APCT’s Cartel Acquisition Adds Capacity, Technology and Certifications

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

APCT recently acquired Cartel Electronics and its affiliate, flex and rigid-flex maker Cirtech. During DesignCon 2018, I spoke with APCT President and CEO Steve Robinson about what this acquisition means for the San Jose-based fabricator.

Andy Shaughnessy: So, how does the news about Cartel affect your plans for 2018?

Steve Robinson: The acquisition of Cartel Electronics brings much-needed capacity; the acquisition of Cirtech brings specific certifications inherent to the defense and aerospace industries and entry into the flex and rigid-flex market place. And 2018 brings us the challenge of creating and integrating systems in all four of our facilities to best serve our customers.

Shaughnessy: Are you excited about any new technologies, PCB or consumer?

Robinson: It’s been my goal from the beginning to have the capability to say “yes” to our customers’ technology needs.  We’re always pushing the envelope in that endeavor and to that end, now we can manufacture not only highly advanced technology HDI work, but we’ve added flex and rigid-flex capabilities as well. All of this is while still offering of world-class lead times.  We’re very excited about these offerings to our customers.

Shaughnessy: You’re a fabricator. Why do companies like yours come to DesignCon?

Robinson: It’s a great event for us. We’re here to help.  We’re not “selling” at DesignCon; we’re trying to find solutions for our customers’ needs. We’re not looking for customer/supplier relationships; we’re trying to find long-lasting partnerships. If you’re involved in PCB design or manufacturing, you really should come to DesignCon.