Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/721932
28 SMT Magazine • September 2016 Yanez: It definitely can be if you don't create very solid procedures, commit to them—from top to bottom—and follow them on a daily ba- sis. Without that level of commitment starting from the top management, it can be very diffi- cult to stay ITAR compliant. Las Marias: How do you ensure your company's continued compliance with ITAR? Yanez: Putting the relevant resources in place is key. At Asteelflash, we have developed pro- cedures that are directly based on ITAR require- ments. We have also appointed a full time ded- icated ITAR Officer at each plant who reports directly to our plant managers, conducting self-audits throughout the year to insure com- pliance at all times. This provides us confidence that the recertification process will always be a positive outcome. Las Marias: What opportunities are you seeing in the military and aerospace sectors? Yanez: In the military sub-segment, we see tre- mendous growth in drones, unmanned vehi- cles and man-portable electronics. The latter is actually set to reach $19.6 billion by 2019 and we already feel it with our existing customers, but also through ongoing NPIs currently taking place at our facilities now. In the aerospace industry, all the products we often talk about are still up to date (bea- cons, radars, security portals, data processing and telecommunication products, seats elec- tronics). But we definitely have seen an increas- ing demand for on-board infotainment/avion- ics products as well as electrical related assem- blies (battery management systems, inverters, and power conversion systems) aimed at pow- ering airplanes. Las Marias: What trends are driving these oppor- tunities? Yanez: The rise of connected devices, the new technologies and the international geopolitical situation are definitely impacting the defense related projects. You could see that the major defense/military OEMs are growing at a very fast pace. On the aerospace side, we are seeing the "connected era" creating more opportuni- ties and more demand for electronics, which could be comparable to the transformation the automotive industry is currently experiencing with increasing presence of electronics per ve- hicle. Las Marias: What do you think should customers consider when selecting their EMS provider? Yanez: Selecting an EMS provider is never easy. And the huge competition between EMS pro- viders does not make it any easier for OEMs to make the right decision. However, with that said, if reliability and quality are critical, the flexibility and the level of attention provided by the EMS plays a key role on how to address cus- tomer specific problematics. This is where As- teelflash and other Tier-2 providers have some- thing really important to offer: top manage- ment involvement. Of course, working with the Top 5 EMS could be of interest, but unless you have a very big spend, you will just be "another customer", while we deploy resources to be very flexible if any issue arises (they always do arise) on our side. We value the quality but the rela- tionship is equally important. Las Marias: What can you say about the future of the mil/aero industry? Yanez: The future of this industry is bright. If you can stomach the long gestation periods of product development, you're definitely at the edge of tremendous growth with customers who are usually very loyal once the business and the process is secured. In terms of growth, the opportunity is interesting and we at Asteel - flash pay a specific attention to the aerospace segment which is perfectly in line with our of- fering: high complexity boards requiring tech- nological knowledge, expertise and reliability. More and more aircrafts, combined with an in- creasing presence of electronics with the rise of new technologies, makes it a segment to go for us. SMT ASTEELFLASH ON MIL/AERO CHALLENGES, ITAR COMPLIANCE, AND OPPORTUNITIES