Electronic Technologies International (ETI) acquires CMK Enterprises, Inc.

ETI, through its subsidiary American Cable & Harness LLC (ACH), Fort Atkinson WI, has acquired the assets of CMK Enterprises, Inc. and Calmer Industries LLC, Eagle, WI, a leading supplier for wire processing, custom wire and cable harness assembly, and UL 508A control box design and assembly. The combined company will continue to operate from the current locations in Fort Atkinson and Eagle.

Bill Brink, President of ETI, states, “This acquisition supports our commitment to provide exceptional value of one-stop-manufacturing and speed-to-market. The acquisition provides ETI with greater capacity, increased machine automation, and a stronger market position. CMK Calmer fits well with our existing high-tech services of engineering, prototyping and production for printed circuit board assembly, wire harness/cable assembly, and box build assembly. This acquisition will offer increased resources for our existing customer base, as well as to new customers.”

For OEM’s with small to large volume assembly projects

ETI, along with CMK Calmer, have scalable manufacturing systems that can be optimized and configured to adapt quickly to volume changes that are frequent and common within Original Equipment Manufacturers. The acquisition provides ETI with state-of-the-art, high-speed wire processing equipment, an integral part of meeting customer deliveries.

About Electronic Technologies International (ETI)

ETI is a high-tech, electronics assembler for printed circuit boards, wire harnesses/cables, and box builds. For over 20 years, ETI has provided high-level services of engineering, prototyping, and production to some of the best OEM’s in the USA. ETI adheres to ISO 9001:2008 guidelines, IPC Class II and III workmanship standards, and UL 508A Panel Shop. For more information about ETI visit www.etimfg.com.

For more information, please contact:

Kurt Hartwig, Director of Marketing and Sales
khartwig@etimfg.com
800-563-0840 x15

The UL certification covers the design and build of Industrial Control Panels for equipment such as Heating/Cooling, IT & Communications, Utility Systems, Gas/Vapor Detection, Emergency Lighting & Alarms, Commercial/Industrial Gas Burners, Fluid Dispensing, Crane & Hoist, Factory Automation, Power Supplies, Food Processing, Medical Technology, Fluid-handling Systems, and Fire Protection.

About Electronic Technologies International

For over 20 years, ETI has provided high-level services of engineering, prototyping, and production for low-to-medium volume printed circuit boards, wire/cable harnesses, and box builds. The company serves industries of medical/hospital, industrial/commercial, agricultural/construction, and energy/utility. ETI is ISO 9001:2008 Certified and adheres to IPC Class II and III Workmanship Standards.

Seek Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) skills

EMS suppliers operate within an OEM's Product Lifecycle. Whether an OEM offers one product line or many to the marketplace, EMS suppliers need to understand and be fully in-tune of where your product resides in the product lifecycle stage. If they're not, engineering changes could take longer and cost more. Product improvements may never be addressed or suggested. And safety stock programs may not receive the attention they deserve. Therefore, there are numerous benefits to a systematic and organized PLM focus.

First and most important is Design For Manufacturability (DFM). This concept can occur at any point within the product lifecycle; however, it has more value in the design and concept stage. Just as it sounds, DFM is a forward-thinking methodology of designing or redesigning a printed circuit board or wire harness for best practice manufacturing. The focus is on efficient throughput, cost management, and product reliability.

For example, an EMS electronics engineer, in the design stage, can select components for a wire harness using fully-automated equipment verses components where only semi-automated equipment is available. The former reduces costs; that latter increases. Another example is a PCB design that needs to adhere to the products' housing specifications or dimensions for a box enclosure. Some products have parameters or restrictions on overall size, weight, and shape.  Here again, an EMS engineer can assist in DFM input to meet proper clearance and space, all the while, focusing on cost management.

Once a design is completed, the EMS supplier will build several prototypes for validation and research studies. The OEM engineer performs tests for functionality, reliability, and durability. If there are any design modifications, engineers discuss these changes using DFM, and once again, prototypes are assembled to validate the changes. This process may repeat numerous times before moving the project into the pilot or the production stage—depending on the OEM's strategy.

The second benefit to a PLM focus resides in the pilot stage. This is an OEM's program to test the products acceptance in a defined and selected marketplace. For example, 200 units of a diagnostic instrument for automotive repair technicians might be launched and delivered into the Midwest Region. After a specific time period, product managers will visit with the technicians to gather feedback on the products performance and overall functionality. This data is relayed to the OEM's engineers and to the EMS company. Here again, if there are any changes, say to the printed circuit board, final modifications are made. And since the EMS engineer has been involved through-out this project, these adjustments are quick, accurate, and cost effective.

The growth stage is where full attention is turned to advertising strategy and marketing research to increase demand and volumes. The idea is cost reduction for both materials and labor for product manufacturing—this is the third benefit of a PLM focus. When an OEM's product has been launched, accepted, and operated with success in the marketplace, the sales team will seek, often, to forecast demand, usually on an annual basis. This EAU volume forecast is given to the procurement or purchasing manager, which in turn, works with the EMS company. For example, the diagnostic instrument has a forecast EAU's of 2500, 5000, 7500, and 10000. These numbers and range are dependent on many variables such as advertising, competition, and distribution. Once the EMS company has this data, however, they will work with their material supply-base for cost reductions, as well as their own production model to reach economies of scale based on per unit volumes.

Lastly and at some time, an OEM's product reaches market saturation and sales start to decline. This normally begins to surface in the maturity stage as evidence from financial metrics are now indicators to start formalizing options. The decision to extend the life of a product by adding or reducing features will most likely change the design and function of the printed circuit board—using the diagnostic instrument example. Again, an OEM can turn to the EMS supplier for input on cost analysis and assembly design. The fact and beauty that the EMS supplier has been in-tune and involved through-out the initial stages of the PLM, makes the product decline stage that much easier to manage. For instance, the OEM can turn to the EMS supplier for consultation to (1) seek changes that best fit DFM methods, (2) seek changes that offer cost reductions, and/or (3) seek changes and ideas for product extension or next generation.

Don't Compromise

Moreso than ever, OEM's seek and require EMS suppliers to have the repeatability and sustainability factors when it comes to quality, delivery, and service. When evaluating a new EMS supplier, these performance metrics do not fully reveal themselves until after the sale—which can be too late. Reducing costs is a constant theme that rings throughout OEM's; poor EMS project management can hinder and slow this pursuit. That's why it's very important to have the ability, at a certain level, to predict the outcome with a new EMS supplier. Seek an EMS supplier that has the knowledge and experience to operate within your product lifecycle stages—from concept, through growth and maturity, and into revisions/extensions. If their focus is on PLM, performance metrics of quality, delivery, engineering, and customer service should have a high-value and be consistent.

Kurt Hartwig

Keep Outsourcing in the United States

As our economy evolves into a more global and competitive marketplace, outsourcing is becoming more of a reality than an option. The extreme competitive nature on some price-sensitive products forces a company to continually search for cost-reducing, efficiency-enhancing strategies. Outsourcing a subassembly or a single part in the United States, rather than overseas, has several major benefits.

The first major benefit of outsourcing in the US is realized when a company can strengthen and market core competencies, which supports economies of scale theory. Outsourcing to another county, however, impedes and diminishes this ideal because, most often, the foreign supplier is known for moving large volume orders out-the-door. Which translates into some suppliers have little interest in supporting the OEM on core competencies. Outsourcing in the United States, on the other hand, increases efficiencies because, most often, the domestic supplier has a vested interest in the OEM's business model, not just to deliver a final part or subassembly. For example, the supplier may have a diverse set of value-added services that can be tailored and customized such as engineering design/layout, prototyping, software development, marketing support, material selection expertise, financing strategies, idea generation, packaging design, product upgrades, referral networks, intellectual resources, stocking programs, legal affiliations, and/or logistics support.

The second major benefit of outsourcing in the United States is reduced costs. As any business professional might expect, there are additional costs associated with outsourcing overseas. For instance, outsourcing to an overseas supplier based on price alone is risky because there are hidden costs that relate to cultural interferences, interpretation hindrances, time-zone constraints, political differences, proximity delays, privacy/piracy issues, handling/delivery damages, warranty claims, engineering changes, quality obstacles, lead time concerns, and/or learning curve theory. Outsourcing to a supplier in the United States drastically reduces these cost-producing, efficiency-draining issues. In fact, it's so easy for an OEM and a supplier to join forces that it's common to conduct and complete business the same day.

A third major benefit is speed-to-market and product lifecycle extensions. With some products, time-to-market is a core competency for many US based companies. Hypothetically, if I had an idea yesterday for a new product, it's realistic to locate a supplier in the US who would begin the design work today—see if you could do that in China or India or Japan without time-zone constraints or language barriers. US based suppliers have the flexibility and responsiveness, not only bring products to market faster, but also to assist OEM's in product lifecycle extension. For example, the smallest change in design or upgrade can be implemented in a matter of minutes or a few hours; whereas, the small change could take days with an overseas supplier as a result of geographical seperation and time-zone differences.

Outsource in the United States

OEM's are encouraged to conduct business with suppliers in the United States rather than overseas—there are numerous benefits as mentioned. Do not let price alone drive the decision making process. Forming a partnership with a domestic supplier is an opportunity for an OEM to strengthen and leverage their business model by acquiring new core competencies. US based suppliers have value-added services that are offered before and after the sale. They also have a strong loyalty that an OEM may never find overseas; the slogan "Made In The USA" shines with great pride. With this in mind, there is every reason to keep outsourcing in the United States.

Kurt Hartwig