Hardware Podcasts

MADE IN EUROPE POD Episode #1 with Bo Lybaek and Markus Aschenbrenner (recorded April 8th, 2025)

EMS@C-LEVEL · 11 Apr 2025 · 30m

What this episode covers

Bo Lybaek of GPV Group and Markus Aschenbrenner of Zollner Elektronik discuss how EMS companies are navigating the uncertainty of recent US tariff announcements and geopolitical tensions. They explain that while immediate decisions are paused due to a lack of clarity, the long-term trend is accelerating toward 'region for region' manufacturing to serve local markets more effectively. Both leaders emphasize that building an agile global footprint requires standardized equipment, common software platforms, and a unified corporate culture to allow for rapid capacity shifts across borders.

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
GPV Group, Zollner Elektronik, IPC, Koh Young, Creative Electron
Also
USMCA

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 30m

    What the U.S. Can Learn From the German Manufacturing Model w/ Jon DeSouza

    Jon DeSouza, President and CEO of HARTING Americas, explains how German manufacturers like HARTING remained competitive by keeping production local and embracing deep automation, contrasting this with the US trend of offshoring. He details HARTING's 'in the region for the region' strategy, which uses standardized, automated factories to ensure consistent quality and reduce carbon footprints across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. DeSouza also discusses the shift toward modular, configurable products that enable on-demand manufacturing and the critical infrastructure challenges facing the transition to an all-electric society.

    Scaling productionManufacturing partners & offshoring
    6 chapters

  • The Manufacturing Executive

    Preserving Brand Legacy While Expanding Global Footprint w/ Todd Smith

    Todd Smith, President and CFO of Associated Metal Forming Technologies (AMFT), explains how the company unified five legacy brands (Associated Spring, Winkelman, Heinz Hagn, Skoda, and others) to solve supply chain fragmentation and geopolitical risks. He details the strategy of standardizing operational 'how' (safety, finance) while harmonizing engineering 'what' and 'where' to preserve brand equity and customer continuity. Smith emphasizes that modern manufacturing challenges have shifted from material scarcity to production placement, requiring regional resilience and total landed cost analysis over simple labor arbitrage.

    Scaling productionSourcing & supply chain
    7 chapters

  • Thoroughly Considered · 1h 11m

    124: Tariff Talk

    Myke Hurley joins hosts Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat to discuss the impact of tariffs on their business, explaining how they mitigate costs by performing final assembly and value-added machining in the US while sourcing raw metal parts from Asia. The group also covers the discontinuation of the Material Dock due to its complex, multi-supplier supply chain and low sales volume, and reviews past predictions, including a debate on whether DSLR camera sales are recovering. Finally, they discuss Studio Neat's new Pocket Notebook, highlighting its use of Colorplan paper and GeoSmyth's Abstract recycled paper, and touch on the strategic shift toward automated, AI-driven marketing.

    Policy, trade & tariffsManufacturing partners & offshoring
    6 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 56m

    245: A Grassroots Approach to Shaping the Future of American Industry with Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment

    Bret Boyd, CEO and co-founder of Sustainment, discusses the current state of American manufacturing based on early findings from a survey conducted with the New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA). He reveals that access to capital, rather than the workforce gap, is the primary concern for mid-market manufacturers, and explains how his military background informs his mission-oriented approach to building supplier networks. Boyd details the complexities of reshoring, the impact of tariffs, and the strategic need for US manufacturers to diversify into defense and semiconductor supply chains to survive the transition from globalization to localization.

    Policy, trade & tariffsSourcing & supply chain
    8 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 52m

    142: How to Accelerate Smart Manufacturing Adoption in the US with John Dyck, CEO of CESMII

    John Dyck, CEO of CESMII, discusses the urgent need for US manufacturers to adopt smart manufacturing to reverse declining productivity and compete with Europe and Asia. He explains that 'pilot purgatory' stems from cultural silos and 'stovepipe' IT architectures that create data silos, preventing scalable adoption. Dyck outlines CESMII’s mission to democratize technology through interoperability and open standards, and identifies eight key stakeholder personas required to drive this cultural and technological shift.

    Connected products & IoTScaling production
    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.