NOTE against the current!
Most contract manufacturers have announced staff cuts in Sweden in the past month. At the same time, some electronics manufacturers are expanding. All-Swedish electronics group NOTE, with factories in Norrtälje and Torsby, is going against the tide and continuing to recruit. In the Norrtälje factory, some ten people have been hired in the past month alone. Likewise in Torsby and the group's subsidiary in Gdansk, Poland, some twenty people have been hired in recent weeks.
The secret of success is to offer the same concept as the big foreign-owned manufacturers, without tying up capital. "We have a global network under the brand name The EMS Alliance, under which we can offer near-market production on four continents. We can thus offer this service without the cost of our own facilities," says Sten Dybeck, CEO.
Another explanation for the tailwind is the Group's own network of subcontractors in Central Europe, managed through the Gdansk office. This capacity buffer allows orders to fluctuate without jeopardising the profitability of the business. "The days when customers wanted to pay for simple mechanical work are over," Mr Dybeck points out. "At the same time, even the most advanced electronics products contain a certain amount of manual labour content. The natural thing to do is therefore to differentiate assembly; we carry out the advanced operations in our own facilities in Sweden, while simpler operations are carried out in Central Europe."
In the last quarter, the Group has invested around SEK 10 million in advanced manufacturing robots in the Swedish factories and further investments are expected. "Since growth looks set to continue, this will probably be necessary," concludes Sten Dybeck. The NOTE group is one of Sweden's leading electronics manufacturers, with 400 employees and sales of over SEK 500 m in 2001.
For more information, please contact CEO Sten Dybeck on mobile: 0708-55 18 00