EMSNOW

In this episode of EMSNOW Up Close, Eric talks to Chintan Sutaria, President of CalcuQuote, whose software solution is proving its value during the recent component shortages. Chintan explains how CalcuQuote’s customers, primarily high mix, low volume EMS, are able to more efficiently source components, execute orders, and get alternatives for parts that are unavailable. 

The two also discuss Chintan’s new role within CalcuQuote, and a sneak peek into the company’s next product announcement. CalcuQuote will be at Booth 2033 at APEX in San Diego.

In this information-packed interview, François Monette, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Mitch DeCaire, Director of Business Development, Cogiscan explain how the iTAC/Cogiscan combination provides a valuable solution for customers as they implement Industry 4.0. Continuing their modular and scalable consultative approach the iTAC connection enables an expansion of Cogiscan’s offering with iTAC Software AG’s MES/MOM Suite. The conversation includes plans for APEX, and an in-depth look into this engineering-driven company.

It happens every year and every year it's a big challenge. This year that challenge is amplified by COVID and by the current supply chain disruptions which are causing huge problems for both parts supply and logistics. Along with host and EMSNOW Publisher Eric Miscoll, Season Group President and CEO Carl Hung and TITOMA CEO Case Engelen get into the how, why and what of CNY22 and offer some advice on managing through the choppy waters around the Lunar New Year celebrations.

In this mash up of "EMSNOW on Tour" and "MADE IN EUROPE" Philip Stoten asked Dieter Weiss and Eric Miscoll to succinctly share their insights from their three-week tour of the European EMS industry, as featured in their own popular podcast series.

While succinctly was a  challenge for these two industry veterans, they were indeed insightful and topics like regional manufacturing, consolidation and of course shortages, of materials and talent, came up repeatedly.

It seemed like both Eric and Dieter enjoyed their time together but were ready to say farewell, even if just for a while.  Philip also shares his own point of view, boldly predicting that there will be at least three EMS in Europe with sales over $1B by the end of 2022, let's see if he's right...

Eric and Dieter reflect on their three-week journey through Europe in this last episode of EMSNOW On Tour for this trip. 

They visited 13 companies and discovered some common themes including the most prominent challenges - material supply chain disruptions and talent shortages. 

Eric asks Dieter what advice he would give companies experiencing the 'eye of the storm' going into 2022. His frank and well-founded comments are well worth a listen as these two seasoned EMS industry pundits say goodbye for now.

In this episode of EMSNOW On Tour, Eric and Dieter discuss their visit across the border from Bavaria to the Swiss EMS companies Cicor and Vosch. 

The two share their experiences traveling into Switzerland with ever evolving covid health guidelines, as well as their impressions of the two uniquely positioned global EMS companies. Cicor's CEO Alexander Hagemann and VP of Strategic Sales and Business Development Dr. Michele Stampanoni explained that company's focus on high mix, low volume, complex PCB technology, serving the 'AIM' market sector, aerospace/defense, industrial and medical. Vosch's CEO Uwe Frech demonstrated their impressive 'low-touch' storage and assembly systems where components are placed with very little human contact. 

It's another fun conversation with some fascinating insights into how two companies execute their strategy.

In this episode Eric Miscoll and Dieter Weiss discuss their visit to AsteelFlash and Prufrex. 

AsteelFlash is in the Top 20 EMS and the two discuss AsteelFlash's recent acquisition strategy, both companies' skillful adaptation to local customer requirements, their impressive range of capabilities well matched to customer needs and much more.

In a pause between factory visits, Eric and Dieter explore the some of the key macro and micro trends impacting the industry. In this episode they explore the trend related to moving manufacturing out of China and the potential growth in regionalization, or local-for-local.

Supply chain, logistics issues, continued risk, trade wars and geopolitical issue are all playing into the desire to reshore, in some cases OEMs are even insourcing manufacturing previous undertaken in Asia.

With increased domestic demand, those with factories in China are using that capacity for that region and growing European capacity for Europe.

Dieter also highlights trends around increased factory floor inventory and the ongoing related cash issues. Dieter points out that in these cases cash is king!

Eric Miscoll reports from Europe on the current business conditions across the pond, with his sidekick Dieter Weiss. 

Their posting, originally published in video on EMSNOW, is a conversation with Petteri Jokitalo, CEO of Scanfil, a Finland-based global EMS. 

The three discuss Scanfil’s differentiators, how the company is adapting to supply chain disruptions, overall conditions in Europe as 2021 closes out and much more.

Back on the road again, and still COVID free, Eric and Dieter visit BMK in Augsburg, close to Munich. BMK was an MBO of a very large Siemens campus, the company is female led and has a creative and innovative approach to automation, using tools like 3D Printing to accelerate products through production.

Next up they visited Steca, A Katek brand, also known as KATEK Memmingen GmbH. Acquired in 2019, Steca is an innovative EMS with focus on the photovoltaic market. KATEK has grown through M&A and is likely to end 2021 in third or forth spot in Europe behind Zollner and Scanfil, and very close in revenue to Enics.