In this second part of the interview with Vivek Khanna, Managing Director of INDIC EMS Electronics, the conversation shifts to the overall industry for EMS in India. The discussion continues with Vivek’s insights into the impact of industry challenges on India EMS companies. He comments on supply chain disruptions, the unique labor force challenges in India, an update on infrastructure requirements for electronics manufacturing and how those are being addressed and much more. He also explains the reasons for his confidence in the goals he has stated for INDIC EMS Electronics. It’s an in-depth discussion touching on key trends in this exciting geography for electronics manufacturing, from a local expert.

EMSNOW talks to Vivek Khanna, Managing Director of INDIC EMS Electronics, an EMS company with manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru India, and Barcelona Spain. In Part 1 of this interview, Vivek summarizes his fascinating personal story working in the tech industry as it evolved in Bangalore; he started in the chip design world, and then shifted to software and now has come back around to hardware manufacturing, riding several global industry trends. He has worked for both start-ups and global corporations and applies that experience to INDIC to drive solid growth, while honoring his personal determination to give back to the community. He discusses the advantages of building electronics in India; the demographics, the workforce, the government support and more. Part 2 of this thoughtful interview covers Vivek’s views about industry trends.

David Schild, Executive Director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) discusses the latest on Congress’ intent to rebuild a strong industrial defense manufacturing base, and how critical PCBs are to that capability. He updates EMSNOW on what passing the Omnibus Funding Bill means for the industry and where the money is going. PCBAA members represent the entire PCB value chain, and the Association drives the effort to promote the entire industry, because a healthy commercial base is critical to defense. He paints a picture of what the future of the PCB industry in the U.S. will look like — not the same for every vertical, but a more resilient supply chain for critical electronics like defense, infrastructure, medical equipment and so on. It’s a must-view for those following the consequences of this ever-changing development.

EMSNOW discusses APEX with Jason Spera, CEO Aegis Software in this information-packed interview about the exciting developments at this dynamic company. Jason reflects on the past 27 years since he founded the CAD/CAM tool focusing transforming design data into a useful shop floor MES. He explains their next generation solution which will enable an even more robust cycle-counting capability to ensure accuracy in materials management, an area that has gotten a lot of attention lately. He also talks about Aegis’ SaaS solution, which will be demonstrated at APEX; the benefits of the new partnership with Arch Systems, and much more. The conversation ends with a tribute to industry icon Michael Ford, who passed away earlier this year.

EMSNOW speaks with Heriberto Cuevas, Sales Manager Leader for Mexico and South America, and Hector Hernandez, Regional Sales Manager, Koh Young America. The two discuss their backgrounds, trends in the business environment in Mexico, including the advent of semiconductor manufacturing; challenges to managing the rapid growth, the end markets moving manufacturing to Mexico, the real story about re-shoring from countries like Taiwan and the implications for workforce development, and much more. They discuss the advantages Mexico has over other geographies, which are only getting more pronounced as geopolitical uncertainties unfold. It’s a thoughtful conversation with knowledgeable regional insiders.

EMSNOW speaks with Andy Hyatt, Chief Customer Officer, Plexus Corporation to get an update on this Tier 1 EMS company based in Wisconsin, USA. Andy summarizes their current strategy and comments that being on the customer-facing side of the business puts him on the front lines of the trends. The three market segments Plexus serves have very different requirements and Plexus intentionally focuses on these three, making complex products on a global scale, with perfect quality, and on time delivery at a fair price. He covers how Plexus is managing workforce challenges, including their strategy for automation in a high mix/low volume environment; what they learned from the material shortage crisis, his insights from 35 years in the EMS industry, and much more.

EMSNOW learns about North American EMS company ACDi, with this conversation with ACDi's VP of Operations, Garret Maxson. The discussion covers the background and business strategy for this 40-year old low volume, high mix company mainly focused on defense electronics. Garret explains am equipment acquisition process recently completed with Koh Young, acquiring multiple machines, with an extensive and comprehensive training and implementation program. He discusses the upgrade of training, the benefits the business obtained by working with Koh Young, celebrating the 23,000th Koh Young installation, and much more.

Zachary Feuerstein, Founder and CEO, developed Breadboard to address what he identified as systemic problems with the semiconductor supply chain that became painfully obvious during post-Covid disruptions. This solution transforms quoting, sourcing, and monitoring the semiconductor supply chain for EMS and OEMs building electronic products. Breadboard's solution can be integrated into customers' existing systems. Zachary shares insights into the digitalization of this function - where the roadblocks have been historically and how we get everyone to get on board. It's a very timely conversation and well worth a listen.

Mike Buetow, President of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA), speaks to EMSNOW about the Service Excellence Awards. This customer feedback evaluation program is celebrating 32 years of service to the industry; initially designed for EMS companies, it now has expanded to the entire SMT line, including the critical software providers enabling Industry 4.0. Mike explains the substantial value that ALL participating companies receive from the customer survey data compiled into a detailed report. These reports, based on seven important service categories, are used internally to drive continuous quality improvement programs, as well as marketing and sales. This is an informative conversation between two industry colleagues that should not be missed.

EMSNOW Mexico speaks with Jose Ignacio Lopez Arroyo, CEO of Repstronics about this remarkable solutions provider that has been operating in Mexico for 21 years. When the electronics manufacturing industry in Mexico began to grow, companies bought their equipment from US-based suppliers who did not provide local support. Repstronics was a local team that provided sales and after-sales support to these customers after the equipment was installed. The company started with wire harness machines, and then expanded to SMT equipment and beyond. Now they have locations all over Mexico, and 88 employees providing solutions and helping customers succeed. They host training centers, and proactively visit their customers to help them achieve their goals.This in-depth, insider conversation covers Jose’s experiences, his analysis of the strengths and challenges of doing business in Mexico, and much more.

EMSNOW spoke with David Faliskie, CEO of EIT (Electronic Instrumentation and Technology) and Xaver Feiner, VP Marketing & Sales, Zollner Elektronik AG to learn more about the EMS company’s business.   EIT was acquired by Zollner in 2022, and recently announced an expansion of its facility in Salem, New Hampshire.  Both companies are family-owned which means they share many synergies including markets served, and a common customer centric culture. It’s an interesting conversation about a unique EMS strategy with insights into what the future might hold.SHARE: PREVIOUSArchitecture to Circuit Schematics in 60 Seconds: An Introduction to Circuit Mind AI – Webinar Feb 29NEXTNorth American EMS Industry Up 2.6 Percent in January: IPC Releases Survey ResultsAbout The AuthorJennifer ReadRelated PostsSpartronics Names Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum Chief Executive Officer   December 21, 2022SMTC Corporation Announces Over $31 Million in New Business from Avionics, Aerospace and Defense CustomersJanuary 10, 2020EMSNOW Executive Interview: Spartronics Việt Nam VP and GM Dung TranFebruary 18, 2022How Will Electronics Fare Under a Biden Administration? IPC Weighs InDecember 15, 2020

Here is a fascinating account of the history of this EMS company with facilities in Lithuania, Turkey, and China. Sergey Zorin, Director and founder of DANNIE.CC has guided this business from a group of design engineers to its present full scope of manufacturing services in these geographies. He explains the strategy as the company has evolved according to customer requirements. It’s a unique story, yet very indicative of the innovative nature of the EMS industry.

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With this interview, EMSNOW launches a new video series, “Virtual On Tour,” to elevate the EMS industry through in-depth interviews with industry executives. This first in the series spotlights North American high reliability ‘mission critical manufacturer’ Zentech, through this insightful conversation with Michael Seltzer, Chief Commercial Officer. The discussion covers Zentech’s unique differentiators, Michael’s thoughtful analysis of industry trends, including nearshoring, material shortages, the race for talent, automation, the importance of supplier relationships, changing EMS/OEM dynamics, Zentech’s growth strategy and much more. Listen to how one seasoned EMS expert describes how his company prioritizes culture and people to make manufacturing cool again.

The Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) has had quite a productive year. David Schild, Executive Director of the PCBAA discusses the accomplishments of this very young consortium of companies that support the domestic production of PCBs and the materials they are made from. Eric asks him about the growth of the association, policy achievements, and recent announcements of public/private partnerships. David tells Eric what is on the agenda for 2024 and how they intend to manage through the political turmoil of an election year. It’s a very important discussion about major initiatives that will impact the entire electronics industry for the next decade at least.

Eric catches up with Misha Govshteyn, CEO, Macrofab to learn the latest news about this innovative platform for sourcing electronics manufacturing services. The discussion begins with an overview of the Macrofab model focused on North American manufacturing though a software based platform enabling flexibility and scalability for all sizes of OEMs. Misha explains over 50% of his company’s recent growth is a result of the acceleration of the re-shoring trend to a regional approach bringing manufacturing closer to customers. He notes that pre-pandemic, the re-shoring discussion was mostly theoretical, but that is not the case now. Mexico is increasingly the answer for companies exiting ChinaIt’s an insightful discussion of trends that will have a substantial impact on the EMS industry.

Eric discusses a software implementation case study with Luminovo’s Founder and Managing Director Sebastian Schaal and Wayne Clancy, Executive VP at Trilogy-Net. Wayne considered 9 different vendors for quoting software for his Canadian EMS company before deciding on Luminovo’s solution. He describes his experience selecting, implementing and then launching this new capability for his EMS business, which has dramatically improved his quoting process and delighted his customers.

Roberto Gatti, CEO of Delvitech SA explains Delvitech’s unique optical inspection technology, which uses AI and a high precision camera system to detect defects. This patented optical head is a powerful technology that acquires precise 3D data with crystal clear images for a wide range of packages and components. Customers can use this system even when there is no ‘golden board’ available to train the software. Delvitech is a Swiss-based company that came on the scene five years ago, and this in-depth discussion of the unique characteristics of this new approach to AOI is well worth a listen.

Michael Ford, Sr. Director of Emerging Industry Strategy at Aegis Software, is an industry thought leader, and this conversation tackles some important issues about what people want in their MES system. He says that people want MES that is simple to use but has the internal capabilities to manage the very complicated electronics manufacturing process efficiently. Aegis will be exhibiting at Productronica, to discuss with customers their recent developments in the area of composability, the use of AI in these systems, the impact of MES on sustainability initiatives, and much more. It’s an important analysis and well worth your time.

Koh Young Europe’s Michael Zahn describes his company’s plans for Productronica 2023 and updates Eric on the progress of the Smart Factory in Europe. The two discuss both the SMT side of Koh Young’s European business and the semiconductor packaging side, which is getting a lot of attention because of efforts to bring these activities back to Europe. They discuss the trends in these technologies and the place of test/inspection in improving quality and reliability for increasingly demanding applications.