From East to West, East/West Delivers Quality and Flexibility to Help Customers Succeed
By Richard Tsukano
Headquartered in Austin, TX, East/West Manufacturing Enterprises provides world-class Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) including high-quality PCB assemblies, custom cables and electrical/mechanical assemblies for many industries globally. The company works with OEMs and electronics companies to meet customer needs ranging from quick turn, low-volume prototypes to contract manufacturing for high-volume production.
“At East/West, we understand that product quality is paramount and must be matched with on-time delivery and low cost,” said Andy Salo, President. East/West capabilities include NPI for small to mid-volume orders, through full production. Salo added, “Our success is built on a relationship of trust that we earn by consistently meeting customer requirements and being flexible enough to help them achieve their goals.” Salo also said that the company can help with schedules that start and stop as well as provide materials management by offering full turnkey services where East/West procures all the parts, assembles and final tests the product, and drop ships to the end user.
East/West Manufacturing Enterprises brings many years of experience to customers and is committed to enabling the customer’s market success with end-to-end manufacturing solutions. In today’s fast-paced industry, it is uncommon to find a company that places customers and quality first. East/West prides itself on doing just that. Its history and volume manufacturing expertise benefit projects of all sizes. Its employees all have an average of 15+ years of industry experience, and the company leverages market-leading Kanban and lean manufacturing strategies to stay lean and focused.
To ensure the best possible services, the company provides hands-on involvement in every customer’s project at all levels. It offers services tailored to individual needs and, as such, can use some or all of its capabilities to exceed customers’ expectations. Lead time also is important to the success of a customer. Because of that, the company allows customers to define the lead time and then works with its suppliers to make those lead times happen. Customers also can expect nothing less than on-time delivery and quick turns on expedited projects. As a further benefit, these services are cost-efficient. Salo said, “Relationships and history with key suppliers help us lower the total cost per project. We continuously and actively seek cost reductions to pass the savings onto customers, and these efficiencies lead to lower overhead and reduced cost.”
East/West offers customers world-class solutions. The company’s emerging niche lies in providing complex product experience, challenging supply chains and regulated environments; high-reliability expertise; Tier 1 tool sets and processes; a flat and highly responsive organization from the top to the bottom; and flexible solutions. A strong advantage to East/West is that the company is small enough to be flexible and involved in every step of the process but large enough to manage complexity and deliver customized solutions. Salo said that as a business partner, East/West cares about customers and their business as much as they do.
Salo added, “We develop a solution tailored to your individual needs.” East/West provides full lifecycle support, consisting of DFx (DFM, DFT), sourcing and supply chain architecture, prototypes and NPI services, PCBA manufacturing, sub-assemblies and box build, complex system assembly, direct fulfillment and outbound supply chain, and after-sales repair and refurbishment services.
Another advantage to working with East/West is the customer focus team. This resource is comprised of a team that focuses on individual customer needs with members from program management, process engineering, quality, customer service, materials and test engineering. Additionally, the team provides structured progress meetings, weekly and monthly data reviews, and works to provide continuous improvement.
In addition to service and meeting customers’ needs, quality plays a key role at East/West. To ensure that every product is of the highest quality, the company has established quality processes and controls. Inspections are performed at each step ensure high standards. East/West team members adhere to the following standards: IPC-A-610 Acceptability Standard, J-STD-001 Soldering Standard and IPC-7711/7721 Rework/Repair Standard. Team members thoroughly review documentation and create necessary instructions identifying every aspect of the manufacturing process. The company uses measurement tools that are calibrated and tracked by an outside service provider who executes annual inspections on all tools.
East/West’s other standards/certifications including the following:
• IPC – The Association Connecting Electronics Industries
• ITAR – United States Department of State pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR Part 122).
• ISO 9001:2015 Certified
• ISO:13485:2016 Certified for the manufacture of medical devices
• IPC-A-610 Certified Trainer and Certified Specialists ensure compliance with IPC 610 Class II and III Manufacturing
• Performed and passed external third-party manufacturing audit by Met Laboratories
• Lean Manufacturing certified by TMAC
As a leader in turnkey contract manufacturing for printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, East/West’s capabilities include quick turn for initial quantities (1-5 day turn), prototype to production run (from one board to 50,000 units per month), SMT and through-hole assembly, lines designed to match customer types, auto-insertion, single- and double-sided boards, hand assembly, subassemblies, custom cables and harnesses, finished goods stocking, product programming and testing, end user order fulfillment, final systems integration, onsite support, and repair depot. Further services include 100 percent visual inspection, in addition to 3D AOI and X-ray capabilities.
Often referred to as a “Box Build,” East/West Manufacturing Enterprises also is a leader in providing Build-to-Print (BTP) manufacturing services for equipment, cases, cables and other assemblies. The company can either source the material or use customer-supplied components and materials. East/West will build according to customer-supplied drawings, written documentation, or specifications.
“We pride ourselves on completing our customers’ BTP projects on time and in budget,” said Salo. “Our team of experts communicates every step of the way and provides feedback about documentation completeness, whether or not parts are obsolete or can be procured more cost effectively, and any issues that may impede the manufacturing process.” East/West provides the expertise, project ownership and manufacturing processes to ensure success.
East/West offers full functional testing (FCT) in addition to in-circuit testing (ICT) services as a final step in the manufacturing process. A functional test emulates the operational environment to ensure the product’s correct functionality. The operational environment consists of a device that communicates with the PCBA device under test (DUT). Typically, the DUT’s power supply and software test program will load the necessary parameters to make the DUT work properly. The PCBA may be subjected to a sequence of signals and power supply voltages. Responses are monitored at specific points to ensure correct functionality. All testing is performed according to the customer test engineer’s specifications and procedures.
FCT provides a pass/fail result on finished PCBAs before they are shipped. The value for customers is verification that the PCBA will function as desired, providing confidence that the final product will work as advertised when deployed. FCT can range from simple “red light/green light” type of testing to more sophisticated testing involving geospatial tracking and verification, multi-variant test output, test probe and edge connector measurements, and/or programming verification. In addition to FCT and ICT, East/West can program firmware as desired with any required elements including MAC addresses, IP addresses or firmware upgrades via customer software programming updates.
Salo concluded, “East/West Manufacturing Enterprises prides itself on quality and flexibility when working with customers, as well as attention to detail and outstanding workmanship. These are the key factors that our customers look for in a partner, and what keeps them coming back. We are happy to deliver.”
For more information, contact East/West Manufacturing Enterprises at 11100 Metric Boulevard, Suite 200C, Austin, TX 78758; 512-258-2303; Richard Tsukano, Vice President of Business Development, Email: rtsukano@ewme.com; Web site: www.ewme.com.