LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, SWITZERLAND--Ismeca, a producer of tape-and- reel machines, is going to concentrate its production in Switzerland and Melaka, Malaysia. Ismeca's Swiss group, which is active as a test handling manufacturer and scanning systems supplier, wants to strengthen its presence in Asia, where more than 70 percent of production is exported.

The company's entire U.S. product line, developed under one standard platform, will be produced in Malaysia. More customized machines requiring a high level of engineering will be transferred to Switzerland. All production solutions formerly offered by Ismeca's manufacturing facility in Vista, CA, will continue to be available.

According to Peter Portman, head of the Semiconductor Div., "We want to keep in Vista the customer service organization with an application engineering ability, the well-organized spare parts support, and the U.S. marketing and sales team. The Automation Div. activities will be kept in our California plant as well."