-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueComing to Terms With AI
In this issue, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
Box Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
HANZA Ends Production at Vaasa Facility in Finland
October 10, 2016 | HANZA Holding ABEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
EMS firm HANZA Holding AB has decided to convert its standalone sheet metal factory in Vaasa, Finland, to a logistics and service center. The change will be part of a final phase of the acceleration program Frontrunner, which HANZA says will be completed by year-end.
HANZA’s Frontrunner program involves the transferring of selected factories to five specific strategic geographic areas—known as Production Clusters.
HANZA is now working with the last phase of the program, and has decided to relocate and discontinue the sheet metal mechanics manufacturing in Vaasa, Finland. The change will affect about 50 people.
The completion of the Frontrunner program means that HANZA, over a period of 18 months, has:
- Divested and transferred six stand-alone factories to HANZA’s Clusters
- Discontinued a sizeable amount of non-strategic manufacturing
- Executed a strategic acquisition, Metalliset, which reinforces the Cluster structure, and expands HANZA manufacturing expertise to heavy mechanics
- Broadened the ownership of HANZA to a group of industrially experienced investors
The cluster structure creates a cost efficient and flexible environment for outsourced manufacturing. It is also an important competence structure for HANZA’s service product MIG, where HANZA works consultative to analyze and rationalize customers' manufacturing chains. Improvements are achieved for customer, for example, by reducing the number of subcontractors and relocation of existing production.
“In an orderly way we have created a solid foundation for the future, with unique manufacturing Clusters and MIG-services,” says Erik Stenfors, CEO of HANZA. “We have discontinued significant parts of our non-strategic traditional manufacturing, and we will now grow with selected industries and customers in a profitable way – for us and our customers.”
During the third quarter of 2016, HANZA executed a major part of Frontrunner by transferring a stand-alone factory to Cluster Estonia, an expansion of Cluster Central Europe, and a coordination of Cluster China. Sales volumes are adversely affected by discontinued factories and phase-out of traditional customers, but at the same time the streamlining frees up vital capacity for new MIG projects.
The cost of the program is separately stated in HANZA interim reports. The financial target for the Frontrunner program is to offset the non-recurring costs, including severance pay and surplus rental costs, with a structured liquidation of surplus assets, which are freed by the cluster concept.
“We are proud to lead the transformation of the manufacturing industry, the need for new solutions is great,” says Stenfors. “We are a young company with the future on our side. As Frontrunner is completed, we are entering a new exciting phase of HANZA.”
Suggested Items
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—The Pre-Manufacturing Process
05/08/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsI have been working with Nolan Johnson on a podcast series about designing PCBs for the reality of manufacturing. By sharing lessons learned over a long career in the PCB industry, we hope to shorten learning curves and help designers produce better boards with less hassle and rework. Episode 2 deals with the electronic pre-manufacturing process. Moving from CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is a key step in PCB manufacturing. CAM turns digital designs into instructions that machines can use to actually build the PCB.
All Flex Solutions Hires Mike Madetzke as Manager of R&D
05/08/2024 | All Flex SolutionsAll Flex Solutions is very pleased to announce that Mike Madetzke has joined their team as their new Manager of Research and Development.
Shane Whiteside of Summit Reflects on Today's PCB Landscape
05/08/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamSummit Interconnect began as a printed circuit board manufacturing company just eight years ago and has seen impressive growth organically and through acquisition. Summit President and CEO Shane Whiteside takes a few moments to share his thoughts on the growing PCB industry in the United States.
America Projected to Triple Semiconductor Manufacturing Capacity by 2032, the Largest Rate of Growth in the World
05/08/2024 | SIAThe Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), released a report on the global chip supply chain that projects the United States will triple its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity from 2022—when the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS) was enacted—to 2032.
Coherix Partners with EMU on 'Factory of the Future' Technology Program
05/08/2024 | PRNewswireMichigan-based Coherix is working with Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti to develop "factory-of-the-future" manufacturing and assembly technology.