ESCATEC expands its automotive EMS capabilities
EMS provider ESCATEC is upgrading its automotive EMS capabilities to meet the growing demand for electronic sub-systems in electric vehicles.
ESCATEC Electronics – the Group’s business unit in Penang, Malaysia – is aiming to expand in the automotive space under the management of Business Unit Manager, Teoh Ban Chong.
The manager is responsible for building up the necessary automotive-related talent and skill sets at ESCATEC, and also secure necessary accreditations and standards, developing and implementing processes, systems and automation, as well as setting up a reliable supply chain that meets the needs of automotive OEMs.
“Automotive-related EMS presents a different set of challenges compared to other market segments,” says Business Unit Manager Teoh Ban Chong, in a press release. “For instance, while ESCATEC already has the IATF 16949, we are still securing other automotive-specific international accreditations to qualify us as a potential EMS partner to major car makers. These include the VDA 6 (German Automotive Quality Management System) that will enable ESCATEC to export to Europe.”
Automotive EMS also relies much more heavily on automation as production runs are usually high-volume/low-margin mix while the quality and safety of the product is vital.
“The high use of automation minimises the possibility of human and material errors and enables standardised high quality to be delivered across the board,” Ban Chong continues to explain. “Moreover, recent history shows that manufacturing defects can cause huge losses to car makers in recalls, warranties, and loss of reputation.”
The risk and consequences of manufacturing defects have prompted car makers to demand that their manufacturing partners and respective supply chains have an effective ‘traceability system’ in place, which can trace every single item, component, and raw material, that goes into each product.
ESCATEC Electronics currently has two automotive customers with one assembly line each. The company is however looking to increase this business.
“We are already in discussion with potential new customers,” Ban Chong says in the press release. “so we are planning new assembly lines besides forming a dedicated NPI (New Product Introduction) team to serve automotive-related projects.
