Circuits Assembly - November 2008 - (Page 36)

Milwaukee Electronics Speed Thrills By Mike Buetow A touch of Midwestern pragmatism and a large dose of Lean go a long way at MEC. s the US economic situation yo-yos wildly, the pressure is on companies to seek financial stability and be selective of their suppliers – and their customers. For Milwaukee Electronics Co. (meccompanies. com), that’s no sweat. The 50-year-old firm holds many of the traditional blue-collar ideals the Midwest is known for. And chasing the next big thing isn’t part of the company’s plan. Instead, the focus is on established firms that are leaders in their respective – often non-electronics – fields. The company maintains three factories with a combined production space of over 100,000 sq. ft. The largest – MEC Midwest – is in northwest Milwaukee, a 63,000 sq. ft. facility once the home of Philips placement division. On the West Coast is Screaming Circuits, based outside Portland, OR, which houses three SMT lines in a 55,000 sq. ft. space. Finally, in Tecate, Mexico, about 40 miles from Tijuana, the company operates two SMT lines in a 20,000 sq. ft. plant. Equipment sets include Ekra printers, Asymtek dispensers, Fuji chipshooters and Mydata pick-and-place, and Vitronics reflow and waves (one dedicated to lead, one to Pb-free). The high-speed lines are the same in each factory. AOI is not a part of the SMT line, but employees view the first-off parts. Testing is performed on an Agilent 3070 and with CheckSum ICT. MEC employs aqueous cleaning where needed. Potting areas take place in three open spots around the plant. Although traditionally an unsightly operation, MEC opts to keep 36 Circuits Assembly NOVEMBER 2008 A potting in the open because, as quality manager Don Sivilotti says, “We want it to be clean.” The product mix ranges: medical, appliances, military, industrial and consumer. While publicly vague about revenues – the 300-employee company typically claims sales of “under $100 million” – the Milwaukee plant charts show sales per employee of about $220,000. Inventory turns run about four this year, down from five in 2006-07. According to the company, it’s not necessarily easy to become a customer. “We conduct a lot of interviewing and courting of potential customers,” says general manager Hani Malek. “Are they able to articulate a robust outsourcing strategy? Are they the right fit in terms of technology, volume, margin and cultural fit? Are they a leader in their business? And are they willing to meet our team, because that shows they are sincere.” As president Michael Stoehr elaborates, “Our best customers are companies from outside the electronics industry, like farm equipment, where they count on us to be great at electronics.” And Stoehr counts on customers holding him accountable: He personally knows more than half MEC’s customers’ presidents. Its business model breaks down like this: Milwaukee handles design and high-mix/high-IP assembly, plus certain box build and integration work. The factory in Canby, OR, handles rapid prototypes in lots as small as one to 10 boards, in one to 10 days. Tecate performs higher-volume, lower-mix production. A fourth unit, MEC Innovation, is dedicated to hands-on design. While MEC seeks cradle-to-grave programs, each unit has its own P/L, which allows the company to offer customer-specific services without having to pass on unutilized overhead costs. circuitsassembly.com http://www.circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - November 2008

Circuits Assembly - November 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Focus on Business On the Forefront Screen Printing Better Manufacturing RoHS Conversion for Medical Devices Supporting Full-Service Customer Requirements at the Regional EMS Level Speed Thrills Tech Tips Wave Soldering Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned The Defects Database Getting Lean Materials World Product Spotlight Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - November 2008

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