Navigating Industry Change with Out of the Box Manufacturing's Allison Budvarson

As the landscape of electronics manufacturing undergoes rapid transformation, industry leaders are grappling with how to navigate uncertainty while capitalizing on emerging opportunities. At APEX 2025, Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing offered a open and honest look at these dynamics, revealing how her company maintains its core focus amid shifting market conditions.

The conversation tackles one of the most significant trends affecting American manufacturing today: reshoring. "There's an openness to have conversations where maybe customers weren't interested before," Allison notes, pointing to evolving perceptions about domestic manufacturing competitiveness. Yet this potential renaissance comes with substantial challenges—particularly around talent acquisition and production capacity. Rather than simply lamenting these obstacles, Allison articulates a forward-thinking vision that leverages artificial intelligence to transform how work gets done: "If we can eliminate some of the non-value-added processes by allowing AI to do that work and then focusing our personnel and training efforts on the high technology parts of what we do, we can be more successful."

What makes this discussion particularly valuable is its broader industry context. Through her involvement with the EMS Leadership Summit, Allison highlights the power of collaborative problem-solving among industry peers. From talent development strategies to AI implementation, these executives—though competitors in some respects—recognize that knowledge sharing elevates the entire sector. This philosophy resonates throughout the conversation, culminating in Allison's observation that "we do better to serve our customers broadly and to elevate the industry broadly if we all work together." 

EMS@C-Level Live at APEX is sponsored by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Creative Electron (https://creativeelectron.com)

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.

Transcript

Introduction at APEX 2025

Philip Stoten 0:08

Hello, I'm Philip Stoughton. I am at Apex 2025. I'm in the Creative Electron booth and I'm joined by Alison from Out of the Box Manufacturing Alison great to see you again.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 0:18

We chatted last year.

Philip Stoten 0:20

What's been going on in the last 12 months with you guys?

Industry Changes and US Manufacturing Trends

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 0:22

What's been going on in the last 12 months with you guys. You know a lot of the same and a lot of different things as well. There's just been a lot of change in the industry, so trying to find our way and staying true to what we do best.

Philip Stoten 0:37

Yeah, I think that's really important and you know, we are in this position where things are moving really fast in terms of tariffs position where things are moving really fast in terms of tariffs, in terms of what we see geopolitically, what we see in terms of the economy here in the US. So there's a lot of change to deal with. It's important to stay true to your mission, but I think what everybody's trying to do is bring some manufacturing back to the US. It's been gone for quite a long time, so that's had its own impact. Are you seeing stuff coming back? Are you seeing maybe less stuff leaving? What's the trend you're seeing with your customers?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 1:16

I think it's a little bit early to say for sure, but I do think that there is an openness to have a conversation where maybe some customers weren't interested in having that conversation before Just because they had a preconceived expectation that stateside shops wouldn't be competitive price-wise. But I think that people are more interested in having that conversation now.

Talent Challenges and AI Solutions

Philip Stoten 1:40

Yeah, and do you think there's still a delay in making decisions around that conversation because they're not sure what's going to be happening south of the border, for example?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 1:47

Absolutely, absolutely. I see some hesitancy, but you know, we can only. We can only wait for so long before we have to do what's right for our businesses with the information that we have today. So I expect people will still start to move forward with what they need.

Philip Stoten 2:04

Yeah, and are you seeing growth generally at the moment in the markets you operate in?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 2:08

There's a fair sense of optimism. Yeah, yes, I would agree, okay.

Philip Stoten 2:13

And if we do see a manufacturing renaissance and some substantial growth in the US, is that something that can be managed in terms of talent resources, for example? Is that something that can be managed in terms of talent resources?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 2:24

for example. Well, I think that when we talk about reshoring, or you know, more manufacturing in the US.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 2:30

It's a very it's a good thing, right, and I think that we would all like that to happen. But, you're right, there is a lot that needs to happen in between to actually make us successful in that, in that space. So talent is a concern, certainly, but capacity as well, you know. So I think, with a combination of some of the tools that we are seeing really accelerating, like AI, you know, I think our industry is really just on the cusp of figuring out how to use that tool very effectively in what we do.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 2:58

So if we can eliminate some of the non-value-added processes by allowing AI to do that work and then focusing our personnel and our training efforts on the high technology or the more difficult part of what we do. Then we can be more successful.

Philip Stoten 3:16

Yeah, so do you see the key to success there? Growing your capacity, growing your sales volume with the same headcount. Growing your sales volume with the same headcount.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 3:24

I don't know that it would be the same headcount, but I do think that we would be able to do more while hiring less semi-skilled potentially right, or being able to more quickly grow from within as well. So you're still going to be hiring, but I think that the hiring is maybe going to look a little bit different instead of, you know, say, throw people at the problem. I think that that is not something that we'll do in the future.

Philip Stoten 3:53

Yeah, bring people in that consult the problem, rather than put a lot of people on the factory floor. Is that something you're specifically looking at here at Apex this week. Are you looking for automation and AI solutions?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 4:03

Absolutely yeah, not just a solution, but talking to my peers in the industry too, about what they are finding successful, what they're curious about as well.

EMS Leadership Summit Insights

Philip Stoten 4:13

Yeah, and a great place to do that was Monday's EMS Leadership Summit. Tell me a bit about the people there and the problems they're seeing. Was there a commonality in terms of that talent issue? I know your keynote was on the topic of talent, the automation issue. I know you had a panel on AI.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 4:31

Yeah, it's always wonderful to go to events like the EMS Summit and be able to talk to your peers.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 4:39

You can open up a little bit more because you're separated by geography you know, but it's very comforting to hear that a lot of us still face the same challenges. But we have a lot of advice to offer as well. I met one of my peers that wanted to get into the medical device space and, out of the box, tried to do that for a while. We decided it wasn't a good fit for us, but I was able to give him some feedback based on my experience that will hopefully help him be more successful. So there's a lot of really great sharing that way too.

Philip Stoten 5:11

Yeah, and I think it makes sense when I look at the EMS industry. Every single EMS company is unique, but the same it's kind of curious, isn't it? Yeah, they all have nuances, they all have different challenges. So, apart from automation, there was a lot of discussion about talent. You had Audrey McGuckin speaking yes, and then you had a bit of a roundtable. I love that. You have a very interactive environment there. How did that go?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 5:38

Great, and I think one of the biggest pieces of feedback that we get on the steering committee is that people want more of the networking time yeah, absolutely. That is really, really powerful. So if we compare bringing some experts in to give us tidbits of valuable information and then executives can sit around the table and bat that around and include their shared experiences, that's really powerful to help us all grow. There's plenty of work for all of us.

Collaboration in the EMS Industry

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 6:05

You know, and I think that it's we do better to serve our customers broadly and to elevate the industry broadly if we all work together.

Philip Stoten 6:15

Yeah, I think that theory that a rising tide lifts all boats is really powerful in this industry. Agreed, I noticed you had some European leadership there, which was really exciting. Was it nice to get a kind of a slightly different viewpoint, kind of the US from the outside rather than just the inside?

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 6:32

Absolutely yeah. And when you talk about talent development, I think that's one of the things that is really valuable to learn from as well. You know, we had some representatives from Germany and. Germany has a great history of apprenticeships.

Philip Stoten 6:45

Yes, yeah.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 6:47

So it's really really interesting to hear different perspectives globally about how they tackle the workforce issue.

Philip Stoten 6:52

Yeah well, Alison, I love what you're doing out of the box, but I love even more the work you're doing with the Leadership Council. I think that's really important and really valuable. So thank you for that and thank you for your time.

Allison Budvarson, COO and co-founder of Out of the Box Manufacturing 7:04

Yes, wonderful. Thank you for having me.