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In this series of short excerpts from an interview conducted by industry journalist Philip Spagnoli Stoten, KATEK CEO Rainer Koppitz explore the strategy, vision and ambition behind the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider.
In the last 30 months Munich-based KATEK has risen from a concept within private equity firm Primepulse to one of the five largest EMS players in Europe. KATEK SE is the parent company of the KATEK Group, a leading European electronics company offering hardware and software development, prototyping and manufacturing and related services. The range of services covers the entire life cycle of electronic assembly projects and devices.
KATEK issued an IPO in May of 2021. That same month the parent company acquired a majority stake in electronics startup AISLER B.V. in May 2021. AISLER is a fast-growing online prototyping provider for electronics, giving KATEK access to its team and technology base to drive the digitalization and automation portfolio across the entire electronic value chain.
The Group closed the first half of 2021 with a 48.5 percent increase in sales driven by:
- High value electronics projects in the renewables/solar and eMobility sectors (+24.2 percent and +48.9 percent, respectively)
- Inorganic sales growth from the integration of the Leesys Group (now KATEK Leipzig and TeleAlarm)
The European EMS market, which declined in 2020, is set to rebound in 2021, according to EMS consultancy In4ma. Production values for 2020 came out to 41.3 billion Euro ($47.5 billion), a reduction of 5.4 percent. In the first half of 2021, the EMS industry recovered considerably. The dramatic effect of the coronavirus only started in the Q2 2020 and during the next three quarters improvements were only marginal. The real pick up of business happened during Q2 of 2021.
Manufacturing sentiment remains high in Europe, but momentum did slow again in September, reports the IPC. The manufacturing sector reported strong rates of expansion in output, new orders, and employment, but all three declined from August.
In this episode Stoten explores Koppitz’s journey to the EMS industry and the original genesis of the plan that became KATEK.
