KATEK Memmingen is an electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider and manufacturer of Steca brand product lines in solar electronics and battery charging systems. The company builds high-quality individual electronic products and distributes them on a global scale.      

Operational Overview

KATEK Memmingen is an electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider and manufacturer of Steca brand product lines in solar electronics and battery charging systems. The company builds high-quality individual electronic products and distributes them on a global scale. Simple business processes, fair partnerships and transparent communication are key to their success. KATEK Memmingen GmbH has three facilities: Memmingen, with 465 employees, focused on R&D, SMT, solar & energy; Bulgaria with 300 employees, focused on cable work, SMT, THT and box build; and Dusseldorf, with 160 workers doing SMT.

Company Differentiators

The company has deep knowledge of the sectors they build, doing full lifecycle management of products, and focused on high value electronics. They consider themselves not just EMS but full manufacturing partners, growing the business with their customers. They are local manufacturers, building products for local consumers. In 2021, the company served the following sectors: automotive (23%), industrial (11%), medical (10%) solar & energy (35%), and consumer appliances (21%).

Strategic Growth Drivers

The solar & energy sectors are key to their growth, supplementing their historical presence in the automotive sector.

Facility Tour

Eric and Dieter visited the Memmingen facility in December 2021. There they interviewed Klauspeter Bader, Managing Director and Werner Gut, VP Solar & Energy to learn about some of the history of the company. The automotive sector is very important for KATEK Memmingen GmbH. The Dusseldorf factory was taken over in Dec. 2019 from OEM Huelsbeck & Fuerst, an automotive supplier of car locking systems. KATEK took all the assets and direct labour of the electronic part of manufacturing, whereas Huelsbeck & Fuerst, a specialist in mechanics for the locking systems, kept the mechanical part. KATEK Memmingen GmbH has professionally implemented the concept of manufacturing cells and is continuously working on further optimizing the product flow.