflow soldering, and automated optical inspection (3D AOI), along with additional placement machines integrated into the existing line.
“With the AIMEXR, we’ve taken our electronics production to the next level,” says Massarotto. “We need systems that maintain stable takt times and placement quality, even with changing layouts and small lot sizes. The AIMEXR delivers consistent cycle times with remarkable productivity growth, compared to our previous solutions. At the same time, we’ve been able to significantly reduced energy consumption.”
