Hardware Podcasts

How Zollner Scaled From Startup To 400 Jobs In Cartago with General Manager Octavio Matus

EMS@C-LEVEL · 22 Sept 2026 · 8m

What this episode covers

Octavio Matus, General Manager of Zollner Costa Rica, explains how the site scaled from a single SMT line to a 400-employee hub with double capacity, driven by local supplier development and a stable, loyal engineering team. He details the transition to becoming the Americas engineering hub, leveraging DFX (Design for Manufacturing/Test), automation, and Lean Six Sigma to serve high-reliability sectors like aerospace and medical. Matus highlights the critical role of government and academic partnerships in Costa Rica, which enabled the company to become the number one EMS provider in the region by aligning local education with industry needs.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Zollner, Koh Young, Global Electronics Association

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