# Rainer Koppitz of KATEK SE on Trends and Speedboats - EMS@C-Level 2023

- Show: [EMS@C-LEVEL](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level)
- Published: 2023-01-22
- Length: 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023

## Summary

Rainer Koppitz, CEO and Co-Founder of KATEK SE, discusses the company's 'speedboat' organizational strategy and its resilience during industry disruptions. He explains how KATEK navigated cost inflation, component shortages, and capacity constraints by centralizing pricing decisions and maintaining 40% capacity reserves. Koppitz highlights the strategic shift toward regionalization, noting opportunities in North America and the nuanced reality of manufacturing in China for the Chinese market. The conversation emphasizes the importance of agility, automation, and anti-fragile organizational structures in scaling an EMS provider from a garage startup to a multi-billion euro enterprise.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=7) Introduction: Rainer Koppitz and KATEK SE
- [0:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=54) Cost Pressure and Pricing Strategy
- [4:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=271) Capacity Shortages and Talent Wars
- [10:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=607) Inventory Reduction and Cash Flow
- [16:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=974) European EMS Consolidation and Relocation
- [22:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=1338) Global Strategy: North America and China
- [26:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023#t=1614) The Speedboat Model and Anti-Fragility

## Topics

- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- KATEK SE (company)
- Koh Young (company)
- CloudNC (company)
- Nextech (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Building for Long-Term Success w/ Ron Speicher and David Craft](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-29-building-for-long-term-success-w-ron-speicher-and-david-craft) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Belkin International: Chet Pipkin](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin) (How I Built This)
- [Nearshoring Manufacturing from Asia to Mexico: Risks, Rewards, and Realities w/ Matt Hannula](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-10-07-nearshoring-manufacturing-from-asia-to-mexico-risks-rewards-and-realities-w-matt) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [A former race car engineer on battery safety and supply chains [partner content]](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-05-20-a-former-race-car-engineer-on-battery-safety-and-supply-chains-partner-content) (Catalyst)
- [Scaling Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-09-19-scaling-manufacturing) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-01-22-rainer-koppitz-of-katek-se-on-trends-and-speedboats-ems-c-level-2023. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to EMS@C-LEVEL.