Elektra Awards 2025:
OMC, a pioneer in optoelectronics design & manufacture, was delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s top manufacturers at this year’s prestigious electronics industry Elektra Awards. Shortlisted as a Finalist for Manufacturer of the Year among leading electronics manufacturers across Europe, including global multinationals, OMC earned a Highly Commended distinction from the panel of judges. Judges remarked: “Highly Commended goes to a top entry which demonstrates innovation in several areas, long term delivery of value, and strong examples of commitment to people and the environment. Congratulations to OMC!“
The Elektra Awards recognize and celebrate the exceptional innovation, leadership, and achievements shaping the electronics sector today. A judging panel of key industry figures carefully reviews the submissions, deliberates in panels, and selects the winners through a rigorous judging process.
Commenting on the success, OMC Commercial Director, William Heath said: “This recognition is a credit to our entire team. In 2024, OMC celebrated 40 years of innovation and commitment to manufacturing excellence. Over that period, continuous innovation – across product, process and workplace – has been key to our company’s success. To ensure we emerged from the pandemic stronger, healthier and better placed to serve our customers’ needs, we continued to invest in automation and advanced manufacturing processes – culminating in the recent introduction of cobots (collaborative robots) into our production line.”
Product: OMC places a strong emphasis on R&D and is constantly improving its designs to meet the demands of an ever-evolving marketplace. Recent innovations include development of the company’s Fibre Optic Arduino Shield, enabling users to easily incorporate fibre-optic datacommunications into microprocessor-based designs, facilitating its use in applications such as IIoT/Industry 4.0, smart equipment and buildings, medical devices and motor controls – particularly in applications where data integrity is key or operating environments are challenging.
Process: OMC has implemented a vast range of process innovations, engineering cost out of its production processes. The company upgraded its CNC facilities with more versatile tooling slots, and overhauled every program, optimising to reduce cycle times and reduce waste. Cumulatively, this has improved average parts production speed by 57% and increased yields by 19%.
Workplace: OMC believes that long-term organisational success requires a workplace culture that fosters innovation while maintaining an unwavering focus on sustainability. The company recently commissioned automated scanning systems to keep track of work phases throughout production and quality inspection, helping teams and departments coordinate much more efficiently.
OMC manufactures as much as possible from raw materials in-house – buying semiconductor wafer, drums of extruded fibre and bars of metal stock, and then completing the manufacturing process on-site, including die and wire-bonding and semiconductor encapsulation. This enables complete control over every aspect of its products – and customers therefore don’t have to gamble with ‘typical’ performance figures that aren’t quite relevant to specific application conditions. OMC also uses recycled materials wherever possible within its products, routinely recycling waste material from one process to feed another.
The company has installed almost 200kWp of on-site solar generation – and is now a net exporter of electricity – using a three-phase battery storage system to power its CNC machines overnight from solar energy stored during the day. It has also upgraded its entire facility with new energy-saving technologies to further reduce power requirements.
OMC maintains a strong track record in beating industry trends. Post-pandemic inflation led to raw material costs increasing by between 50% and 100% – and many in the market responded to these pressures by raising prices by 70% or more. OMC refused to accept hiking prices as the solution to these challenges. Instead, the company drew upon the fruits of its prudent long-term financial management, deploying significant reserve capital into cost-reduction measures and technologies, as well as enhanced buffer stocks of key materials, reducing cost and safeguarding supply. As a result of this innovative approach, the company’s average sell prices remain far closer to pre-pandemic levels than the industry average.
OMC technologies are found in many diverse applications where long-term performance and reliability are key. From transportation, aerospace & defence, research & instrumentation, medical and power distribution to industrial & consumer electronics, signage, commercial or domestic buildings, and leisure, OMC products are used daily and globally by millions of people, making their everyday lives safer and easier without them even realising it. With a strong focus on export, OMC’s wide-ranging, global end-user base ranges from SMEs to global corporations, as well as numerous leading universities, public sector and research institutions.
