NEARSHORE: THE ROAD AHEAD

Cost pressures continue to dominate the electronics industry.  ODMs, customers, designers all continue to demand lower costs and better pricing.  This is a trend that will not go away and will continue to challenge the industry as we seek more efficient ways of producing and manufacturing products. 

Significant progress has been made with the levels of automation that manufacturers worldwide have embraced.  The total labor component of production costs has continued to decrease but is still a relevant portion of the overall process. 

EMLinQ recognized that for our customers to succeed or be competitive in their respective markets, lower cost solutions were necessary.  In 2015 we started exploring establishing a facility overseas.

The first inclination was Asia as it provided ample labor, a well-oiled supply chain and extremely low costs in its entirety.  However, we kept in mind the importance of time to market, lead times, IP protection, and overall flexbility.  After thorough research we felt that an operation in Mexico met all the guidelines we were looking for and in late 2015 establlished our facility in Mexicali, just across the border from Calexico, California.

We feel that this operation, with now three high speed Hitachi/Yamaha SMT lines provided our customers with a number of key elements:

• Easy communication as dealing directly with our Corporate office in Simi Valley
• the ability to transfer products from Simi to Mexicali within the same company
• IP Protection
• speed 
• proximity
• ability to react quicker to any design or quality issues

The cost differences between Asia and Mexico will continue to decrease as more and more automation is introduced in the process.  Ultimately this will result in most manufacturing taking place close to the final market place of the product.  EMLinQ is well poised for this and continues to expand its Mexicali operation.

To further supplement our service, we have now established a backend office in India.  This will allow our facility to operate on a 24 hour basis as numerous activites will be done through our India office.  Apart from the overall cost impact, we will be in a position to address customer needs more efficiently and effectively.