Hardware Podcasts

EMSNOW-In4ma 2024 OnTour: Insights, Analysis And Data From Eastern European EMS Visits

EMS@C-LEVEL · 16 Nov 2024 · 17m

What this episode covers

Eric Miscoll of EMSNOW and Dieter Weiss of in4ma discuss their 2024 Eastern European EMS tour, highlighting Teltonika's vertical integration strategy in Lithuania, where they are building a 30,000 square meter PCB facility to protect IP and serve local customers. In Romania, they visited six major EMS providers including Flex, Kimball, and Celestica, noting the region's competitive labor costs and high-tech capabilities like optical fiber splicing. The guests analyze how labor shortages and demographic shifts are driving strategic decisions, such as facility location near borders and the balance between automation and manual labor in high-mix, low-volume manufacturing.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Teltonika, Flex, Kimball, Celestica, C-Corps, Connect Group, Zolno, Sustronics, Plexus, Benchmark, Sanmina, Secor, Eurocircuits, Elamaster, Koh Young, Global Electronics Association
Also
EMSNOW, in4ma

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 58m

    Return of the Trade Show Jedi

    Dave Jones of EEVBlog discusses the return to electronics trade shows, highlighting the surge in manufacturing equipment and the importance of automated test jigs for production quality. Paul Gammell covers Ant Micro's open-source Snapdragon 845 baseboard design in KiCad, the critical shortage of engineers in Australia, and Mercedes' new legal liability for its Drive Pilot system. The hosts also touch on AgTech challenges and the potential of Thread protocol for Bluetooth sensors.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringTest & measurement
    6 chapters

  • The Hardware Entrepreneur · 30m

    #007 - How one company wants to radically cut down the lead-time of electronics manufacturing of all volumes, with Radu Diaconescu of Swie.io, Switzerland

    Radu Diaconescu, co-founder and Business Development Manager at Swie.io, explains how his company uses Industry 4.0 technology to create a distributed manufacturing network that drastically reduces electronics production lead times. He details the challenge of adapting traditional factories for low-volume, high-mix production and the company's asset-light business model that connects customers with global factory partners. Diaconescu also discusses the specific difficulties of raising Series A funding for hardware startups in Europe compared to software ventures.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringScaling production
    6 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 19m

    Doomed To The Flatland

    Chris Gammell, founder of Contextual Electronics, discusses the high costs and logistical complexities of domestic PCB assembly with Screaming Circuits, noting that shipping cellular modems and reeling components can add hundreds of dollars to prototype costs. He and host Dave Jones analyze the technical challenges of telepresence, arguing that current software and hardware limitations make it 'doomed to the flatland' without significant innovation in camera tracking and audio handling. The conversation also covers the practicalities of sourcing components, the limitations of KiCad libraries, and the niche market for manual pick-and-place machines.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringConnected products & IoT
    6 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 17m

    An Interview with Laen - Purple PCB Philosophy

    Lane (James Neal), founder of OSHPark, explains how his PCB fabrication service evolved from a volunteer effort for the Dorkbot PDX hobbyist group into a full-time business. He details the technical challenges of panelization software, the critical importance of US-based fabs for quality and speed compared to Chinese alternatives, and the strategic decision to use a distinctive purple solder mask to ensure brand consistency across multiple factories. Lane also discusses the shift in CAD software dominance from Eagle to KiCad, the complexities of international shipping, and his plans for future features like open-source hardware sharing and assembly services.

    PCB design & layoutManufacturing partners & offshoring
    9 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 09m

    SpaceX, Enclosures & Startups - Urging Unemployment Ullagone

    Hosts Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss the hidden costs of outsourcing manufacturing, citing a General Electric article on insourcing and the inefficiencies of distance between design and production. They analyze the Altium leadership crisis, noting founder Nick Martin's ousting and the company's strategic pivot back to core EDA tools. The conversation extends to career advice, covering resume strategies, the value of personal websites, and the realities of startup hiring and funding.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringEDA & CAD tools
    10 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by EMS@C-LEVEL. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.