AI is boosting demand and breaking planning models at the same time, and that tension shows up everywhere in electronics manufacturing services right now. From my home to yours, I sit down with Otto Pukk, President and CEO of INCAP, to take stock after Q1 and get specific about what a stronger 2026 actually depends on: execution, supply resilience, and a footprint that can serve customers where they need to build.

We talk through INCAP’s recent acquisition of Lacon and what “integration” really looks like in a lean, decentralized EMS organization. Otto shares why cultural fit matters more than slide decks, how cross-selling becomes a practical organic growth engine, and why customer concentration risk looks very different today than it did years ago. We also dig into the structural shifts required to scale, including a new regional approach that adds just enough governance to protect leadership time without taking ownership away from factory teams.

From there, we zoom out to geographic strategy and market forces. India plays a central role, not as a simple low-cost bet but as a capability and engineering hub, while the US market still feels like early innings. We also get into automation, early AI use in manufacturing, and the real-world headaches of component availability as AI data centers pull on semiconductor supply. Tariffs come up too, framed as a “new normal” that EMS partners have to navigate calmly. Finally, we tackle the defense boom with a balanced lens, including how startups and drones are reshaping defense electronics and manufacturing expectations.

If you found this useful, subscribe for more EMS leadership conversations, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

MADE IN EUROPE is a Global Electronics Association podcast hosted by Philip Stoten and produced and published by SCOOP. For more information on Global Electronics Association visit https://www.electronics.org/

Global EMS demand is back in growth mode, yet parts of Europe are still shrinking and the gap is getting harder to ignore. I sat down with Christoph Solka, Director Industry Intelligence at the Global Electronics Association to talk through what the latest data is really signaling and why “Europe vs the world” is too simple to be useful when the market is splitting by region, sector, and exposure to AI infrastructure.

We also get into the behind-the-scenes story of building a unified electronics industry intelligence platform. With European EMS data, European PCB reporting, global rankings, and ongoing market analysis coming together at the Global Electronics Association, the big question becomes: how do you scale the system without breaking the trust that took decades to earn? Christoph explains why the first priority is strengthening the IT foundation, reducing error risk, and creating a platform that can handle larger-scale data collection while keeping the methodology steady and familiar for subscribers.

Then we turn back to the numbers: why automotive weakness and local economic conditions weigh on Western Europe, why certain Eastern European players benefit more from AI-linked demand, and how defense spending can reshape outcomes in places like the Nordics. We also discuss a striking indicator of resilience: many companies improve margins even as revenue falls, and what that mix of cost control, headcount pressure, and agility says about the EMS industry right now.

If you care about EMS market intelligence, PCB industry trends, and practical signals you can use for planning and strategy, this is a must-listen. Subscribe, share, and leave a review, then tell us: what single metric best predicts a turnaround where you operate?

MADE IN EUROPE is a Global Electronics Association podcast hosted by Philip Stoten and produced and published by SCOOP. For more information on Global Electronics Association visit https://www.electronics.org/

What if scaling production were as simple as one phone call? I sat down with Andres Nordin, HANZA's COO at their recent Capital Markets Day to unpack a customer-led operating model that turns complex supplier webs into a single, responsive partnership—and why the most valuable technology choices start with pain points, not buzzwords. From defining six core capabilities to exploring a seventh and eighth, we walk through how real quote requests shape investment in sub-technologies like specialized welding and assembly, keeping capital focused on outcomes customers actually want.

The conversation gets tactical on supply chain rewiring. Instead of managing forty suppliers to move capacity 20% up or down, the team shows how a unified partner compresses coordination, slashes indirect costs, and responds to volatility in both directions. We dig into a standout example with Mitsubishi forklifts: building out a facility, installing complex assembly, and standing up an operation designed around the customer’s exact needs. It’s solution design over commodity sourcing, with measurable gains in speed, quality, and resilience.

We also talk about integration after acquisition, especially as it relates to the recent acquisition of BMK in Germany. The approach is deliberately humble: listen first, learn what the acquired team does best, and bring those strengths into the broader system.

And on AI, we keep it real—use it where it removes a bottleneck, ignore the hype where it doesn’t. Throughout, the theme is constant motion: what works in 2026 will evolve by 2028 and 2031, so the edge comes from sensing change and building with customers, not ahead of them.

If you value practical strategy, fewer handoffs, and tech that actually serves the work, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague who manages suppliers, and leave a review with the one change that would make your operations 10x easier.

This podcast is part of series filmed at HANZA's Capital Markets Day in Stockholm on March 10th 2026.

MADE IN EUROPE is a Global Electronics Association podcast hosted by Philip Stoten and produced and published by SCOOP. For more information on Global Electronics Association visit https://www.electronics.org/