UniLink debuts tool to boost factory floor efficiencies

SAN JOSE, Calif.--A five-month-old startup called UniLink Solutions Inc. Tuesday (May 11) announced the formation of the company and disclosed a "self tuning and predictive" software product that tracks and monitors data on the factory floor.

UniLink's product, dubbed UniVista, is what the company calls an "intelligence delivery system." The software tool resembles a manufacturing execution system (MES), which tracks, monitors, and predicts the data flow on a production floor.

Many of today's enterprise systems and MES technologies are disjointed, which results in gross inefficiencies. UniLink provides the "glue" and visibility into the factory floor, said Ron Leckie, president and chief executive of the Saratoga, Calif.-based company.

The company's technology is designed to boost manufacturing efficiencies. It is geared for contract electronic manufacturers (CEMs) and semiconductor makers, especially the backend assembly and test arena, Leckie said.

"Manufacturing execution system is a misnomer for our technology," he said. "We offer a productivity intelligent delivery solution. We orchestrate the logistics [in a manufacturing setting] and achieve manufacturing process efficiencies," he said in an interview with Silicon Strategies at the Semiconductor Venture Fair, which takes place in San Jose May 11 and 12.

UniLink's UniVista suite of tools consists of several pieces, including UniVision, UniTool, and UniCom. UniVision is a software tool, which is placed on the factory floor. UniTool is geared for a tool operator, while UniCom is the communications protocol software.

UniLink is in beta-site testing with its product. Founded in December of 2003, the company consists of five employees, including Leckie, who was previously a principal with a consulting firm called Infrastructure. The company has obtained seed funding from various investors and is looking for a Series A round of financing.