Manufacturing Today Issue - 215 August 2023 | Page 73

_____________________________________________________________________________________ BBS
Automation

BBS Automation ( BBS ) is one of the leading providers of automated assembly and testing solutions , serving continental and global manufacturers with high-quality tailored solutions and service support . “ BBS came into being in 2013 ,” begins Tom Kramer , President of BBS Chicago , “ under the current CEO , Josef Wildgruber .” As a product of acquisition and amalgamation , today , BBS is headquartered in Munich , Germany and boasts more than 1600 employees across production sites in Germany , Italy , Poland , Slovakia , China , Malaysia , Mexico , and the US .

“ We are a custom design and build engineering house ,” continues Tom , “ participating in e-mobility , life science and consumer product markets . We do some work in other tangential areas , but those three are our primary focus . We look to earn and develop long-term partnerships with our customers by adding value to their manufacturing needs .
“ What is attractive to our customers is our global footprint . Our business model and organization enables us to design globally , and then build locally . This brings considerable value to our customers who operate on a large global scale . As an organization , we are a tight-knit group of global businesses that are locally empowered to satisfy the customer . It is a unique business model that I think serves our customers well .”
Indeed , in the aftermath of the pandemic ,
The joining of complex components within an electronic display application
onshoring is an increasingly important consideration for many manufacturers when planning for supply chain continuity . “ Another factor ,” suggests Tom , “ is the current geopolitical tension , which is causing some larger companies to think more about sourcing locally .
“ The large majority of our facilities are design and build operations , but we do have a handful of exceptions . One , in Poland , is an Industry 4.0 , software-driven company , while another , in Italy , focuses
We look to earn and develop long-term partnerships with our customers by adding value to their manufacturing needs
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