EMSNOW

On this third podcast, the conversation covers two more Central European EMS: Fideltronik in Poland and InCap's facility in Slovakia.  At revenues of around $400 million, with 2400 employees, Fideltronik is a family owned EMS with a unique story. They are the largest Polish EMS and the discussion includes their organizational structure, general comments about the customer base and a detailed discussion of their automation strategy. 

InCap, is a global EMS with facilities around the world and a very entrepreneurial culture, including an energetic CEO with great global visibility. The podcast concludes with a thoughtful discussion of how many ways there are to conduct an EMS enterprise, and the incredible innovation and creativity of the people that do this work.

EMSNOW wishes to acknowledge this year’s tour sponsors

CalcuQuote - Source, Quote, Purchase Smarter — All in One Platform.
Cogiscan – Meeting the needs of high-reliability manufacturers since 1999
Koh Young –True 3D Smart Factory Solutions, Powered by AI.
TrustedParts.com - Genuine electronic components from only authorized sources.

Their generous support enables us to conduct these insightful tours and share critical industry intelligence. We invite you to explore how each of these innovative companies can enhance your operational efficiency and manufacturing capabilities.

If you wish to connect with Eric Miscoll or Dieter Weiss please email them directly at: [email protected] or [email protected]

EMSNOW and Dieter Weiss discuss their visits to two very different EMS in Poland: one of many facilities of global EMS AsteelFlash and a medium sized domestic EMS, Nordes. They discuss the different business strategies, customer profiles, and footprints of the two, each successful in their own sphere.

EMSNOW wishes to acknowledge this year’s tour sponsors

CalcuQuote - Source, Quote, Purchase Smarter — All in One Platform.
Cogiscan – Meeting the needs of high-reliability manufacturers since 1999
Koh Young –True 3D Smart Factory Solutions, Powered by AI.
TrustedParts.com - Genuine electronic components from only authorized sources.

Their generous support enables us to conduct these insightful tours and share critical industry intelligence. We invite you to explore how each of these innovative companies can enhance your operational efficiency and manufacturing capabilities.

If you wish to connect with Eric Miscoll or Dieter Weiss please email them directly at: [email protected] or [email protected]

EMSNOW and Dieter Weiss from in4ma begin their 2025 tour of Central and Eastern European EMS in Poland. This podcast previews the tour by providing details and context for these visits. Dieter discusses current industry sentiment, some thoughts about the companies on the agenda and what listeners can expect from this important work.

EMSNOW wishes to acknowledge this year’s tour sponsors

CalcuQuote - Source, Quote, Purchase Smarter — All in One Platform.
Cogiscan – Meeting the needs of high-reliability manufacturers since 1999
Koh Young –True 3D Smart Factory Solutions, Powered by AI.
TrustedParts.com - Genuine electronic components from only authorized sources.

Their generous support enables us to conduct these insightful tours and share critical industry intelligence. We invite you to explore how each of these innovative companies can enhance your operational efficiency and manufacturing capabilities.

If you wish to connect with Eric Miscoll or Dieter Weiss please email them directly at: [email protected] or [email protected]

 EMSNOW learns about Koh Young Technologies’ expansion into the Semicon and advanced packaging arena in North America from Joel Scutchfield, GM of SMT and Semicon Business Operations. Koh Young already has great traction in this arena with companies in Asia as the world leader in 3D measurement, but the market is less developed in the Americas. Expansion depends on engaging with new events, networks and end customers. Joel reports on the recent IEEE ECTC conference in Dallas; provides enlightening details about the Koh Young technology that focuses on advanced packaging and clean room manufacturing, and explains how they close the gap between SMT manufacturing and what happens in semiconductor manufacturing. 

EMSNOW discusses supplier quality management with John Hartnett who is Director of Quality at independent distributor Freedom USA. Continuous improvement is embedded in Freedom USA's approach to ensuring the components they offer to customers meet the highest standards. Certifications like AS 6081, which is an aerospace standard specifically written  for independent distributors, dictates what processes need to be in place to prevent counterfeit components. Hartnett explains what risk factors they are looking for when they investigate potential suppliers. The conversation covers industry issues that impact component availability including date code restrictions, challenges arising from tariffs, and how having the right processes in place enables them to stay ahead of disruptions.

This lively conversation with Indium Corporation's President and CEO Ross Berntson is full of positive energy about Indium and the electronics industry in general. EMSNOW learns about Berntson's own career journey after joining Indium in 1996 as a service technician. Now President and CEO, he shares his thoughts about the centrality of a clear vision of the future to successful leadership; to distributed decision-making, pushing that function out to where the data sits, and his absolute unwavering belief in the power of employee development. 

He goes on to explain how Indium's collaboration with customers is not only for bringing a product to life, but the way that customer relationship is crafted to best serve both organizations.

Berntson ends the discussion with some exciting news about rare earth materials, specifically gallium, which is used extensively in electronics and is only currently processed in large quantities in China. Indium and Rio Tinto have partnered to announce the successful extraction of gallium from feed sourced at Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. They intend to scale this operation to enable an Americas' source for this important material.

EMSNOW learns what drives a regional EMS in northern Wisconsin from SMT Corporation's COO Brian Lamers. This company has leveraged its strengths to provide a very unique and focused value proposition to companies that may get overlooked by the larger Tier 1 EMS. Lamers reveals how they actively seek partnerships with organizations that can clearly define their problems and demonstrate commitment to solving them. This problem-centric philosophy permeates every aspect of their operations—from employee development and engineering to prototyping and supply chain management. The conversation provides valuable insights into how regional EMS companies can thrive in a competitive and rapidly changing environment.

EMSNOW spends time with Patrick Freytag, who assumed the role of President and CEO at Creation Technologies at the start of 2025. Patrick joked about his bad timing as he joined Creation Technologies as CFO in 2019 right before Covid hit and then moved into the CEO role hours before the tariff disruption. However, he commented that 'right into the frying pan' is a business climate in which he thrives. 

The discussion centers around this top 50 EMS' laser focused go-to-market strategy, which Patrick explains is to solve the complex manufacturing problems of aerospace/defense, medtech, and tech enabled industrial customers. This is a consistent theme for the company throughout its history that has gained momentum in the last 6 years through strategic acquisitions, and a relentless focus on customer 'intimacy'. Patrick describes Creation Technologies' expertise in program management as having a level of engagement not often seen in practice in EMS companies that have fewer resources and competencies, especially in supply chain. He reveals more about his company's unique approach and his views about current industry challenges in this thoughtful interview.

In this thoughtful  interview with Cicor Group CEO Alexander Hagemann, EMSNOW explores Cicor's remarkable journey over the past nine years to evolve into the pan-European EMS powerhouse it is today. Laser-focused on high mix/low volume customers that want strategic partnerships, Alexander has executed a down-to-earth strategy to streamline the organization and focus on creating a culture of integrity, trust and operational excellence. The wide-ranging conversation covers Alexander's leadership style, (he 'hates corporate politics'), Cicor's competitive advantage, acquisition strategy, and his thoughts on the current state of the industry and how it has changed in the past 10 years.

Luminovo is a software solution focused on improving the OEM and EMS industry’s quoting and procurement processes using AI. The company’s North American Business and Operations Lead Sam Mason explains his company’s recent expansion to North America and developments in the Luminovo platform.

The goal of the solution is to take bad component part data and harmonize it by comparing it to their continuously updated part library. This offering is already up and running; next step is provide a Chat-GPT style interface and help customers improve their internal processes. Using the platform is a game-changer to help customers speed up their quoting and procurement processes and supercharge their workflows. Sam explains that the Luminovo engineering team is the key to their success.

Luminovo will be at PCB East in Booth 504 on April 30. They are also hosting two webinars: May 6th, ‘How tariffs impact the future of the EMS industry in the US’ on May 6 and ‘How AI Agents will transform the AI Industry.’ on May 13. Go to Luminovo.com to sign up.