Interview with Doug Dow, Absolute EMS

Absolute EMS, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, is a leader in offering manufacturing services in a state-of-the-art, high-technology EMS facility. Founded in 1996, the company originally serviced the medical industry, thus their focus on controlled manufacturing that is scalable and repeatable. The Absolute EMS focused verticals are Medical, Military, Industrial, Networking, and Engineering. We recently spoke with Doug Dow, Chief Operating Officer, to find out more about Absolute EMS and its growth plans for the future.

Doug, we understand that Absolute EMS has been around for more than a quarter of a century. How long have you been with the company? As COO, what is your role?

AEMS has been in business, successfully, for more than 26 years. Our CEO Jeff Bullis and I have been very good friends for over a decade, and the conversation about my joining AEMS was on the table for quite some time. I was officially brought on board three years ago to manage the day-to-dayoperations due to my extensive manufacturing experience, and this has proven to be an excellent fit all the way around.  

Can you tell us how Absolute EMS has changed over the years and the influence you and your team have had on making it the leader it is today? Also, moving forward, how do you plan to keep strengthening the company?

AEMS has reinvested heavily over the last few years to elevate our factory into an award-winning state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Our goal was always to remain flexible and fast while providingsuperior quality and service in a factory so outstanding that it typically would be found only under a tier one umbrella. The industry needs what we have. They need the perfection, speed, and attention to detail. We will continue servicing our customer base while we steadily grow and balance our vertical segments.  

In a market inundated with EMS providers, how does Absolute EMS stand out from competition? What does the company do differently?  

There are many EMS competitors in our vicinity, and each one brings their area of specialty to the table. What AEMS offers is a precision, award–winning manufacturing facility that specializes in miniaturization and tight tolerance component placement, brand-new equipment, and the warm,friendly environment of a small EMS provider. It is an unusual and valuable combination. There is no one else offering these high-end services at our size level.

With a history of more than 26 years, the company has seen its share of customer challenges. In your opinion, what would you say are the main challenges that today’s customers face? How does Absolute EMS help solve these effectively and efficiently?

The global industry material shortages are by far the greatest challenge the industry has seen in decades.  AEMS has an interesting approach because we have a materials “SWAT”team that continually searches the globe for our customers’problem components that are out of stock. This is in addition to our regular materials team. While it uses more manpower on our side, this strategy has yielded results that have been highly successful.

As a company that supplies the electronics, medical, telecommunication, networking, robotics and aviation industries, quality is of the utmost importance. How does Absolute EMS provide the quality needed by customers in these high-reliability industries?

AEMS is certified AS 9100D, ISO 13485:2016, ISO 9001:2015, and UL Registered. Quality is one of the reasonsour customers come back, and we continue to grow. We specialize in 0.3 mm BGA placement as well as 008004 imperial code miniaturization placement. AEMS has done an outstanding job in terms of process. All our assemblies are processed through automation. This includes solder paste validation, SPI, AOI, 5DX, nitrogen reflow, and tightly controlled processes.  Combined, these steps yield the enhanced quality that we are known for throughout the industry.  

As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, what would you say are some of the most significant ways it changed the way we do business? Do you think we’ll ever go back to how it was a few years ago?

COVID most certainly has impacted the way we all do business. The most important mission at Absolute EMS is to protect our guests and employees, and not let our guard down. We continue distancing, disinfecting, and sanitizing on a regular basis throughout the day. Our awareness as a society during this pandemic has been raised so high that things may never go back to the old normal.  

What would you most like readers to know about Absolute EMS?

Absolute EMS is Silicon Valley’s premier EMS provider. We take pride in our ability to manufacture complex high–reliability product that others may struggle to support. We work continuously to provide quality and service in every instance, and we do so from our state-of-the-art factory. Our equipment set is amazing, but our people are our greatest assets. Come see us; we look forward to meeting you.