Page 24
www.us-
tech.com
September, 2016 German Engineering in Silicon Valley
ner, a large EMS company, is supporting some of the Valley’s brightest innovations from conception to volume manufacturing and fulfillment. The company is making further investments
G
in its facility in Milpitas, California, where it pro- vides high-mix, low-volume PCB assembly and complex system manufacturing for its global cus- tomers, as well as for some of the most recent tech pioneers in the Bay Area and beyond. As well as bringing a fanaticism for accuracy,
process traceability and quality, the German com- pany carries with it more than 50 years of experi- ence in complex mechatronics and PCB assembly. Founded by Manfred Zollner in 1965, who
still leads the business, the company serves cus- tomers from factories around the world, building a reputation for excellent products and customer re- lationships. The company has worked with many
The ability to quickly knock out a prototype is one thing, but to do it
effectively, take the design and build volume products that can be fulfilled reliably to consumers throughout the world is another.
of its customers for decades and has become an in- tegral part of their supply chains.
Agile and Responsive The ability to quickly knock out a prototype is
one thing, but to do it effectively, take the design and build volume products that can be fulfilled reli- ably to consumers throughout the world is another.
Zollner's production facility in Milpitas, California.
in the service sector and provides manufacturing services to brands both large and small. In Silicon Valley, agility in the supply chain and the ability to react quickly to changes in demand is a necessity. The company has made this a focus since opening its doors and remains privately held with all of its owners working in the business on a day-to-day ba- sis. This has allowed the company to demonstrate its agility and reaction speed time after time. When the company foresees a need in the
market or from an individual customer, it becomes proactive. The board meets, the company makes decisions and investments, and demands are satis- fied without having to consider how the financial markets might react or focus unduly on a single quarter’s results.
Consistent Global Presence Zollner’s investments have been important to
the growth of the business, as well as valuable to its customers. The company has more than a dozen
erman Engineering in Silicon Valley may sound like a misnomer, but it is alive and thriving in Zollner’s EMS facility there. Zoll-
By Karl Berger, Vice President Americas, Zollner Electronics By doing what it does exceptionally well, the
company has grown into a business of more than $1 billion dollars in sales. Essentially, the company is
facilities spread around the world, from its flag- ship factory in Zandt, Germany, and newer loca- tions in China, Romania, and Costa Rica, to it’s fa- cility in the heart of Silicon Valley. While influenced by its customers in invest-
ments, the company has been consistent and careful in its equipment choices. Many of the world’s largest EMS companies have grown by acquisition, which has resulted in many plants with mixed legacy equip- ment sets, making a transition from one location to another complex and risky. Zollner has no such prob- lems, having installed the same basic equipment set in each of its factories internationally. Whether a customer is a startup building its
first product and trying to make first shipment deadlines, or an established brand looking to bring a new product to market, the EMS supplier’s abil- ity to transition seamlessly from one factory to an- other is of primary importance. Once the first batch has been built and pro-
duction needs to be ramped up, a manufacturing partner with an international footprint that shares equipment sets, software, systems, procedures, and quality standards can deliver products rapidly and securely worldwide. This ability to transition products around the
globe has served the company’s customers well as they move through the different stages of a prod- uct’s lifecycle. Initial proximity to the design and development team is hugely valuable. With engi- neering and design teams in Silicon Valley as well as in Germany and China, Zollner has worked closely with customers to share its design experi- ence and create products that are fit for the cus- tomer’s purpose and designed for manufacturing. At some point, products will likely need to be
manufactured in a lower-cost environment and this is where an easy transition to Costa Rica, Chi-
Continued on page 32
See at SMTAI, Booth 225
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116