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
Streamlining Supply Chains and Reducing Costs: ROCKA's Rapid Global Expansion
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What if you could streamline your supply chain and cut costs without sacrificing quality? Join us at SMTA Guadalajara 2024 as we chat with Justin Worden from ROCKA, who uncovers the secrets behind the company's rapid global expansion and its unique manufacturing strategy. Get an inside look at how ROCKA's focus on producing high-quality consumables like stencil rolls and ESD equipment in North America translates to competitive pricing and superior products for customers around the world.
Justin also shares insights on ROCKA's impressive partnerships with major industry players like Indium, Weller, and Zestron, as well as their approach to meeting diverse market demands. From leveraging their manufacturing roots in Guadalajara to eliminating middlemen, discover how ROCKA has positioned itself as a leader providing cost-effective solutions without compromising quality.
This is an episode packed with valuable lessons for anyone looking to understand the nuances of global manufacturing and distribution in the electronics manufacturing industry.
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 Stone and I'm at SMTA Guadalajara 2024 and I'm on the Roka booth with Justin. Justin, great to see you. I've been watching you interview people learn lots about the industry.
Speaker 2Wait, wait, you're interviewing me. I thought I was interviewing you. Yeah, we'll figure this out. Okay, all right, let's go. We'll figure this out, buddy, let's go, I'll quiet down.
Speaker 1Yeah, First of all, I want to learn a bit more about Roka. You're not new to the industry. You've been here a few years but you're really making a noise. Just start by giving me the backstory to Roka and how the business was started. Yeah, so.
Speaker 2Roka has been around for five years, actually going on. Our sixth year here soon. But you're right, we've made a big splash recently. I came on and joined Roka about a year ago and right before that that, rodrigo Calcio and the executive team decided that we are going to go after a global footprint with Raqqa Solutions and over the last few years we've opened up corporations under the Raqqa brand in the United States, in Canada to in Brazil. We're located in China, europe, and even opening up a facility in Australia. And you were born here in Guadalajara. Me, no, no, the company, no, it is in Mexico-based. Our headquarters is here in Guadalajara. What people are learning is that we do a lot of our own manufacturing under the.
Speaker 2Roca brand and we do that here in Guadalajara.
Speaker 1And tell me a bit about the product mix. Let's start with your own stuff and then you can tell me a bit about the ridiculously large line car Well that's great, because I'm still learning the line car, because I feel like we're adding new brands every single day.
Speaker 2But for me, even in the United States, we really want to focus on the stuff that Rock is building, because consumable manufacturing in North America is not very common. So when you can offer that, people kind of pick an interest. So for us we're focused on the stencil rolls, the clean room supplies, wipes, papers, router bits, gloves, esd equipment, just to name a few. That's really the most popular products we're seeing move under the Rocca brand.
Speaker 1Yeah, and the stuff that's your own brand, most of that is manufactured down here in Mexico.
Speaker 2Absolutely yeah. Most of it's being manufactured actually right here in Guadalajara, where we stand today.
Speaker 1Yeah, which makes it really competitive in the market space.
Speaker 2Yeah, absolutely so. That's what people get nervous about, because when you say manufactured in North America, mexico or US, people think that comes with a higher price. But the reality is, when you buy directly from the manufacturer, the high price comes from when it passes from distributor to distributor to distributor before it gets to the consumer. Yeah, with Ranka, by being a manufacturer and a distributor ourselves, we sell our own products, so we're passing that savings on to the customer, so you're going to get a much higher quality product at a much lower price.
Speaker 1Okay, tell me a bit about the partnerships you have with all the principals. You've got some really big brands in there and you've got some smaller brands. Tell me how that works and how that works for your customers.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's a great question. So we do have some big brands. Tell me how that works and how that works for your customers. Yeah, that's a great question. So we do have some big brands. We got the Indiums, the Wellers, the Zestrons, who are watching us being filmed right now, mounds we have some of the biggest brands working with Raka to not only distribute in Mexico, but also on a global footprint. But because we're in so many different markets, different markets demand different products, so sometimes we even have competing products on our line card because, depending on the market, availability but also price point.
Speaker 2Not every customer can afford the top brands and have a need for the product, but need that lower cost option and we want to make sure we offer that as well.
Speaker 1Yeah, you've got to offer that, and you know, when you look at these line cards you've got a lot of them with consumables, a lot of them with small equipment. It feels like a good place to be right now. Capital equipment is kind of tough, has it proved to be so?
Speaker 2Well, you know, rock has built on the consumables. We have the opportunities to sell the capital equipment, but we don't necessarily see the benefit there. We want to leave that to the experts. We want to focus on what we focus on, because the consumables are needed every day. Sometimes a piece of capital equipment is only needed once every 10 years.
Speaker 1Yeah, and what's important when you're selling those consumables is great support, great service. Tell me how you do that.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, you hit the nail on the head. So the sales process is a little different. If you need to buy a piece of cleaning equipment, you're only going to buy it when you need it. You're not walking in convincing them. But with consumables, there's always an opportunity to get in the door, because it comes down to quality, price and also availability. You've got to have the product available because when you're buying a consumable, you usually need it that same day.
Speaker 1Yeah, so that's important, justin. Great to understand the business, great to understand what you're doing here in Mexico and actually really good to see a homegrown brand from Mexico doing so well globally, Really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2Thank you so much for the opportunity.