{"id":19206,"date":"2025-11-11T11:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T02:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohyoung.com\/en\/?post_type=news&p=19206"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T02:26:07","slug":"microboard-digital-transformation-enabled-by-a-strategic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/kohyoung.com\/en\/news\/microboard-digital-transformation-enabled-by-a-strategic-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Microboard: Digital Transformation Enabled by a Strategic Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Modern<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Microboard, a family-owned electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider based in Connecticut, has doubled in size over the past four years by focusing on high-complexity, low-volume production for a select group of customers. Central to their success has been a strategic approach to digital transformation, with strategic equipment partnerships, particularly the inspection partnership with Koh Young, playing a critical enabling role. The company maintains exceptional quality metrics (99% first pass yield, <0.1% RMA rate) while producing 40,000-50,000 printed circuits board assemblies each month.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Mission-Driven Manufacturing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Complexity as Competitive Advantage<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Quality Excellence Through Strategic Inspection<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The Koh Young Partnership<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Digital Transformation: Fingertip Data<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. The AI Vision: From Reactive to Proactive<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Growth with Purpose<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Key Lessons<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Mission-Driven Manufacturing<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    When visitors tour Microboard\u2019s Connecticut facility, they immediately notice something different. \u201cRight after COVID, we started inviting customers back in, and they were all saying to me, there\u2019s something different. Your employees are happy, they\u2019re engaged,\u201d explains Nicole Russo, CEO and Owner. \u201cAnd I say, Isn\u2019t that how it\u2019s supposed to be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Founded 43 years ago by Craig Hokenga, the company operates on two premises: build the most leading-edge technology while helping those least fortunate. This dual mission, inspired by God, has enabled the company to install over 1,200 water wells, impacting over seven million livers in regions affected by conflict and poverty worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBrilliant together is our theme of the business,\u201d Nicole notes. \u201cWe reward employees for bringing us problems. I think they feel very open and welcome.\u201d This culture is not just good for morale\u2014it is essential for attracting and retaining the talent needed to handle extreme manufacturing complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Complexity as Competitive Advantage<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    Unlike many EMS providers chasing volume, Microboard has deliberately limited its customer base numbers, currently below twenty, with plans to grow slowly. \u201cWe are not chasing revenue,\u201d Nicole states clearly. This strategic focus allows the company to tackle what others avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe\u2019re about 65% DOD on the sales side,\u201d Nicole explains. \u201cWe see projects from low complexity\u2014things like water alarm systems\u2014to mid-complexity medical products, and then very high complexity. We are very sought after for RF and bleeding-edge technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bryce Poland, Vice President of Quality and Continuous Improvement, describes the operational reality: \u201cAt Microboard, our bread and butter is the more complex boards. We have a small customer base where we pride ourselves in really being strong partners. We\u2019re helping them with NPIs, which creates unique challenges because we\u2019re not seeing the same thing over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Smiling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The technical demands are staggering. \u201cWe have boards that have five, six, seven, eight thousand components on each side, the size of a letter,\u201d Bryce notes. \u201cWe\u2019re getting down to so many 0201s. We\u2019re not yet to the 01005s, but we see it in our future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wayne Ellis, Vice President of Supply Chain, adds another layer: \u201cA lot of the products we\u2019re building were designed 20, 30 years ago. So, you\u2019re dealing with obsolete components that are extremely hard to get.\u201d This combination of legacy designs, cutting-edge technology, obsolescence management, and extreme miniaturization creates complexity that few manufacturers can navigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Smiling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Quality Excellence Through Strategic Inspection<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    To deliver on these demanding requirements, Microboard has built its quality system around comprehensive in-process inspection, achieving 99% first pass yield at final inspection and less than 0.1% RMA rate from approximately 500,000 printed circuit board assemblies per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe look at inspection as a very critical component of what we do,\u201d Bryce emphasizes. \u201cWe do 100% inspection of everything that goes out the door, but we can\u2019t rely on people to catch everything. In order to achieve our quality metrics, we have to have very strong in-process inspection capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The foundation is solder paste inspection. \u201cBecause we do complex boards, the solder print is extremely important\u2014if you don\u2019t get that right, nothing happens after that,\u201d Bryce explains. \u201cWe make a lot of investment in our equipment, our AOI machines<\/a>, our X-ray machines, our solder paste inspection, as well as our functional test. Maintaining a partnership with the suppliers and knowing what capabilities are out there, as well as what\u2019s up and coming, helps us know when to make that next investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Koh Young Partnership<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    For Microboard, equipment suppliers are more than vendors\u2014they are strategic partners. \u201cOur existing equipment is Koh Young, and we\u2019ve had a very strong track record with that equipment,\u201d Bryce reports. \u201cSo now we\u2019re looking to invest again. Koh Young has been extremely helpful in providing the information we need, what is next on the horizon, their product offerings, what differentiates them from others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The partnership extends beyond equipment purchases. \u201cKoh Young has a wealth of knowledge as far as what\u2019s there currently as well as what is potentially upcoming,\u201d Bryce continues. \u201cWe\u2019ve talked about the AI capabilities of not just the solder paste inspection, but also how that feeds into the AOI equipment and how it feeds into the placement equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lee Kemper, Executive Vice President of Operations, describes how these partnerships integrate into Microboard\u2019s operational philosophy: \u201cWhere we take our first step is always with people. We\u2019ve got to have the right talent. And then it drives down to process talking with the Koh Young team, making sure we have the right technical equipment available in the market to get us where we need to be. And then we drive that with systems. So, we take a very holistic approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Smiling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    This approach requires frequent collaboration. \u201cKoh Young is here quite often,\u201d Lee explains. \u201cWith a lot of our growth focused on very complex products, we really want to make sure that our partners are in quite often, identifying the new technology, the latest and greatest things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Digital Transformation: Fingertip Data<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    Microboard\u2019s approach to digital transformation is pragmatic and focused on operational value. Lee, who oversees manufacturing, engineering, facilities, and IT, emphasizes actionable intelligence: \u201cWhen you look at our shop floor, everything has inputs and outputs. How do we best leverage those IOs to convert that to good data? I call that fingertip data\u2014how do we give folks fingertip data to make the best decision at that moment? That\u2019s the real key because data in itself, we generate a ton of it. It\u2019s how you synthesize that down to what operators can make a decision on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The company takes a \u201cfast follower\u201d approach to new technology. \u201cWe definitely don\u2019t want to be bleeding or cutting edge. We want to be fast followers,\u201d Lee states. \u201cIf the technology\u2019s there, we can get in and leverage that quickly. We take a three-year approach on everything\u2014people, IT and systems, processes, as well as our CapEx plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bryce, with a decade of experience leading Industry 4.0 initiatives, brings valuable perspective: \u201cWhen I hear AI, you wonder what\u2019s behind that. AI is a marketing phrase, and I don\u2019t get too hung up on that, but really, it\u2019s what capability is being provided. There are different suppliers out there that may call it all AI, but it really comes down to what is the offering, what is the capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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