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88 SMT Magazine • February 2017 customers' IP. We've bolted additional software that we've written internally, to be able to han- dle higher levels of flexibility and higher levels of automation than a supplier of our tier would typically be able to provide. Las Marias: What are the latest technologies, or upcoming technologies, that you think will signif- icantly impact the electronics assembly industry? Heath: The top things that we are focusing on are the IoT and connected devices. Connecting everything throughout the factory is a big focus and how they connect at the factory floor edge. There are a multitude of new connected devices that are coming out with small form factors and new technologies are going to be required for devices that connect wearables and appliances; there's a variety of things people are going to do about that. And another large technology driv- er will be the new technologies to develop the clean energy space. Las Marias: While automation makes sense in elec- tronics assembly, do you think we shall be seeing a fully automated assembly line soon, or will it still be islands of automated systems within a factory? Heath: It will depend on the application. There's certainly some applications that currently are in a lights-out factory and fully automated; but there are several cases where, particularly in the high-mix, low-volume space, the flexibility needed doesn't lend itself to 100% automation. Las Marias: With the trend towards IoT and In- dustry 4.0, having a strong analytics capability is a big factor in winning customers. Heath: Absolutely. I believe that if you are not heavily involved in Industry 4.0 or Manufactur- ing 4.0 over the next three to five years, you will be left in the cold. The same as for those people who were late in their shift to RoHS, or the shift towards elimination of CFCs. You have to go ahead and be able to supply that information to customers because they will be counting on it. Las Marias: I believe what Industry 4.0 is also bringing to the table is an end-to-end visibility in your production line—and one of the biggest fac- tors there is the traceability of your products. Heath: It can go there, and it can also go even further than that into the field. You can go ahead and get proactive and predictive with the data; there are several large-scale customers who are collecting intelligent devices failure rate data with respect to vehicles, where they are send- ing that data back for advanced warranty re- placement. As soon as you start collecting data about a device, you can start doing predictive an- alytics as well, not just reactive analytics. That's the other place where much of Industry 4.0 is heading and it is the next logical step. The same thing holds true for the factory floor. We need to get moving toward the point in time when the equipment in the line is telling us before it's hav - ing problems and going down, rather than after. Las Marias: What are the important factors to consider for a customer, or an OEM, when select- ing an EMS partner? Heath: The biggest piece, far above everything else, is cultural fit and flexibility. Everybody has a lot of the same quality systems, we have more than most of our peers have. We have AS9100, FDA 21 CFR820, and we have several facilities with ISO 13485; it's not just ISO 9001. But in the high-mix, low-volume space, you really need a team to be able to work together; a strong, cus- tomer-focused team where, if a customer calls with a new product or demands changes, the EMS can pull together with the customer and realign the supply chain and manufacturing re- sources to meet the challenge. Las Marias: What is your outlook for 2017? Heath: We're really looking at another year of double-digit growth. We are consistently out- performing our peers and right now, from what we're seeing in the order backlogs and book- ings going into this year, we are going to do the same in 2017. Las Marias: Thank you, Brad. Heath: Thank you, Stephen. SMT VIRTEX DISCUSSES EMS CHALLENGES, NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND TRENDS