In this interview we speak with Neil Edwards, Regional Sales Manager at Metcal, about his background, the company’s activities, developments in the market and the cooperation with PIEK training centre. Quality in manual soldering processes is the central theme throughout the conversation.

Introduction

Neil Edwards has been working at Metcal as a Regional Sales Manager for ten years. In this role he is responsible for a large territory that includes the United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, and all of Eastern Europe. Before joining Metcal, he worked at McLaren in the United Kingdom, where he gained experience in an environment whose quality and precision standards are the highest possible.

In his current position he works closely with end users, distributors and training centres. Because of the size of his region, he travels frequently throughout Europe to support customers, provide training and maintain relationships.

Metcal activities

Metcal is part of OK International, which in turn is part of Dover Corporation. The company develops and manufactures equipment for manual soldering in the electronics industry. This equipment is used in a variety of sectors such as aerospace, defence, commercial industry and other applications in which high reliability is required.

The customer base spans from small companies with only a few employees to large organisations with hundreds of staff members. According to Edwards, every customer receives the same level of attention, regardless of the size of the company. Metcal’s goal is to deliver high-quality equipment that enables users to perform soldering work with consistent and high quality. This is essential because the soldered components are often used in critical applications such as smoke detectors, defence systems or aircraft components.

Developments in the market

For 2026 Edwards sees both technical and market-related developments.

On the product side, Metcal continues to focus strongly on its patented SmartHeat technology, an induction soldering system that has been the foundation of the company’s product range for many years. Although the technology has existed for a long time, he believes that it will remain highly relevant, because it provides reliable performance and consistent quality.

In the market he mainly sees growth in the defence sector, partly due to geopolitical uncertainty. In addition, he notes that more and more companies in Europe are switching to Metcal systems or purchasing them for the first time.

According to Edwards, it is remarkable that the company’s core technology has remained virtually unchanged for many years while demand continues to grow. In his view, this demonstrates that a solid technical foundation can be more important than constant change.

Collaboration with PIEK

Metcal supports PIEK in several ways, including sponsoring workstations for training. For Edwards this collaboration is logical, because PIEK provides high-quality IPC training and focuses on improving soldering skills within the industry.

He emphasizes that good equipment alone is not enough: the quality of the final result also depends on the skills of the user. Training centres such as PIEK therefore play an important role in safeguarding quality within the electronics industry.

According to Edwards, PIEK’s vision aligns well with Metcal’s: both organisations aim to ensure that technicians, equipped with the right knowledge and the right tools, can produce top-quality products. The cooperation has developed partly through meetings at trade fairs, where it became clear that both parties pursue the same goals.

Closing Remark

Edwards notes that Metcal is not yet equally well known everywhere in Germany, but cooperations such as the one with PIEK help increase visibility.

For him it is important to work with partners who share the same focus on quality and craftsmanship. Only by combining proper training with high-quality equipment can the desired level of quality in the industry be achieved.

He therefore sees the cooperation with PIEK as an important step in supporting professionals in delivering reliable and high-end work.