EMS@C-LEVEL
As Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company and SCOOP writer, Philip Stoten, continues to talk to EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) executives he learns more about their individual and collective experiences and their expectations for their own businesses and for the entire electronic manufacturing industry.
EMS@C-LEVEL
Mastering Economic Challenges and Talent Scarcity in EMS: Insights from Intervala CEO Teresa Huber at APEX 2024
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Discover how Intervala is weathering economic storms and talent droughts in our latest conversation with their President & CEO Teresa Huber, filmed on location at APEX 2024. As we navigate an election year with economic tremors, Teresa shares her perspective on customer demand trends. She reveals why certain sectors, like defense and medical, remain robust despite wider market fluctuations, and gives us insight into the company's strategic thoughts in response to global geopolitical shifts.
Teresa goes on to addresses supply chain's issues and evolution, particularly the semiconductor quandary, and how Intervala's approach keeps their production humming. If you're curious about how a company can thrive amid the labor shortages plaguing the US, Teresa outlines Intervala's inventive talent recruitment and retention strategies. From their in-house recruiting team to collaboration with local universities, Intervala is not just filling positions, but fostering the growth of their workforce through comprehensive training programs leading to certifications and even degrees.
EMS@C-Level is hosted by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Global Electronics Association (https://www.electronics.org)
You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.
hello , I'm philip stoughton . I'm on the co-young booth at apex 2024 and I'm joined by teresa hooba from intervala . Teresa , great to see you again . Last time we met it was at your at your very impressive factory . I really enjoyed that . I just really wanted to update on where we've been in that last six , seven , eight months since we last spoke . It's been an interesting time economically . It remains interesting . We're in an election year , so lots of change . What are you seeing in terms of demand from your customers ? Is there a softening or you've been growing for some substantial time ? Is it still moving forward in the right direction ?
Speaker 2It is . Yeah , we're not seeing really any substantial softening from our customers , but I think that's because the markets they serve are somewhat insulated from , you know , say , the standard economic impacts . We do have a sizable amount of defense business , medical business and and very high-end industrial business and really none of that is impacted by the economic factors .
Speaker 1So , when we look at global geopolitics , one of the things that has as an element of it is unrest in the world , and that is actually obviously creating demand for defense business . That seems very sustainable at the moment , but it's also creating an environment where people are thinking more about where they actually have products manufactured . What are your customers telling you in terms of that ? Is it that they're maybe returning stuff from overseas , or are they just not shifting it over there as quickly as perhaps they used to in terms of volumes ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I think both . I would say I think there's certainly still an aversion to China in a lot of the work that we're doing . People are maybe a little more open to some of the other offshore options out there , but I think still an aversion to China . Most of the work that we do really isn't appropriate for offshore . Most of the work that we do really isn't appropriate for offshore , and so we're seeing more and more opportunities for folks that don't want to be reliant on a very long supply chain and some potential geopolitical risk there .
Speaker 1Yeah , and speaking of supply chain , supply chain was a big issue when we talked six , nine months ago . Everybody had got too much inventory . Some of that inventory bubble has perhaps moved through and reduced and and the supply chains easing a little bit . What are you seeing in terms of that settling down .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean overall it's easing . I think I would support that statement , but there are still a number of unique components that are constrained . You know inventories are coming down . You know we're able to manage through that , but especially unique semiconductors . You know different microprocessors are still very constrained and it just takes one of those and then you know you've got a problem .
Speaker 1Shortage of parts is one thing . Shortage of labor is something that people are concerned about as well , particularly in the US , where we're seeing growth and that growth is at risk if we can't recruit talent . What do you see in your region and how are you combating that talent issue ?
Speaker 2Right , I mean , everyone struggles a bit with talent . Our team , we have an internal recruiting team of gosh , four or five full-time people and all they do is basically recruit . They've been pretty successful through some creative strategies to get us talent full-time people and all they do is basically recruit . They've been pretty successful through some creative , you know , strategies to get us talent . You know we continue to try to recruit the best people and retain them . We also have poured a ton of resources into internal training programs . So we're going to hire folks , you know , especially for direct labor jobs that maybe don't have any specific , you know , machine operation experience or anything in the industry , and we're developing our own internal training programs for them , as well as technicians , to be able to really , you know , troubleshoot , do testing , things like that . So all of those programs are being developed , some in conjunction with a local university .
Speaker 1Yeah , Do they come out with some level of qualification from the work they're doing with you ?
Speaker 2They do , yeah , so they can be kind of certified , if you will more of an internal certification , and then we're working on an option with the university that they could actually become degreed as a result of that as well .
Speaker 1Okay , that's really interesting , and we talked a little bit off camera about maybe widening the pool of recruits and thinking about diversity in the workforce . Tell me what your strategy is relating to that ? I know you've got some programs in place already .
Speaker 2We do . I mean , we do a lot of work again with the local educational institutions trying to encourage especially more women to enroll in STEM type you know , I guess majors in college or get involved in manufacturing , get involved in engineering , things like that . So that's kind of a major push for us is to try to partner with organizations that can help move that forward . We also have something going at our Pennsylvania plant that allows folks that are on the spectrum to be able to come into our facility and do kind of hands-on work for us on products , to be able to deploy their skills in a way that's helpful for us as well .
Speaker 1Yeah , it's really interesting to have a workforce that actually reflects the consumer base as well . So you know you're bringing in all of that diversity and presenting them with opportunities . One of the things that I've found with the recruiting process , particularly with students , is they have a perception of what manufacturing looks like when you get them in the factory . There's a bit of a eureka moment , because it's actually a much more pleasant environment than they expected and actually more interesting for them . Are you able to get students to come through and look at the state-of-the-art factories that you have .
Speaker 2We do a lot of that absolutely Because when they come in , you're right , their perception of manufacturing still , I think , dates back to the you know the ages when it was dirty and hot and you know all those things and you know our factories are none of that anymore . So there are again a lot of programs that we partner with other organizations with . There's one local in Pennsylvania that does something called what's Cool About Manufacturing . They partner with middle schools . We do that every single year . We get another group in . They make a video , it's out there , it's published and then they can spread that around to their friends and say , hey , it's actually really cool , go see what they do .
Speaker 1Yeah , and when you look at last question , when you look at an election year , obviously there's a little bit of a I don't know . It's almost like a lot of things get put on hold for election year because it seems to take so long . Are there concerns there ? Is there anything there that concerns you , or is it like business as usual and we'll deal with whatever comes down the pike ? Yeah , I think we take more of a business as usual approach .
Speaker 2You know I don't think that will influence more of a business as usual approach . You know I don't think that will influence . You know our business tremendously . You know the defense piece of our business , right . I mean sometimes that's , you know , viewed as up in the air , depending on who wins . You know the election , which party . But what we're seeing with the conflicts in the world is there's a need for the products that we're manufacturing to support . You know our troops , and so I don't expect that to change .
Speaker 1No , I think that remains fairly consistent . And the other thing that seems consistent in the industry is there's always a disruption , whether it's supply chain , whether it's something else , and you've got to be agile enough to deal with it .
Speaker 2That's right , that's what we do best .
Speaker 1Absolutely , teresa . Thanks for your time . Pleasure to talk to you . Always Look forward to seeing you next time , All right ?