Kitron AB
About us
Kitron is a leading Scandinavian Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company, delivering improved flexibility, cost efficiency, and innovation power through the value chain. Kitron Group has operations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, India, China, Malaysia, and the United States. In each region, we tailor our offering to suit the local needs best.
With about 2500 highly skilled employees, we manufacture and deliver everything from fully assembled electronic circuit boards to complete end products for customers globally. We offer a full range of services within the entire value chain of electronics production, including development and design, industrialisation and manufacturing, as well as product upgrades and service/repairs.
Products & services
Manufacturing
As one of Scandinavia’s leading EMS suppliers, Kitron provides various services within the manufacturing, assembling and testing of electronic products for the professional market. These services are provided from the group’s modern facilities in Norway (Arendal), Sweden (Jönköping), Denmark (Horsens), Lithuania (Kaunas), Poland (Grudziądz), the Czech Republic (Lanškroun), China (Ningbo and Suzhou), Malaysia (Johor), and USA (Windber, Pennsylvania). CORE AREAS OF EXPERTISE Electronics, testing, assembly and system testing, system integration, repairs and upgrades. CORE TECHNOLOGIES Surface-mount technologies (SMT), through-hole assembly, microelectronics, Automated Press-Fit, Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), 3D X-ray, clean rooms, wave and selective soldering, cleaning and coating process for PCBs, and Potting & Curing, Hi-Pot, together with FCT, ICT, Burn-In, vibration and environmental testing, mechanical box-build and high-level complex assemblies. QUALITY STANDARDS - ISO 9001 - ISO 13485 - ISO 14001 - ISO 45001 - ISO/IEC 27001 - ISO/TS 22163 - IATF 16949 (automotive standard) - EN9100:2018 (technically equivalent to AS9100D and JISQ 9100:2016) - 21 CFR 820 Quality System Regulation - NIST SP 800-171 - AQAP 2110 Edition D Version 1 STANDARD OF WORKMANSHIP Kitron complies with IPC standard Class 2 and Class 3 requirements, which are key manufacturing standards for the electronics manufacturing industry. All Kitron employees are continuously trained according to IPC training programs. IMPROVEMENT METHODS Kitron works with an operational excellence program that includes LEAN concepts such as 5S, Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, PFMEA, Kaizen and daily management boards. AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY Complete automated assembly lines for PCBs, including various functional tests, product marking, traceability and packing of complete devices. These lines offer high reliability, repeatability, quality and throughput.
Development
When developing highly complex products, Kitron provides customers with everything from ideas to finished products and after-sales services. We think product life-cycle from the start and are the ultimate one-stop-shop for outsourced product development and manufacturing services. We design and manufacture high-complexity products for global markets. Examples of expertise Kitron offers: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Kitron has the expertise to take care of every step in the development process, from early concept design to volume manufacturing. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Kitron completes Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for customers. RE-ENGINEERING The close integration of Kitron's development department and Kitron's manufacturing sites means we are well placed to perform successful product re-designs.
Sourcing and Procurement
Kitron’s sourcing experts are located in Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland and China, enabling us to manage our global network of suppliers and ensure an optimal flow of components and materials to our manufacturing centres. Kitron’s logistics team ensures the safe transport of products to our customers or all the way to the end customer if desired. Kitron believes that its sourcing and logistics capabilities and expertise provide a significant competitive advantage in terms of lower material costs, better quality and a seamless supply chain for our customers. REDUCTION OF THE LIFETIME COST By helping our customers choose components with good availability, the right quality and the best price, we help reduce the lifetime cost of our customers’ products. Kitron’s sourcing group continually sets aggressive targets to further reduce the cost of components and materials. To achieve this, we will increase our sourcing activities in China, while we continue to benchmark and develop suppliers in general and aim to benefit from major suppliers' market imperfections that could lead to better terms and conditions for our customers. VALUE-ADDED SOURCING SERVICES In addition to the core delivery, Kitron offers value-added sourcing services through our Chinese operations. This is done in order to assist customers to improve their competitive position through the reduction of material costs.
Logistics and Distribution
Kitron manages the flow of components from suppliers all over the world, to our manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia and America, then onward to our customers, and, in some cases, to our customers’ end customers. In other words, we manage logistics throughout the entire value chain, and we do it 24/7. Kitron manages the logistics flow to give our customers a cost-effective advantage by meeting demanding logistics timetables, factoring in safety margins and reducing the amount of capital investment in inventories. Some of Kitron’s competitive advantages are our detailed forecast capabilities and our close relationships with the world’s foremost electronic component suppliers and logistics providers.
Redesign, Repair and Maintenance
Kitron can work with you for the full lifetime of your product. We even have the expertise to extend your product’s lifecycle. CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC TEAM We offer maintenance, repair and refurbishment programs. All such programs involve the establishment of customer-specific teams drawn from our purchasing, technical and production departments. The team will work with you and your product. The team members will get to know your product very well – enabling us to help you make your product even better. REFURBISHMENT PROGRAMS When a product starts to show its age, a refurbishment program may extend the product’s lifecycle. Such a program might include both software and hardware upgrades. We have in-house software and hardware design expertise if a redesign is required. Kitron’s component information system (CIS) will assist you in identifying replacements for obsolete components. DOCUMENTATION AND CHANGE HISTORY All changes and work done on your product will be thoroughly documented, and we can supply you with a change history record.
Industrialisation
With over 60 years of experience in electronics manufacturing, we know what matters when launching new products. In our NPI (New Product Introduction) Center, prototypes are produced by our highly qualified staff on our dedicated manufacturing line. We deliver quickly and with a strong focus on quality and cost. We also have a model-building workshop capable of constructing complete prototypes. Our customers’ development projects benefit from our expertise in design for manufacturing, testing, component engineering and environmental requirements. We employ the leading test development experts in Scandinavia and deliver complete solutions for the efficient testing of electronics products. PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURING In order to offer our customers the best possible service, we have dedicated staff and a dedicated manufacturing line for the production of prototypes. EVALUATION OF NEW PRODUCTS Our experts are available to prepare product reviews. These reviews are based on standards, best practice as well as national and international requirements. Customers receive a written report with comments and recommendations, as well as an oral presentation of our experts’ findings. COMPONENT ENGINEERING AND DATABASE Our component information system (CIS) enables you, as our customer, to rapidly search for and process information about current components for new projects. TEST DEVELOPMENT Kitron develops state-of-the-art test systems for automated testing in production. Over the last 30 years, this department has worked on a wide range of projects within the following sectors: Connectivity, Electrification, Industry, Medical Devices and Defence/Aerospace. DESIGN AND BUILD OF HIGH-LEVEL ASSEMBLY LINES Our trained staff design, build and optimize efficient manufacturing lines for your products. ENVIRONMENTAL DURABILITY TESTING Kitron helps achieve high-quality performance throughout the product's lifetime.