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24 SMT Magazine • September 2016 by Stephen Las Marias I-CONNECT007 Asteelflash is a Tier-2 EMS provider with 18 manufacturing sites worldwide, including three sites in North America: Fremont, Califor- nia (AS9100 ongoing); Raleigh, North Carolina (AS9100 and ITAR certified); and Tijuana, Mex- ico (AS9100 certified)—with a workforce 5,200 employees. Founded in 1999, it is one of the fastest growing Tier 2 players among the contract man- ufacturing industry, being ranked 17th in Man- ufacturing Market Insider's (MMI) 2015 list of top 50 EMS providers worldwide. The compa- ny provides a full turnkey solution from design and engineering services to direct fulfilment to numerous industries including defense, mili- tary and aerospace, but also automotive, ener- gy management/smart home devices, industri- al, telecommunications and medical, to name a few. In an interview with SMT Magazine, Albert Yanez, Corporate Executive VP and President of Asteelflash, Americas, discusses the chal- lenges in the military and aerospace indus- tries, ITAR compliance, and the opportunities in these sectors. Stephen Las Marias: What are your greatest chal- lenges when it comes to electronics assembly for the military and aerospace markets? Albert Yanez: Military and aerospace markets present many challenges from a manufacturing perspective and requires a solid quality manage- ment system in place with a specific emphasis on how to avoid counterfeit parts and quality issues. This is an area that many EMS providers have issues dealing with when getting ready to enter the mil/aero market. From a technology standpoint, thermal management remains the most critical aspect of complex electronic assemblies in the mil/aero industry. Your product has to be war ready, and this is not just a play word. The electronic prod- ucts targeted to the military and aerospace in- dustry are often used in very different environ- ments, and the inners of these products has to be as robust as the outside, making sure the per- formance is delivered no matter how harsh the conditions: snow, humidity, heat, extreme des- FEATURE INTERVIEW