Made In the UK: The Raspberry Pi now manufactured here in the UK

The Raspberry Pi has been a great success story for the UK with the only fly in the ointment being that the board had to be manufactured in China for cost reasons. Happily due to the demand for the board the Raspberry Pi foundation have been able to work with Element14/Premier Farnell and Sony UK to manufacture the Raspberry Pi here in the UK in South Wales.

So if you get a Raspberry Pi in the future check for the the Made in UK statement on the board.

Details from the Raspberry Pi foundation blog:

Back at the beginning of April, Eben and I paid a visit to Sony’s UK manufacturing plant in Pencoed, South Wales. Several meetings, a factory tour, a lot of phone calls, some PowerPoint and sandwiches, and an up-close-and-personal with a wave soldering machine later, we were able to introduce our manufacturing and distributing partners to Sony’s Welsh facility, where, as well as making Sony products, Sony’s team undertakes contract electronic manufacture (CEM). It’s an incredibly impressive affair; the quietest, pleasantest plant I’ve ever been in, all comfortable lighting, ergonomic workspaces, cool air and relaxed staff. Sony’s quality control system is legendary, their ability to manufacture fast and cleanly is superb, and they’ve already invested £50,000 in PoP (Package on Package – the fiddly stuff where the Broadcom chip at the heart of the Raspberry Pi is stacked beneath the RAM chip) hardware and expansion capability just for us. They’re also able to take on the huge task (currently undertaken by RS and Farnell) of ensuring the parts used are sourced ethically and to the highest ecological standards – every component has to pass standard compliance via Sony’s Green Management programme.