In an article a few weeks back, titled “U.S. Electronics Manufacturers Grappling With Higher Costs from U.S. and Chinese Tariffs” the IPC provided some horrifying statistics. After surveying IPC members between September and October of this year,

The average survey respondent had tariffs on at least 31% of the total dollar value of goods they import. 69 percent of the companies surveyed by the IPC had taken a profit hit because of the increased tariffs, with a substantial amount dropping their US based investment including new hires and employee retention. Over 33% of the companies feel they can’t pass the increased cost imposed by the tariffs on to their [...]

I was very happy to be invited by Parker Dillman and Stephen Kraig to be interviewed on the Macrofab Engineering Podcast. We talked about how Manufacturing Reports came to be, how the review criteria were developed and where I might be taking this endeavor in the future. There were also a few forklift stories at the beginning.

Thanks for having me on!

The Finnish EMS, Darekon, is an EMS with 21st Century challenges. To meet them, it is moving their PCB manufacturing and electronics assembly factory from Savonranta to the city center of Savonlinna. While on the surface this is the story of a small-to-medium-sized organization relocating a bunch of equipment 50km down the road, I think there are universal aspects of 21st century manufacturing at play, that many companies are feeling around the globe. To highlight these, Darekon provides an interesting case study.

Finding Talent for Darekon

A decade ago, in the southeast of Finland, the city of Savonranta was merged with the city of Savonlinna. Savonranta had a population of [...]

According to the Orange County Register, Expert-EMS in Tustin, CA is expanding their electronics assembly capacity. Details are sparse describing what that increase in capacity is, mentioning only a move from a 9,000 sqft facility to a new 26,000 sqft location. The cost associated with expanding to a facility that large represents a huge investment, provided they are taking up all twenty six thousand square feet. According to officespace.com, industrial property in Tustin leases at prices in excess of $1/sqft, which is comparable to what I’ve seen this year looking for space north of Los Angeles.

Considering that a move to a less expensive location outside of Orange or [...]