What Global Datum does

GlobalDatum Ltd is a privately held, Scotland-based (New Cumnock) manufacturer of bespoke PCB assembly tooling, founded circa 1994 and operating with 1–10 employees. The company designs and produces a portfolio of custom-engineered fixtures and carriers—including wave solder pallets, selective soldering pallets, robotic soldering fixtures, print support plates for DEK and MPM printers, conformal coating carriers, press pin fixtures, routing fixtures, inspection overlays, reflow carriers, and robotic pick up fixtures—targeting electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers and process engineers who need tooling that works correctly on first use. Each engagement is treated as a custom design project: customers submit PCB data files via the company website or phone, the in-house design team collaborates on specifications, and quality-approved solutions are typically delivered within five working days.

The underlying business model is one-time, quote-based sales of physical bespoke tooling rather than recurring or licensed revenue. Go-to-market is direct, sales-led, and concentrated in the UK and Ireland, where Solder Connection functions as the channel partner providing customer support while GlobalDatum engineers focus on design. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; every project is priced against the customer's specific PCB layout and process requirements. The company has no public listing, no disclosed funding, no parent entity, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed institutional investors, and operates with no identified AI/ML capabilities, certifications, patents, or awards in the public record. Its competitive positioning rests on customization breadth, design responsiveness, and the speed advantage enabled by its partnership with Solder Connection.

Name

Global Datum

Legal name

GlobalDatum Ltd

Website

https://globaldatum.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GlobalDatum Ltd is a Scotland-based manufacturer of bespoke PCB assembly tooling—including wave solder pallets, selective soldering fixtures, and robotic soldering fixtures—serving EMS providers and process engineers across the UK and Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

PCB Assembly Tooling

NAICS

Printed Circuit Assembly (Electronic Assembly) Manufacturing (334418)

SIC

Printed Circuit Boards (3672)

akta.pro primary industry

PCB Assembly (PCBA/EMS) (HDAHAOAI)

Keywords

• PCB assembly tooling
• Solder pallets
• Electronics manufacturing fixtures
• Bespoke tooling design
• Wave solder fixtures

Headquarters

HQ city

Cumnock

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bespoke PCB Assembly Tooling: Custom-designed tooling products manufactured to customer specifications. Products include wave solder pallets, selective soldering pallets, robotic soldering fixtures, print support plates, conformal coating carriers, press pin fixtures, routing fixtures, inspection overlays, and bespoke tooling designs. Solutions are typically delivered within 5 working days after design finalization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Global Datum (GlobalDatum Ltd) designs and manufactures bespoke PCB assembly tooling for electronics manufacturers. The company produces custom-engineered fixtures and carriers — including wave solder pallets, selective soldering pallets, robotic soldering fixtures, print support plates, conformal coating carriers, press pin fixtures, routing fixtures, and inspection overlays — tailored to specific PCB layouts and process requirements. Quality-approved solutions are generally delivered within 5 working days.

Product overview

Global Datum is a PCB Assembly Tooling Specialist offering bespoke tooling solutions for electronics manufacturing. The company provides a portfolio of custom-designed fixtures and carriers including Wave Solder Pallets, Selective Soldering Pallets, Robotic Soldering Fixtures, Print Support Plates (for DEK and MPM printers), Conformal Coating Carriers, Press Pin Fixtures, Inspection Overlays, and Routing Fixtures. These products work together to support, protect, and optimize PCBs throughout the assembly process—from solder paste printing through wave and selective soldering, conformal coating, and final inspection. The company also offers Bespoke Designs for unique manufacturing challenges. Quality-approved solutions are generally delivered within 5 working days.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wave Solder Pallets

Quantifiable outcome

• Quality-approved solutions generally delivered within 5 working days
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Solder ConnectioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobalDatum works in collaboration with Solder Connection throughout the UK and Ireland. This partnership allows GlobalDatum's engineers to focus on design while Solder Connection's team provides customer support. The partnership enables broader geographic coverage and leverages Solder Connection's established customer relationships in the electronics production tooling market.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ACE Production Technologies: ACE Production Technologies designs and manufactures selective soldering equipment and custom fixtures for PCB assembly, directly overlapping GlobalDatum's selective soldering pallet and robotic soldering fixture offering for EMS customers.
• Pillarhouse International: Pillarhouse supplies selective soldering systems and supporting fixtures for through-hole and mixed-technology PCB assembly, serving the same EMS and OEM contract-manufacturer customer profile as GlobalDatum.
• Surtec International: Surtec specialises in custom PCB assembly tooling, carriers, and process fixtures for EMS customers, offering a product set closely aligned with GlobalDatum's wave solder and selective soldering pallets.
• Solder Connection: Solder Connection is both GlobalDatum's distribution partner and a peer in the UK & Ireland PCB production tooling market, supplying soldering materials and related assembly tooling to the same EMS customer base GlobalDatum serves.

Broad incumbents

• ASYS Group: ASYS Group supplies a broad portfolio of SMT and process automation equipment, including printing, coating, and material handling lines used by the same EMS customers that purchase GlobalDatum's print support plates and conformal coating carriers.
• ERSA (Kurtz Ersa): ERSA is a large, established soldering equipment manufacturer whose selective soldering, wave soldering, and rework systems compete in the same EMS assembly process space where GlobalDatum's pallets and fixtures are deployed.
• Rehm Thermal Systems: Rehm manufactures reflow, vacuum, and condensation soldering systems along with associated process tooling for electronics manufacturing, addressing the same PCB assembly workflow GlobalDatum supports with reflow carriers and wave solder pallets.
• DEK Printing Machines (ASYS): DEK, part of ASYS, is a leading supplier of solder paste printers whose equipment is explicitly named as compatible with GlobalDatum's print support plates, placing it as adjacent infrastructure to GlobalDatum's tooling offering.
• MPM (Speedline): MPM, part of Speedline Technologies, produces solder paste printers used by the same EMS lines that buy GlobalDatum's print support plates, making it an equipment-side counterpart in the PCB assembly workflow.

Emerging players

• Inertech: Inertech provides contract electronics manufacturing services and supporting tooling/assembly solutions, overlapping with GlobalDatum's EMS-customer segment but from the assembler side rather than as a pure tooling specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Datum