The incompetence to which I refer isn’t their capabilities but their almost indifferent approach to expediency.
You guys are lucky. UK companies we worked with are struggling with bare basics.
We have a list of more than 10 UK companies that do assembly for us and to put it bluntly they are all crap. And based on the sample set I conclude that the rest of UK PCB assembly industry is too. Top 3 are only at the top because the others are even worse.
I have posted a few of their attempts in
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/professional-assembly-mishaps/ but it became so everyday that I have stopped taking pictures. All pictures I have posted were "made in the UK."
Just a week ago a large UK company delivered assembled 2 layer boards with about 15% of the PCBs having non-conductive vias. The vias are 0.3mm drill. To me this is 1980's technology. They have claimed that 0.3mm is a "micro via" and I have, basically, engineered the failure myself by using them on 1.5mm two layer PCB.
And, surely, they...
... stand out... at home and abroad... knowledge and experience... proud British heritage ... home-grown expertise ...no compromises ...
Leo