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
All Circuits' Success in Guadalajara and Embracing Automation with GM Pascal Aubois
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Join me, Philip Stoten, in Guadalajara with Hecho en México editor, Joseph Arévalo, as we explore the trends impacting manufacturing in México. We start with a visit to All Circuits, known locally as GDL Sensing, who since my last visit have grown more than four fold, Their impressive leap from one to four production lines is fueled by a robust 20% annual growth. Together with Plant General Manager Pascal Aubois, I examine the strategic acumen that navigates the shifting terrains of inflation and local policies. We draw back the curtain, revealing the crucial advantage Mexico offers, especially for U.S. brands contemplating the strategic shift away from China and embracing near-shoring.
The conversation shifts towards the technical aspects of automation and its role in the high-mix production environment. Pascal navigates us through the challenges of integrating adaptable automation, and we discus his strategy of a constant equipment set in a 31 meter SMT line. The commitment to efficiency and unwavering quality shines through as we explore All Circuits' commitment to minimal manual intervention on the line. Pascal, with his deep expertise, provides a masterclass on sustaining top-tier manufacturing operations amid a landscape of rising labor costs and technological advancement.
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.
Manufacturing Growth and Talent Development
Speaker 1Hello , I'm Philip Stoughton . I'm at All Circuits here in Guadalajara and I'm joined by Pascal . Pascal , thanks for joining me . Last time I was here , it was shortly after the opening . There was one line out there . Now there's four lines . There's a lot more people . Tell me a little bit about the progress over that period .
Speaker 2Welcome , philippe . I mean , like we say in Mexico , because I was together , my house is a house , so my plant is your plant . Effectively , we started with one line and basically every year we have needs for one additional line . Business is growing every year by like 20% . The demand is there . We remain competitive , even if the inflation and the cost of salary and some different topics which have been , let's say , created by the local government didn't prevent us to continue to be attractive . So that's positive because we're still comparing to the US cost . So of course now , compared to European cost , it's almost the same when we're talking about indirect labor , but for the direct labor it's still a lot of advantage to be here .
Speaker 1Yeah , and it felt like when all circuits first decided to come to Mexico a bit of a gamble , but now it seems to have paid off , not just because it's the right place to be , but there's been a geopolitical shift . We're seeing some reshoring but also some nearshoring . So Mexico makes a lot of sense for US companies that want to ship over a shorter distance and take a bit of fragility out of their supply chain .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , most of our customers are based here in Mexico , but the final product is going to be shipped to US . We have only one exception , with products that go to Brazil , but it remains an exception , exception . Actually . The focus is really Mexico and the US .
Speaker 1Yeah , and interestingly I was asking you earlier you put that first line in . It was from a clean slate , so you got to choose exactly what you put in . You've repeated the same on the other line , so you must have got it right first time . Yeah .
Speaker 2It's a bit of constraint because , as you know , I've put my ESD floor with a different color for the corridor . So that means that the constraint is that we cannot have more than 31 meters and we love to have the oven fully aligned . So that means that gives very few flexibility before the oven and after the oven . But actually on the four lines we have some different configuration due to the optimization of the cycle time . We can have more laser equipment , we can have less conveyor , we have an oven on line four with a dual lane and so on , but we have been able to keep the 31 meter . In the future , when we're going to grow , we're going to have the 31 meter . In the future , when we're going to grow , we're going to have the possibility to have , for example , one bottom line and one top in the continuity . So we'll have different strategy . But yeah , for the first five lines the architecture will be almost the same .
Speaker 1Yeah , and you see that one line a year strategy continuing for the foreseeable future .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think so . I think so , even if we consider that now we need to modify , for instance , the balancing and the , let's say , smt placement . Depending on some , let's say , products like lighting , for instance , we might need less module , and on some new technology for the , let's say , electric car , like a powertrain and so on , we might need more than eight modules . So I mean , now we are going to check , really , maybe to go outside the concept or having the same line with eight modules , maybe we're going to have six , eight , ten , whatsoever .
Speaker 1Yeah , so you'll make some slight changes and as you grow . Adding lines is one thing . You've also got to add staff and add talent . How is the talent climate right here now ?
Speaker 2It's quite easy , I would say . I mean , first we have some fresh engineers because we have 17 universities , so we used to bring some students every year to give them the opportunity to make their study and to make their , let's say , class at work with us and after we can propose them to stay with us as technician engineer whatsoever . So we love that because it gives a chance to every single people and again , with 17 universities universities the reserve is a , is a really present and we are fresh engineer with a new idea and and it's very good . And for the rest , we try to , to , to to keep our , let's say , a talent . It's not always a matter of , let's say , we need more is more how attractive we can be and how we can , let's say , share a vision of the future and to give the people the possibility to have an evolution and not to stay at the same job for five , six years . And if you give a vision to the people and they are interested , I mean we can have kind of a compromise .
Speaker 1Yeah , and you can show people that have already done that and their role models for those that are coming through and their mentors for those future employees . And that's really important .
Speaker 2People have got to feel like you're investing in them and that they've got a strong future with you , yeah , yeah , and that's also the reason why we have , let's say , a kind of a low turnover for the people . We are single digit and we are less than four percent , and I know that in the north of the country they do have some double digits , so I mean basically three times more than us . So it's it make a big difference . Yeah , it's a big challenge , isn't it ?
Speaker 1and you know one ? One of the things that I think people are looking at , not just because of talent but because of lot rising labor rates , is the idea of using automation to allow you to perhaps do more with it with the same headcount or actually increase the productivity per capita . Is that something you look at and you have a strategy for ?
Speaker 2I mean we're still looking for automatization , but if we want to switch a little bit from 1% automotive to a little bit more industrial , we need to go back to basic with some , let's say , laminar way with people making insertion . Otherwise it looks too expensive for , let's say , our industrial customer . Everything looks new because equipment has between one and five years . But when you go for the industrial market you might have to purchase some second-hand equipment in order to decrease the depreciation in the part per price . So I mean , yeah , we were going maybe to change a little bit and to have less automatization .
Challenges of Adaptable Automation in Manufacturing
Speaker 1Yeah , and actually having automation , having adaptable automation that suits a high-mix environment is really challenging . It doesn't feel like the vendors in the industry have really provided a good solution for that just yet .
Speaker 2Yeah , and actually we did it because we know that one of the major , let's say , source of scrap is the handling and that's the reason why , for instance , on the 31-meter SMT line , people never touch the PCBA , even after a while where they need to check and reject conveyor it's always automated and to flip the magazine and so on . So we still pay attention in order to minimize the number of times that people are going to touch the product . Yeah , absolutely .
Speaker 1Well , it feels like you're in the right place , doing the right thing . The growth is impressive and you've kept an incredibly impressive-looking facility moving forward at a good pace . Thanks so much for your time , pascal . Thanks for talking to me and we'll see you again soon .
Speaker 2Thanks to you , you're welcome .