Right when you gain control of your supply chain and get it working optimally, there comes a disruption. These are like flies in the ointment and can send the whole facility on quite a trip. Worst comes to worst, your facility may come to a horrifying halt. Best comes to best, your facility avoids an…
This time two years ago, electronics industry forecasters were projecting 2020 would be a banner year for the electronics industry after the roller-coaster ride of strong growth in 2018 and a slump in 2019. A case in point was the 5.9 percent semiconductor growth rate for 2020 by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) based…
Editor’s note: Earlier this year the Special Projects team at AspenCore Media began compiling articles for a comprehensive report on the electronics supply chain. Although that project was delayed — this is the supply chain, after all — the content provides an in-depth snapshot of the year that was. This is part of our Special…
The manufacturing industry is a prime beneficiary of digital technologies. Digitization, also called Industry 4.0, has enormous implications for manufacturers and professionals who buy, sell, design, fabricate, or use electronic components and equipment. Weather, climate and geopolitical events tend to surface weaknesses in the manufacturing pipeline, including electronics fabrication. Chip shortages in 2020 and 2021…
Admittedly, it is ICs that will get the majority of attention when it comes to electronic system design, with the supporting passive components too often receiving very little of the limelight. Nevertheless, their value should certainly not be underestimated. The passives incorporated into electronic hardware have important roles to play when it comes to ensuring…
The KATEK group believes in autonomy across its companies, allowing individual leadership to manage each business in the group. That’s called a “speedboat” strategy, but when you have a veritable fleet of speedboats, how do you maintain that entrepreneurial approach and avoid becoming a cumbersome supertanker? In the final interview of this series, KATEK CEO…
KATEK is leveraging its scale and position as one of the top EMS providers in Europe to support its OEM customers. However, the electronics industry is on a continuing march toward globalization. Thus, KATEK is looking to expand beyond its regional market. In part four of this five part series, KATEK CEO Rainer Koppitz explain…
KATEK expected to reach its first milestone in five years — it took less than three. In the third video in this series, KATEK CEO Ranier Koppitz explains the reason for speed and the next steps in KATEK’s evolution. The EMS provider’s initial strategy was to reach sales of more than $500 million to ensure…
Counterfeits in the supply chain is a universal problem, but it is particularly acute in the electronics industry. Counterfeit electronics cost manufacturers an estimated $250 billion each year, and that doesn’t include the cost of faulty consumer electronics or catastrophes such as fires and failed equipment due to phony electronic components. Counterfeit computer chips alone…
Editor’s note: In the first part of the series, the CEO of EMS KATEK Group discussed the genesis of the group that’s now one of the six largest electronics manufacturing services providers in Europe. Rainer Koppitz, KATEK’s CEO, along with the team at PrimePulse, were aware of the need for both speed and scale when…