SOURCE OF INSPIRATION The EN ElectronicNetwork Group is one of Europe’s leading electronic manufacturing service companies. Philip Yorke talked to Klaus Kroesen, the company’s chairman and Fabrizio Tornetta, sales and marketing manager about its broad spectrum of ‘lean’ contract manufacturing services, its innovative approach and about moving into new market segments.
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he EN ElectronicNetwork Group is a privately owned company that was founded in Germany in 1999 and quickly established itself as a major player in the European electronic manufacturing services (EMS) industry. The group specialises in fulfilling integrated product manufacturing and implementing new product development services as well as providing logistics concepts on behalf of its customers. In 2010 the company acquired a manufacturing site in the Czech Republic, which like the other EN sites is providing EM services to multinational companies as well as regional customers. Today the group operates five production sites in Germany and one in the Czech Republic, with advanced
plans to build a brand new, dedicated plant in Romania. This is designed to supplement its current volume production and offer greater added value to its customers. Currently ElectronicNetwork AG employs more than 800 people and in 2010 recorded sales of around €150 million.
‘Holistic’ approach driving sales When it comes to new product development, ElectronicNetwork offers a complete spectrum of services from the creation of the product’s requirement specification to the development of hardware and software. In addition, the company provides layouts tailored to meet the individual approval processes and documentation required. In recent years Electronic-
Network has built-up significant, in-depth experience in a wide range of core competences. These are based on ARM Cortex A8 processors as well as ARM9-based systems including the creation of embedded software such as Linux. The company supports its customers in the design process and cross-checks of all product data, which leads to the virtual ‘preproduction’ of any new product. 3D-analysis is also available through the use of CAD tools, which build the electronics into the enclosures before they are manufactured, in order to prevent errors and save both time and money. Kroesen said, “Our strength lies in our partnerships with our customers and suppliers and we adopt an open company culture
