Bender ramps up automation: FUJI placement solutions boost SMT capacity by 30 percent

Electronics Manufacturer Launches Highly Automated SMT Production in Grünberg

Kelsterbach, June 12th, 2025 – What do an operating room, an EV charging station, and an industrial robot have in common? They all rely on a 100 percent secure power supply. That’s where Bender GmbH & Co. KG comes in. The company develops electronic solutions for safety-critical applications. But with increasing product variety and shrinking batch sizes, alongside growing production volumes, Bender has responded by installing a second fully automated SMT line at its Grünberg site. The new line is based on FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION’s NXTR placement machines and increases Bender’s placement capacity by 30 percent—while maintaining high flexibility even with small batch sizes.

Bender, a family-owned company based in Hesse with a global footprint, produces intelligent and reliable solutions for electrical infrastructure. Its portfolio includes systems for insulation and fault monitoring, energy and charging management, IT solutions, as well as modern HMI and communication technologies. These solutions are used across a wide range of industries – from energy, manufacturing, and e-mobility to medical and critical infrastructure.

“The demands on our production have increased significantly in recent years. We are dealing with rising quantities and greater product variation, while batch sizes are shrinking, and regulatory requirements are tightening – all in the context of a skilled labor shortage and ambitious growth targets. To continue delivering reliably to our customers and future-proof our production, investing in a highly automated SMT line was a logical step,” explains Martin Urban, Head of Production at Bender.

Lower Production Costs and Greater Product Variety

At its Grünberg facility, Bender implemented a fully automated SMT production line featuring state-of-the-art placement solutions from FUJI EUROPE CORPORATION. Among the key components are eight NXTR A modules with Tray Unit RM for precise placement, one NXTR RM, two NXTR S modules, and two sFAB-D systems for THT placement. The latter help standardize formerly manual processes and significantly improve process reliability and efficiency.

“With the new line, we can increase our manufacturing efficiency by approximately 30 percent while remaining agile in response to varying batch sizes and product types. At the same time, we achieve measurably higher product quality. Optimizing resource usage reduces production costs and significantly lowers our environmental footprint -a vital step toward sustainable manufacturing,” adds Martin Urban.

Another milestone is the intelligent networking of all processes along the production line: Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) automatically supply placement machines, printers, X-ray systems, depaneling, and ICT cells. Semi-finished products and unpopulated PCBs are temporarily stored in automated magazine systems. This results in a fully digitized and highly efficient production environment.

Complete System Integration in Record Time – While Production Continued

The project involved establishing a complete SMT manufacturing setup within a year – from incoming goods and board placement to supplying final placement. This required adapting the existing building infrastructure and replacing outdated automation technology. Despite extensive renovations to 15-year-old structures and the relocation of placement areas to different parts of the facility, Bender was able to maintain uninterrupted production and deliveries throughout the process.

“The project began in December 2023 and was completed by November 2024. For us, the new SMT line represents not only a significant increase in capacity but also the creation of redundancy to support our existing operations. Both factors contribute to improved delivery reliability and competitiveness. At the same time, we are now manufacturing our electronic components fully automatically, in top quality, and in compliance with all applicable standards. We are well-prepared for future challenges,” summarizes Martin Urban.