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Electronic News, June 18, 2001 by Bernard Levine

As Nepcon shows, a hand in many pots is better than just one

BOSTON--Diversity pays.

A broad product line and wide customer base may be the keys to success in tough times. That was the advice from a number of speakers and exhibitors at the Nepcon East/Electro exhibition and conference last week who claimed to be doing better than their peers.

"We are not suffering as bad as others are," said Bill Dull, sales and marketing director with Tamura Corp. of America in Temecula, Calif., a supplier of transformers, power supplies and other products. "We have a diverse product line. We are not seeing the growth we expected to see, but (we're) not hurting either."

Tamura also serves a broad customer base, he added. "While the telecom market might be weak right now, we are 75 percent in other markets."

Serving customers in many different markets is also a key part of the business strategy at electronic manufacturing services (EMS) leader Solectron Corp. in Milpitas, Calif. How has the contract manufacturer been affected by this year's overall industry slowdown?

"We were impacted, but to a lesser degree than some of our competitors," said Doug Britt, Solectron vice president of worldwide customer supply-chain management and Nepcon keynote address speaker. Solectron's diverse customer base means it does not depend on any one or two markets that might be down, such as telecom or networking, he indicated. "We serve a broad base of demand."

Similar comments were made by others at the show, who kept smiling when asked about current business. "Business is fine. We have a pretty broad mix," said David M. Jones, marketing and sales manager at EMS company Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., Johnson City, Tenn. "We are adding customers, and our customers aren't slowing down. We are going to grow more than 30 per cent this year. Maybe if the economy were better, it would be 50 per cent, but 30 percent is plenty."

According to Robert Leary, vice president of sales for Worcester, Mass-based Artis Corp., "We have such a broad customer base. They seem to find us. We offer bar codes, hardware and software. Business is very good right now. We will have a record year."

Being in a hot product area also helps. "We are pushing VOC free flux and lead free solder," said Steve Rust, U.S. manager for Interflux Electronics Inc., Garland, Texas. "Lead-free solder is a big issue right now. We are doing good and growing." Companies just entering the domestic market may also have some growth opportunities. Steven Kocheny, an applications engineer with Leister Technologies LLC, Schaumburg, IIl., noted "We are exclusive distributor for Leister in Switzerland doing laser plastic welding, laser soldering, micro optics and micro fluidics, and are new in the United States. We are starting to see a rise in interest."

Meanwhile, many are still counting on long term industry growth. The emergence of $50 billion contract manufacturers is just a few years away, predicted Solectron's Britt. "Outsourcing has grown dramatically and is just now achieving critical mass," he said. "It would not be surprising if top EMS firms will be $50 billion companies in a few years. We expect to be a $50 billion company in three to four years."