Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1295812
80 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2020 for assemblies. Beyond providing assemblies, customers often seek more. We offer plastic components for our customers; again, we per- form product module builds to complete prod- uct box builds. We were already supporting the design and build of the circuit and assembly that usually becomes the heart of the product or device. It was a natural step to move beyond that to where we provide additional value-added services. We recently added a plastic mold- ing company to our portfolio, as we are often required to attach the assembly to a plastic car- rier, or we may be required to input the circuit into plastic housing. We continue to respond to customer demands. Today, that is evidenced by doing complete product box builds for FDA-regis- tered products. This demonstrates our abil- ity to meet the robust quality and traceability requirements that these programs demand. Our headquarters is located in the Minneap- olis, Minnesota, area, and all of our production facilities are located in Asia. In Minneapolis, we recently partnered with a local company, HSIO. HSIO offers expertise in advanced high- performing circuits. They are continuously per- forming R&D as they push the envelope relat- ing to advanced circuits, and they also perform prototyping to smaller-scale production for their customers. We are leveraging them as an R&D group and attaining learnings from HSIO that can be applied to our production facili- ties in efforts to take a significant leap forward in our capabilities as they relate to supporting customers with advanced, high-performing circuit requirements. This relationship is very important, as we are in the process of building a new state of the art production facility in Zhuhai, China. Our new facility will include the very latest in indus- try equipment, and we will also leverage our learnings from HSIO as we seek to meet the increased demand for advanced circuits that require tighter trace and space, more complex via structures, improved signal integrity, and more. We are extremely excited about our tech- nical direction and look forward to the opening of our new facility in the spring of 2021. miniaturization, IoT and connectivity, mobil- ity, wearables, and requirements for high-speed data and increased signal integrity. These trends are also driving product designers toward the products and services that we offer. For example, due to miniaturization, prod- uct development engineers are often required to pack more electronic capability into the same space or smaller spaces; this can lead to requirements for flex and/or rigid-flex circuits. Further IoT, connectivity, and high-speed data requirements across many industries are driv- ing added needs. Beyond that, you have grow- ing needs for devices based on mobility needs and, further, many wearable applications for a broad range of products. These trends con- tinue to lead engineers to the types of solutions that we provide. Another trend that we have responded to relates to customers moving from a transac- tional supply chain to a more value-added sup- ply chain. Many OEMs are working to narrow their supply chain to a more manageable size. Given this trend, we have grown far beyond providing bare flexible circuits, rigid-flex, and flexible heaters. Today, as an EMS assembly organization, we offer expertise in assembly on flex, allowing us to meet increased needs Carey Burkett