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February 2016 • SMT Magazine 29 cretes, the other key component of the power semiconductor market. The growing demand for power modules is often attributed to their increased power den- sity and greater reliability. IHS said that among the popular power module applications are those for inverters for wind converters, photo- voltaic solar energy systems, industrial motor drives, and hybrid and electric vehicles. In December 2015, IMI inaugurated its in- sulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module or power module facility. This facility is into the process development and production of power modules involving highly flexible machines that can accommodate different application re- quirements of customers. IMI president and CEO Arthur Tan said that the company "is one of the few companies in the world that is capable of handling not only the electronics manufacturing side of the power modules but also the power semiconductor side of it." God bless the Child "God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own." —Billie Holiday, "God Bless the Child" (1941) In their quest for improved competitiveness and sustainability, some EMS providers have given birth to spin-offs. For these EMS companies, spin-offs are a less cumbersome way to venture into outside-the- core businesses because such businesses usually require a different skill set, mindset, or business model. But EMS providers can leverage existing experience, discipline, management style, or relationships, making the new endeavors less perilous. Flextronics, for instance, has spun off a soft- ware startup, Elementum, to help companies track their supply chains in real time. They began incubating Elementum in 2012 after building a software platform that would help Flextronics' customers—those running global operations with increasingly complex supply chains. In 2013, Flextronics decided that Elementum needed to be a separate company so that non-Flextronics customers could also avail themselves of the software. As shown above, EMS providers have done reinventions and innovations. The probable answer to the question "Quo vadis?" is "every- where." EMS providers ought to be everywhere as they continue to evolve, progress and ad- vance. It is no longer just a mere world of pure imagination, but the real world of EMS. The EMS industry will continue to change the world as if there's nothing to it. And all EMS players are all set. SMT Frederick blancas is a senior division manager at Integrated Micro-Electronics inc. (iMi). ems: Quo Vadis? (WHere are You goiNg?)