Sikama International was founded in July 1982 in Santa Barbara, CA, as a General Partnership between Sigurd and Kail Wathne. The company was established to design, develop, manufacture and market a line of quality reflow soldering/curing systems utilizing high efficiency conduction technology for the hybrid microelectronics industry. In January 1991, the Partnership was converted to a Corporation doing business in the state of California. Sikama is a privately held corporation.
Since start up, Sikama has exhibited continuous steady growth. Initially housed in a small facility at the Santa Barbara, California airport, the company quickly expanded into two facilities at the airport location. Since the initial expansion the company expanded first into a consolidated facility and then in February 1995, the company moved into its own plant on Gutierrez Street in Santa Barbara. In 1999 the company acquired the building next door in order to support Sikama's future growth plans, adding 4,000 sq. ft to the initial 6000-sq. ft. facility.
Sikama's rapid expansion has been a direct result of the company 's pioneering technology efforts. From the initial product, Falcon 5 (a total of 250 units were produced until the line was discontinued in 1994), additional conductive reflow soldering systems were developed, including the Falcon 5x5, the Falcon Eight and the Falcon 12 (discontinued in 1995). These systems received wide acceptance in the printed circuit board segments of microelectronics industry.
Continued product development in the combining of thermal conduction plus convection into a single reflow system proved to be very successful. This resulted in the introduction of the Model Falcon 5/C and Falcon 8/C systems, utilizing both the high efficiency of heat conduction and top surface stabilization by means of thermal convection. This technology has been widely accepted by the surface mount segment of the industry.
The ongoing research and development conducted by the company in thermal technology has resulted in Sikama's exclusive "Patented Heating Technology." This technology was utilized in the development of the model Ultra Profile 2000 and Ultra Profile 4000 reflow systems. These have broad areas of applications, and were specifically designed for "Ball Grid Array" technology. The 8000 series was developed for applications ranging from high mass applications to 200-mm wafer processing. The Falcon 1200 was a further enhancement of the 8000 Series, allowing for similar applications but with an increase in maximum substrate capabilities (up to a 12” x 12” part, including 300-mm wafers).
The next logical step was to build our own wafer flux coating system. The Falcon ICS412 was developed as an in-line belt flux coater/wafer washer capable of processing 4 inch to 300-mm wafers. The design offers a simple, robust, truly in-line system with the capacity to dispense up to 4 fluids.
To complete the 200-mm wafer bump line, the missing pieces were the indexers. In March of 2002, Sikama introduced the IWH48 – sending and receiving wafer indexers capable of processing 4 inch to 8-inch wafers. We now can offer a turnkey solution to the wafer bumping process.
Sikama has supplied special modifications and custom systems designed to meet specific customer requirements in addition to the standard systems. The vast thermal design and production experience available within the company can be a valuable resource in solving difficult production reflow soldering problems.
Through past performance, Sikama International, Inc. has gained a reputation for quality products delivered on time and for outstanding customer service.