Data is everywhere in the factory and throughout the electronics supply chain, but who owns that data, who should be able to access and benefit from it and who is responsible for its accuracy? All good questions that were addressed in a recent panel discussion (link provided below) organized by Instrumental and chaired by EMS…
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…
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…
Since the onset of Covid-19 supply chain disruptions have only gotten worse. Shortages that began with global quarantines have been exacerbated by demand- and logistics-driven delays. But expectations of ongoing demand are prompting electronics companies to expand. Chip consumption, for example, isn’t going to decline. Semiconductor manufacturers are set to build 29 fabs over the…
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…
Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies, like most manufacturers, are trying to manage though a severe component shortage that’s expected to last well into next year. One European EMS provider, KATEK Group, has implemented several strategies – including a shortage task force – to maintain production levels. Components are just one part of the supply chain…
The challenges related to semiconductor and other component shortages will be with us for a considerable time, according to more than a dozen manufacturing executives. We asked these decision-makers and their partners about current issues; the impact of shortages; how long the scarcity will last and how they are protecting themselves from counterfeit goods. We…
Editor’s note: Europe’s manufacturing industry – as in other regions – was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. As of July, the IPC trade association said Europe would return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021. “Our expectations for growth in Europe have increased over the last month,” IPC reported. “We now expect GDP…
Editor’s note: Europe was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. As of July, the IPC trade association said Europe would return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021. “Our expectations for growth in Europe have increased over the last month,” IPC reported. “We now expect GDP to expand by 4.7 percent in 2021, up…