EMS Player Virtex Continues on Its Investment in Talent Drive

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Austin-based EMS provider VirTex has grown significantly in the past two years by investing in key resources, whether that be people or cutting-edge technology.

The latest investment in talent comes in the form of Gary Heimlich, who was recently promoted to Materials Manager. Heimlich joined VirTex in April 2016 as a program manager. Management quickly identified that Heimlich displayed the right set of characteristics that they look for and moved him on to an escalated promotional initiative. 

This promotion comes as Eric Wichmann, general manager of VirTex, puts transformational plans into place to focus the business on supply chain management. Wichmann and the VirTex team are working with their current OEM clients to review their supply chain solution, with a view to continually improving operational effectiveness.

"Supply chains are developing in today’s world. Global forces such as product complexity, speed-to-market, and mass customization are putting an increased amount of focus and strain onto the traditional supply chain," said Wichmann. "Political, environmental, social and legal considerations must be given as we build the smart supply chain for our customers, some of whom have felt the pain of natural disasters, offshoring, partner bankruptcy and unrest. These factors have increased the need for transparency and traceability throughout the entire production lifecycle from end-to-end. For VirTex, this means an investment in our people to bring them up-to-speed for the demands that are being placed on low-volume/high-mix manufacturing."

On his promotion, Heimlich added, "There is a new process to managing the VirTex supply chain. The traditional key performance indicators that were created on Excel spreadsheets, or other formats, are no longer dynamic or interactive enough to be as responsive as we require them. Our VirTex mantra is 'Vision. Value. VirTex.' and with respect to this, our customers told us they wanted to ‘see more, to add value,’ this is where we knew we needed to prioritize our focus."

Smart Supply Chain

VirTex engages with customers, whether existing OEMs or start-ups, to ask them to consider:

• Do you need to rethink your supply chain?
• Have you carried out a full risk assessment on your Supply Chain?
• Do your investments reflect the shift to flexible and scalable manufacturing?
• Does your production lifecycle reflect the advantages of these new capabilities?
• Are you designing your product for the Smart Supply Chain?

VirTex has helped to effectively optimize operational efficiency by introducing their smart supply chain solutions to ensure transparency and traceability while avoiding risk and review the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Their supply chain tools and software are industry leading and award winning.

About Gary Heimlch

Gary Heimlich is the Materials Manager (GM) at VirTex. He has held various positions within the electronics industry since 1981. With over 35 years of experience, Heimlich has worked at companies like FLEX and is a very driven and well-spoken professional. Previous positions include Program Manager at TS3, Cell Manager at Foxconn. Prior to that, he was a production supervisor at Celestica, program manager for Solectron (FLEX) & Logistics. He has extensive experience in program management, sales, finance, manufacturing, materials, supply chain management, and logistics.

To VirTex, Heimlich has demonstrated the ability to streamline buying operations and identify changes to reduce cost, create and implement business/operational strategies, that enhance quality, productivity and margins through the creation of a centralized buyer position.

As the Materials Manager for VirTex, Austin, Heimlich is part of an organization that brings together the best resources for the technology markets. Medical, aerospace, defense, and industrial as well as new technology companies that all share unique and challenging characteristics; high complexity and high configurability in a low to medium volume production environment.

Heimlich holds a BS from the University of Texas A&M-Killeen.

About VirTex

VirTex is a trusted technology partner that provides strategic Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) to Original Equipment Makers (OEMs). VirTex increases the competitive position of customers’ products with a smart and simplified regional supply chain solution across the production lifecycle, by focusing on and reflecting their customer's vision.

Through harnessing their local and regional manufacturing solutions, customers become more competitive, by bringing their products to the market faster and at lower costs and adding value through highly skilled and integrated design, manufacturing and distribution services. With over 30 years of experience, VirTex is known in the industry for commitment to quality, flexibility, compliance to regulatory requirements and avoiding setbacks and delays. Customers trust their products to the responsiveness and ingenuity of their trusted partner, VirTex. For further information, visit www.virtexassembly.com.